Best of IIDA at Chicago Design Week

Chicago Design Week was a beautiful whirlwind — full of fresh insights, striking spaces, and heartening human connection. The IIDA HQ team was constantly on the move: hosting programs, helming pop-ups, and welcoming members from around the world.

And of course, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, IIDA’s Executive Vice President and CEO, was right in the middle of it all. She led conversations, stopped by showrooms, and talked shop with design leaders, design lovers, and everyone in between.

IIDA’s 2026 Chicago Design Week theme was “Beyond,” and we meant it. We brought joy and then some (e.g., puffy stickers and paletas — more on those later). We pushed beyond surface-level connection and beyond the expected, toward not just what’s next, but what’s possible when you transcend limitations altogether.

There was a lot to see and do, and unless you’ve figured out how to be in multiple places at once — if you have, give us a call, we’ve got questions — there were probably some programs, events, and cool moments you missed. (Case in point: Did you catch the NeoCon keynote speaker who jumped rope onstage in high heels while sharing an incredible story?)

We rounded up the highlights below to help you relive the fun and banish any FOMO.

2026 IIDA Chapter and Campus Center Awards and CLC

The Friday before Chicago Design week, IIDA gathered members and staff at USG Headquarters to honor our outstanding 2026 Chapter and Campus Center award winners. This year’s chapter winners are: IIDA Mid-America, IIDA New York, IIDA Northern Pacific, and IIDA Ohio/Kentucky. These chapters have set the standard for excellence, innovation, and impact across the IIDA community. Two-time Campus Center Award-winner George Fox University won a third time this year, honored for its commitment to fostering the next generation of design leaders and to elevating our industry.

The following day, chapter leaders convened at IIDA HQ for this summer’s CLC (Chapter Leadership Council) for knowledge-sharing and networking. They engaged in dynamic conversations about collaboration, programming, membership growth, and sponsorship — and the enduring value of connection.

Diverse, smiling interior designers pose before a black IIDA backdrop; one woman wears bright red pants, white jacket and a medallion. — IIDA members gather at USG for the annual Chapter Awards ceremony.

Smiling woman with braided hair and tortoiseshell glasses holds a microphone while speaking at a packed design workshop, lanyard visible. — The summer CLC saw chapter leaders from across the country communed to share ideas.

IIDA’s 32st Annual Meeting

The Sunday before Chicago Design Week kicked off, IIDA members from across the country gathered to acknowledge all that we’ve accomplished together — and where we go next. We started off the morning with a champagne toast from IIDA Chief Marketing Officer, Cindy Dampier, honoring the inclusion of Cheryl Durst in the Obama Presidential Center’s “Changemakers” Catalog and “Imagine Your Impact” exhibit, and from there we celebrated awardees and welcomed our new International Board of Directors.

In her annual address, Durst reflected on the role of designers in light of ever-advancing technology, reminding us that being a designer means working “in service to humanity. In design, we are intimately and ultimately concerned with people — from the comfort that creates a welcome for all, to the healing that can be enabled by place, to a workplace that sparks creativity and collaboration. The human ability to imagine, to create, to discover, propels us into the future even as it connects us to each other.”

Two women smile and embrace at an IIDA podium; a woman with glasses stands beside a woman with curly hair wearing a colorful floral blazer. — Leta Pham, Student IIDA and 2026 IIDA Student of the Year.

Two smiling presenters at a podium for an IIDA event: woman with glasses and beige blazer gestures toward a laughing man in a light blazer. — Outgoing IIDA Board of Directors **Stacey Crumbaker, FIIDA** swears in president elect **Mike Johnson II, FIIDA**.

Our 2026 IIDA Icon awardee, Dr. Upali Nanda, Assoc AIA, partner and executive vice president at HKS. She deeply inspired us with her words about community, closeness, and humanity — and how design cultivates all three. “We have to expand the very definition of design. We have to go beyond our silos, and we have to dig deep into the art and the science of being human,” she said. “Especially now, in this fragmented world where the digital seduces and infuses. Especially now, where in the world of large language models, we are yearning for small, intimate moments. Especially now, when even as we world-build, we have to know and remember the feel of the grass beneath our feet. Your superpower, our superpower, is reality, materiality, and humanity.”

We celebrated our newest inductees into IIDA’s College of Fellows — an all-woman cohort — and also heard from our Member, Student, and Educator of the year, as well as our 2026-2027 IIDA International Board President, Bill Bouchey, FIIDA, design director at Gensler.

Revel in Design

Sunday night, we were decked out and ready to celebrate design excellence (and hit the dance floor) at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. At Revel in Design, we announced our second-ever Best of Chicago Design Week award winner, Takeform, and celebrated the 2026 IIDA Showroom and Booth Design Award winners from Fulton Market Design Days and NeoCon at The Mart. We also applauded winners of the Interior Design Competition and Will Ching Design Competition. Revel in Design was supported by 2026 Design Hero Presenting Sponsor Mohawk Group, 2026 Vibe Sponsor Momentum, and 2026 Dessert Sponsor, NeoCon at The Mart.

Crowded reception dance floor with a short blonde woman in a white sleeveless dress laughing, tulle swirling under warm colorful lights. — The dance floor was bumping at the 2026 Revel in Design.

Two men in blazers stand before a pink curtain, one holding a black award box aloft while the other rests a hand on his shoulder, smiling. — Takeform took home the second annual Best of Chicago Design Week award for the their showroom in The Mart.

IIDA Keynote with Jessica O. Matthews

There’s a certain kind of advice most of us have heard at some point in our professional lives: Don’t take it personally. At her NeoCon keynote, “Find Your Fight: The Power of Taking It Personally,” inventor and entrepreneur Jessica O. Matthews made a compelling case for doing exactly the opposite.

Presented by IIDA and introduced by Cheryl Durst, the keynote reframed lived experience, and frustration as powerful tools for innovation. Drawing from her experience as a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria, Matthews traced the origins of her groundbreaking, energy-generating soccer ball, Soccket, to the unreliable power systems she witnessed as a teenager — and to one phrase she refused to accept: “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

From a soccer ball that turns one hour of play into three hours of light to an energy-generating jump rope born from what she called her “petty side,” Matthews showed how personal experience can become a catalyst for world-changing ideas — and how the things we refuse to accept can become the very things we are meant to change.

Woman in a sleeveless, bright orange dress gestures expressively while speaking on stage, wearing gold hoop earrings and a clip mic. — Jessica O Matthews gave a rousing keynote, “Find Your Fight: The Power of Taking It Personally.”

Woman in a bright red jumpsuit energetically jumping rope on a wooden stage beside a large projection showing a patent diagram and a photo. — Matthews demonstrated her energy-generating jump rope by jumping rope in heels, on stage.

Collective Design LIVE on Big Ideas

At IIDA’s Collective Design LIVE at NeoCon, speakers explore the future of big ideas, and what it takes to move an idea from spark to reality. Moderated by Mark Bryan, IIDA, IIDA’s chief research and strategy officer, the conversation brought together Adi Goodrich, spatial designer and co-founder of Sing-Sing Studio; Karli Slocum, president of 3form; and Carrie Buse, former senior director of discovery at Mattel’s Future Lab.

Across disciplines, the panelists agreed: big ideas are not born fully formed. They are observed, tested, challenged, and refined over time. Goodrich urged designers to follow genuine curiosity rather than trends. Slocum emphasized the importance of surrounding yourself with people who will challenge your thinking. Buse pointed to observation — especially of behavior people may not be able to articulate — as a powerful source of innovation.

From quick prototyping to learning from failure, the conversation offered a practical reminder for designers and creative leaders alike: don’t wait for certainty. Pay attention, ask better questions, share the imperfect version, and simply start somewhere.

Smiling older woman with short blonde hair and black glasses, wearing a denim jacket and teal scarf, waving and showing rings. — Carrie Buse, former senior director of discovery at Mattel’s Future Lab discussing big ideas at Collective Design LIVE.

Four panelists sit on stage under a screen reading 'Collective Design LIVE,' while a woman gestures and audience silhouettes watch. — Collective Design LIVE tackled how to tackle — and execute — big ideas.

Cheryl Durst on the Move

It’s not hyperbole: IIDA’s EVP and CEO is always on the move. But at Chicago Design Week, she was busier than usual. She led multiple events with IIDA partners, including a first look at Keilhauer’s vast new showroom in The Mart — and their beautiful new lounge collection, created with Yabu Pushelberg — on Monday morning. That afternoon, she talked about the power of play at IKEA’s cheerful Fulton Market pop-up with Abbey Stark, Country Home Furnishing Direction Leader at IKEA. And later that afternoon, Durst raised a glass with Cindy Kaufman, vice president of marketing at Mannington Commercial, to celebrate Mannington’s stunning new showroom. On Tuesday, Durst returned to Fulton Market to kick off the day at Mohawk’s showroom, where she and Royce Epstein, Ind. IIDA, senior director of design insights at Mohawk Group, led a thoughtful discussion about culture, context, humanity, and craft.

IIDA EVP and CEO **Cheryl S. Durst, FIIDA** with **Royce Epstein, Ind. IIDA**, senior director of design insights at Mohawk Group for the annual Savor the Morning.

Cheryl Durst with Cindy Kaufman, vice president of marketing at Mannington Commercial celebrate the opening of their new showroom.

Design Days at Fulton Market

In 2026, IIDA went “beyond” at Design Days, in keeping with our theme. We spent Monday and Tuesday of Chicago Design Week at Fulton Market with an interactive pop-up located just east of the MillerKnoll showroom. Our HQ team passed out vibrant swag, including colorful, reusable water bottles and puffy stickers. We also gave passersby a special treat — paletas — and believe us when we tell you, those tasty ice pops went fast. We caught up with members from near and far, made new friends, and enjoyed booth visits from Cheryl Durst and members of the IIDA International Board.

Hand with gold and silver rings and a daisy nail holding a pale green cucumber popsicle wrapped in multicolored branded paper. — Team IIDA cooled off with Paletas during their pop-up at Fulton Market Design Days.

Smiling vendors behind a colorful IIDA booth greet two women in orange shirts, exchanging handshakes, tote bags and event swag. — Cheryl Durst stopped by the IIDA HQ pop-up tent on Tuesday during Fulton Market Design Days.

IIDA National Student Design Charette

Held on the Tuesday of Design Week, IIDA’s 2026 National Student Design Charette brought students from across the U.S. together for a day full of creativity, collaboration, and networking. Students worked together on 10 different teams, all tasked with designing a versatile workplace that supports co-working and client engagement. To bring their bold design ideas to life, students were provided materials and resources by event sponsors BEHR, MillerKnoll, Momentum, and The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association. Throughout the day, students gained invaluable experiences, built lasting professional relationships, and developed presentation skills.

Each student left their team learning a valuable lesson: how to appreciate different perspectives while tapping into your own creativity. “Today is a result of wonderful collaboration. It is a recognition of our efforts and a celebration of design in general. I’m very proud of my team and how we applied our storytelling to human-centered design,” said Luciana Dugniolle, Student IIDA, a student at Samuel State College and member of the design team that won third place.

“The best way to learn is to immerse yourself, and I feel IIDA does that for students,” she added.