It goes without saying: The second week of June is a busy, busy time for the design world. With Chicago Design Week in full swing, the IIDA HQ team was constantly in motion at NeoCon and Fulton Market Design Days this year — hosting programming, running pop-ups, handling Design Dogs (more on that later), and welcoming IIDA members from around the globe.

And our indomitable leader, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, IIDA’s Executive Vice President and CEO, was literally everywhere, leading conversations, visiting showrooms, and talking shop with design leaders, design lovers, and everyone in-between.

IIDA’s Chicago Design Week theme was “Where It’s At,” and since Chicago is the best design city (we’re biased, but we think we’re right), IIDA is design’s best professional network, and our members are everywhere great design happens, we think we lived up to the motto.

Now that June is behind us, it’s the perfect time to look back on the best moments from Design Week. Memories were made, insights shared, connections strengthened, and — above all — great design, and great designers, were celebrated.

2025 IIDA Chapter and Campus Center Awards and CLC

Kicking off the Friday before Chicago Design Week, IIDA gathered at the USG Headquarters in Chicago for a reception hosted by USG Ceilings. We toasted and celebrated our 2025 Chapter and Campus Center Award honorees — IIDA Georgia, IIDA Ohio/Kentucky, IIDA South Florida, IIDA Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville — for their projects, programming, and overall contributions to IIDA and the interior design industry. The next day, chapter leaders convened at IIDA HQ for the annual summer CLC (Chapter Leadership Council) for a spirited day full of conversation and collaboration on everything membership, from recruitment to retention to responsibilities and rewards of being a member volunteer.

IIDA’s 31st Annual Meeting

The Sunday before Design Week began, IIDA members from across the country gathered to acknowledge all that we’ve accomplished together — and where we go next. We celebrated award winners and honorees; applauded the fact that we now have interior design legislation on the map in 29 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; shouted out Design Your World, IIDA’s educational pathway program introducing high schoolers to design, which just expanded to a fourth city, Dallas; and cheered the official launch of IIDA’s Certified Design Futurist program.

During her remarks, Cheryl Durst emphasized the immense power of community and connection, which are at the heart of design. “Thinking about the world-changing power of human connection makes me immensely proud to be part of an industry that is centered on that very thing: bringing people together in spaces that help them connect. Help them see each other. Recognize each other,” she said, adding, “Human connection is where it’s at. Design is where it’s at. IIDA is where it’s at.”

Revel in Design

Sunday night, we got fancy — the design community, dressed to the nines, gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago to celebrate design excellence and dance the night away. We announced the first-ever winner of the Best of Chicago Design Week award, recognized winners of the 2025 IIDA Showroom and Booth Design competition in the Mart and Fulton Market, and honored winners of the Interior Design Competition and Will Ching Design Competition. Revel in Design was supported by Presenting Sponsor Tarkett, Revelry Sponsor Mohawk Group, VIP Bar Sponsor Green Furniture Concept, and Dessert Sponsor NeoCon at THE MART.

IIDA Collective Design Live on Crafting a More Inclusive Future

What does inclusion really look like in the built environment — not just in principle, but in practice? IIDA’s Collective Design Live on Monday brought together leading voices in design for a candid conversation on the future of public space. Panelists included Tom Polucci, FIIDA, AIA, Firmwide Director of Interiors at HOK; Jessica Bantom, Assoc. IIDA, Global Leader of Equity, Diversity, and Belonging at DLR Group; Joey Shimoda, FIIDA, FAIA, Co-Founder of Shimoda Design Group; and Erin Jennings, IIDA, AIA, Principal at Luminaut.

Moderated by our Futurist-in-Residence Mark Bryan, IIDA, Senior Foresight Manager at Future Today Strategy Group and the instructor of IIDA’s Certified Design Futurist course, the discussion spanned sensory design, neurodiversity, equity, and AI. The takeaway? Inclusion isn’t a checklist — it’s a mindset. A design ethic. And as Bantom put it: “We signed up to design for everyone, and we have to own that.”

Savor the Morning with Royce and Cheryl

At the top of the morning on Tuesday, Cheryl Durst and Royce Epstein, Ind. IIDA, Senior Director of Design Insights at Mohawk Group, drew an engaged crowd. A group of design thought leaders gathered in the Mohawk showroom in Fulton Market to join Durst and Epstein for a conversation about culture, context, and craft. The intimate, invigorating discussion highlighted the enduring power of human-centered design, especially in uncertain times; Durst and Epstein considered how to prioritize respite, civility, and humanizing experiences amid today’s rapid pace of living and the ascent of artificial intelligence. The talk with chock-full of insights, but perhaps one in particular rose to the top — that designers have the power, and the responsibility, to create culture, cultivate community, and emphasize our shared humanity.

Design Days at Fulton Market

This year, IIDA really was “where it’s at” — including Design Days! We spent Monday and Tuesday of Chicago Design Week at Fulton Market with an interactive pop-up located just east of the MillerKnoll showroom. The IIDA Design Dogs returned to offer a joyful respite from the hustle and bustle, and our HQ team passed out swag — including colorful T-shirts featuring original art from IIDA Creative Director Sumara Fireside, and sleek, reusable water bottles, which paired perfectly with our bottle-filling station. We caught up with members, saw a lot of new faces, and made new friends (including a few pups passing by with their humans). We were joined by Cheryl Durst and members of the IIDA International Board of Directors.

IIDA Student Design Charette

IIDA student members from across the country gathered for the 2025 Student Design Charette, where 10 teams competed in a design challenge and presented their concept to a jury of four design leaders. It was a day full of networking, fostering community, and fun. For this year’s design challenge, students were tasked with redesigning a showroom space to serve as a hospitality destination, workspace, presentation and event space. Each team used materials provided by sponsors BEHR, MillerKnoll, Wallcoverings Association, and The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association to present their design solution.

The charette gave students the opportunity to network with design leaders, create lasting relationships, and collaborate to create winning designs. “The people I have met here are incredible and it’s really nice to have a space of common interest to come together to bond and learn from one another,” said Casey Calvin, Student IIDA, recent graduate of California State University, Sacramento, and member of the first-place design team.

“IIDA is so important to bridge the gap between student and professional lives,” Calvin added. “IIDA is changing the trajectory of my career, and students should definitely take advantage of it.”