Check Out 2025 NYCxDESIGN Festival Highlights

Step into a week of innovation, creativity, and global design during the 13th edition of the NYCxDESIGN Festival, which runs from May 15-21, 2025. Watch New York City be transformed into an inspiring design hub with electrifying exhibitions, talks, and gatherings across all five boroughs. Once again, the NYCxDESIGN Awards ceremony will be a major highlight, hosted by Interior Design Editor-in-chief Cindy Allen on May 19—with this year celebrating a decade of design brilliance and honoring artistry on display through New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

With the theme “Design is For Everyone,” the festival showcases NYCxDESIGN’s commitment to inclusivity and how design can be used as a positive way to bring people together. “The NYCxDESIGN Festival is more than a showcase of our city’s extraordinary creative talent—it is a powerful unifier of the many design disciplines that make up the largest design community in the world,” says Ilene Shaw, executive director of NYCxDESIGN.

Discover 2025 NYCxDESIGN Festival Highlights

For the first time in years, Design Pavilion, New York’s premier public design exhibition, will coincide with the Festival to present “Lexus Ambiance,” an interactive experience in partnership with luxury automotive brand Lexus inviting users to create their own personalized environments using light and space. Visitors will get a chance to peek into the future of design and interactivity and see how Lexus pushes boundaries in the luxury automotive space. The Lexus Design Pavilion will be hosted at Hudson Yards Public Square and Garden from May 10-19.

In addition, for the second year in a row, the NYCxDESIGNxSouvenir exhibition will be on view at the Canvas at the Oculus in lower Manhattan featuring one-of-a kind collectible works from 73 artists inspired by New York City. Among the standouts are the bacon, egg, and cheese sando candle—the deli breakfast staple—and a colorful dog postcard series reflecting 15 city neighborhoods. In partnership with Cool Hunting and exhibition design by Boym Partners, the initiative is sponsored by Kikkerland Design and is running from May 15-21.

As the NYCxDESIGN Keynote series was successful in its debut last year, the platform returns to the Festival again—delivering another lineup of engaging panelists from around the world. Presented by brands such as Coca-Cola, IBM, and Life Time, these keynote series hopes to explore the intersection of design with photography, AI, and wellness.

From innovative products on display during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair to exemplary student designs visible throughout the city and packed programming, don’t miss a chance to explore all that this year’s NYCxDESIGN Festival has to offer. Tickets are available through nycxdesign.org.

Explore Must-See Installations And Exhibitions