NeoCon is a launchpad for innovation offering ideas and introductions that shape the built environment today and into the future. The annual show gathers manufacturers, emerging companies, design professionals, thought leaders and more at THE MART in Chicago for a global marketplace, education, networking, inspirational programming and a chance to experience the newest products and innovations up close. Connect, learn, celebrate and do business.
Design is by nature inquisitive, boundary pushing, and inspirational. For NeoCon 2024 IIDA celebrates 30 years of bringing together the innovators, the community organizers, the design visionaries—collectively we envision and create the future of design. With a globe-spanning membership of designers who are creating that future every day, IIDA is focused on convening expertise, creating community, and sharing insights that help the design industry and beyond, build a future filled with amazing possibilities. Step into the Future of Experience with IIDA at NeoCon 2024.
IIDA at NeoCon 2024
Friday, June 7
IIDA Chapter and Campus Center Awards - By Invitation Only
IIDA HQ and members celebrate the exceptional efforts and accomplishments of IIDA Chapters at the annual IIDA Chapter Awards and reception. The IIDA Chapter Awards recognize outstanding chapter achievement, best practices, program excellence, and overall contribution to the interior design industry. This event is open to IIDA members only.
Saturday, June 8
IIDA Chapter Leadership Council (CLC) - By Invitation Only
IIDA Chapter leaders from across the country gather at IIDA HQ for a day-long conference focused on professional development, chapter leadership, and volunteerism. This event is open to IIDA members only.
Sunday, June 9
IIDA Showroom and Booth Design Competition at NeoCon
Submissions Open March 1, 2024
Honoring originality of design and visual impact of showrooms, temporary booths, and pop-ups exhibiting at NeoCon. The competition recognizes outstanding and innovative corporate branding initiatives with an emphasis on the innovative use of materials, space, color, texture, product, and environmental graphics. Entries will be reviewed onsite by a jury of influential design leaders and specifiers from the commercial interior design industry on Sunday, June 10.
IIDA Annual Meeting - Members Only
12-3:30 p.m. Venue SIX10
Current IIDA members and their guests are invited to jumpstart NeoCon by attending the 2024 IIDA Annual Meeting. Join us as we announce and honor 2024-25 International Board of Directors, the 2024 College of Fellows inductees, as well as our IIDA Icon Award winner, and Member of the Year, among others.
Revel in Design: IIDA’s Black-Tie Event
7-11:30 p.m. Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, 120 E. Delaware St
Join host IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, prominent international interior designers, and global design manufacturers for a celebration of design. In honor of IIDA’s 30th anniversary, IIDA’s Revel in Design is bigger and bolder than ever, with high energy and a new, award-winning venue. This evening of networking, dinner, and dancing honors the winners of two of the most prestigious competitions in the interior design profession—the Interior Design Competition and the Will Ching Design Competition.
For information on sponsorship opportunities, and, please contact Industry Sales Manager, Evangeline Miller, at emiller@iida.org
Monday, June 10 | Day One of NeoCon
NeoCon Keynote Presented by IIDA Leveraging the Power of Storytelling in the Places We Create
10:00-11:00 a.m. NeoCon Presentation Studio, Floor 2, THE MART and streamed live on the NeoCon Hub The last few years have tested the limits of our cities and built environments across the globe, leaving people and their communities with an urgent need for a return to vibrancy and experiences they can enjoy and remember together. Today, storytelling in design has become a top priority for clients and their stakeholders, as well as our own aspirations as creators.
In his more than thirty years at Walt Disney Imagineering, Bob Weis, global immersive experience design leader at Gensler, created story-driven experiences in every Disney property around the world. In his keynote, Weis will share insights and visuals to demonstrate how the new global Gensler Entertainment practice is bringing storytelling to the forefront and strategy of new projects, engaging clients to think differently about how stories and experiences form valuable anchors in successful projects. His talk will demonstrate how creatives can use this magical tool to bring vibrancy to everyday places and spaces.
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
IIDA Collective D(esign) Live: The Future of Experience
11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. NeoCon Presentation Studio, Floor 2, THE MART and streamed live on the NeoCon Hub How is experiential design changing the face of design at large, and how will experience intersect and empower the future of design and designers? IIDA’s once-a-year live episode of our Collective Design series brings you top minds in design who approach experiential design through a variety of lenses, from neuroscience to hospitality to future forecasting—all in a thought-provoking, deep dive exploration of a topic that will shape not only our design work, but our lives. Moderated by Mark Bryan, IIDA, Senior Foresight Manager at the Future Today Institute, this roll-up-your-sleeves companion program to IIDA’s keynote will provide the ideas you need to embrace what’s next for design and your business.
Panelists:
Upali Nanda, Global Sector Director, Innovation, Executive Vice President, HKS Lauren Rottet, FIIDA, President and Founding Principal, Rottet Studios Lori Mukoyama, IIDA, Principal and Global Leader of Hospitality, Gensler Brian Graham, IIDA, Founder and Creative Director, Graham Design
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
Meet Us on Monday: IIDA’s Celebration on the Stairs
3-4:30 p.m. The Grand Staircase at THE MART
Join IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, as we recognize design’s young talent on THE MART Grand Stair with a high-energy afternoon that will include a mini-documentary screening featuring IIDA’s Design Your World pathway program and its success in building grassroots diversity in design; a “deconstructed” panel discussion with design leaders, IIDA scholarship winners, and plenty of audience participation; and IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO Cheryl S. Durst on the mic! We’re going bigger and better this year for a fun, surprising meet-up on the stairs that is the best way to spend an afternoon at NeoCon. (Hint: Join us afterward as we toast IIDA’s 30th Anniversary at Marshall’s Landing with THE MART!)
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
IIDA’s 30th Anniversary Toast
4:30 p.m. Marshall's Landing at THE MART
It’s true: IIDA was founded 30 years ago in THE MART, during NeoCon 1994! You’re invited to cap your NeoCon Monday with IIDA and THE MART at Marshall’s Landing as we raise a glass and salute 30 years of dedication to design and designers with IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO Cheryl S. Durst and special guests.
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
Tuesday, June 11 | Day Two of NeoCon
IIDA Student Design Charette - Members Only
The annual IIDA Student Design Charette, hosted during NeoCon, brings together students from across the nation for a day of design, collaboration, networking, problem-solving, and fun. At the charette, students are assigned random teams, presented with a design problem, and then have a few hours to create a design solution and present it to a panel of jurors. Nominations for participation are now closed.
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
NeoCon Keynote | The Power of Affirmation Presented by Momentum Textiles Co-Hosted by ASID and IIDA
10:00-11:00 a.m. NeoCon Presentation Studio, Floor 2, THE MART and streamed live on the NeoCon Hub
Yinka Ilori, Artist & Designer, in conversation with Khoi Vo, CEO, ASID and Cheryl S. Durst, Executive VP and CEO, IIDA
British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori is known for his dynamic public installations and color-forward aesthetic. Behind his progressive work lies a philosophy grounded in design’s power to tell stories of identity, culture, and purpose. In an intimate fireside chat-style keynote, Ilori will discuss how he harnesses diverse mediums of design as a catalyst to tell stories, using creativity as a language to celebrate cultural identities, and the power of design to elevate the individual while unifying the masses. Ilori will also give insight into how these tenets can be incorporated into the modern workplace, examining it through the lens of his electrifying new collection for Momentum Textiles and Wallcovering.
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
IIDA Student Design Charette Awards - Members Only
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Join the charette participants, judges, and IIDA at the Charette Winner’s Reception where the winners of the Student Design Charette will be announced. Light bites and beverages will be served (valid ID required).
You must be registered for NeoCon to attend. Register here
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