Chicago Design Week
“Connectivity is a key part of NeoCon and Fulton Market Design Days, and IIDA is ready to celebrate this vibrant intersection of all things Design: designers, manufacturers, insights (and foresight!) — and a lot of truly wonderful design work for all of us to enjoy. IIDA is particularly proud to celebrate design in our own home city; Chicago is a renowned center for design, and the confluence of these two major events creates a centerpoint for the global design community. This Chicago Design Week, we hope to see all of you exploring, celebrating, and connecting around the joy-inducing practice that is design.”
— IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA
IIDA is where design is at, and you won’t want to miss this! Join us this summer at Chicago Design Week, where we’ll gather across Chicago’s vibrant design neighborhoods during NeoCon and Design Days — everywhere designers are at — to revel in the joy of design. We’ll have engaging and boundary-pushing programming and discussions, get inspired by new ideas and innovation, and convene the thinkers and doers who will carry design’s future forward. Most importantly, we invite you — the design leaders and curious students, emerging leaders and visionary experts, nimble thinkers and forward-looking futurists — to help us build the community that will map the journey toward design’s next big thing.
Find us at any of our events below, and as we pop up around THE MART and Fulton Market.
IIDA at NeoCon and Design Days 2025
Friday, June 6
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 achievements, best practices, program excellence, and overall contribution to the interior design industry. This event is open to IIDA members only.
Saturday, June 7
IIDA Chapter Leadership Council (CLC) - By Invitation Only
IIDA Chapter leaders from across the country gather at IIDA HQ for a daylong collaborative conference for IIDA Chapter leaders focused on membership, leadership development, and volunteerism.
IIDA Showroom and Booth Design Competition - Fulton Market Jurying
Submissions open March 3 - May 30, 2025
Honoring originality of design and visual impact of showrooms, temporary booths, and pop-ups exhibiting at NeoCon or Design Days. This annual 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. For spaces in THE MART, jurying takes place on Sunday, June 8. For spaces at Fulton Market Design Days, jurying will take place on Saturday, June 7.
The “Best of Competition” winners from each area are eligible to win the “Best of Chicago Design Week" award, which will be revealed during Revel in Design, IIDA’s premiere design celebration, on the evening of Sunday, June 8 by IIDA EVP and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA.
Sunday, June 8
IIDA Showroom and Booth Design Competition - THE MART Jurying and Best of Chicago Design Week Award
Submissions open March 3 - May 30, 2025
Honoring originality of design and visual impact of showrooms, temporary booths, and pop-ups exhibiting at NeoCon or Design Days. This annual 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. For spaces in Fulton Market, jurying takes place on Saturday, June 7. For spaces at THE MART, jurying will take place on June 8.
The “Best of Competition” winners from each area are eligible to win the “Best of Chicago Design Week” award, which will be revealed during Revel in Design, IIDA’s premiere design celebration, on the evening of Sunday, June 8 by IIDA EVP and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA.
IIDA Annual Meeting - Members Only
10:45 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Brunch and Networking
12 - 1:30 p.m. | Program and Honors
WorkLife Meetings at THE MART, 2nd Floor
Current IIDA members and their guests are invited to jumpstart NeoCon at THE MART and Fulton Market Design Days by attending the 2025 IIDA Annual Meeting. Join us as we announce and honor the 2025-26 International Board of Directors, the 2025 College of Fellows inductees, as well as our IIDA ICON Award winner, and Member, Educator, and Student of the Year, among many other member accolades.
This event will be streamed live for members — check back for more details on how to watch from around the world!
Revel in Design: IIDA’s Premiere Celebration
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, the IIDA International Board, prominent international interior designers, and global design manufacturers for a celebration of design. IIDA’s Revel in Design continues to be bigger and bolder than ever, with high energy, networking, dinner, and dancing. The evening honors winners of two of the most prestigious competitions in the interior design profession — the Interior Design Competition and the Will Ching Design Competition. This year we will reveal the inaugural IIDA Showroom and Booth Design Competition's "Best of Chicago Design Week" award, presented by Cheryl Durst.
Individual tickets go on sale in May 2025. For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Senior Director of Strategic Sales, Tracey Thomas, at tthomas@iida.org.
Monday, June 9 | Day One of NeoCon and Design Days
NeoCon Keynote - Presented by IIDA
Designing for Global Innovation
10 - 11 a.m.
NeoCon Presentation Studio at THE MART, 2nd Floor, and streamed live on the NeoCon Hub
Today, innovation in design is critical to the lifeblood of creators, and a top priority for clients and consumers alike. Creating and designing inclusive spaces and experiences doesn't happen by accident.
Keynote speaker Annie Jean-Baptiste is a business disrupting tech executive who builds for the 21st century needs of consumers. She transforms companies into human centered, authentic brands that can tap into unlocked growth opportunities. She’s brought her forward-looking, data driven approach to game-changing products serving billions of customers globally. Her talk will demonstrate how designers of all kinds can leverage lived experiences to fuel innovation, creating more holistic experiences for everyone. IIDA’s Executive Vice President and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, will introduce Jean-Baptiste and lead a Q&A session.
IIDA Collective Design Live: How to Design a More Inclusive Future
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
NeoCon Presentation Studio, Floor 2, at THE MART, and streamed live on the NeoCon Hub
More than 334 million people live in the United States, and a new person is born every eight seconds. The built environment should offer a sense of welcome and a sense of agency to all people — but what will inclusive design look like in the future, and how can we design for that future, starting now? Our panel of experts will provide a realistic look at inclusive design for the future, and offer practical advice on how to design in a way that embraces our differences, from gender, race, and sexual orientation to neurodivergence, physical ability, nationality, and other aspects of identity.
Moderator:
Mark Bryan, IIDA, Senior Foresight Manager, Future Today Strategy Group and IIDA’s Futurist-in-Residence
Panelists:
Jessica Bantom, Assoc. IIDA, Global Leader of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, DLR Group
Erin Jennings, IIDA, AIA, Market Leader, Luminaut
Tom Polucci, IIDA, AIA, Firmwide Director of Interiors, HOK
Joey Shimoda, FIIDA, FAIA, Partner, Shimoda Design Group
IIDA at Fulton Market Design Days
Corner of W. Fulton Market St. and W. Aberdeen St.
IIDA will meet and greet our members, chapter leaders, NeoCon and Design Days attendees, and the residents of Chicago as they gather and explore the West Loop’s burgeoning design district.
No registration required.
Tuesday, June 10 | Day Two of NeoCon and Design Days
IIDA Student Design Charette
9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
THE MART
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. The day of the Charette – students are assigned to a team, posed with a design challenge, given collaborative time to create a design solution, and then present it to a panel of esteemed jurors. Student attendees are nominated through IIDA’s network of design educators.
IIDA Student Design Charette Awards Celebration
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
THE MART
Join the Charette participants and jurors for the IIDA at the Charette Awards where the winners of the Student Design Charette will be announced.
IIDA at Fulton Market Design Days
Corner of W. Fulton Market St. and W. Aberdeen St.
IIDA will meet and greet our members, chapter leaders, NeoCon and Design Days attendees, and the residents of Chicago as they gather and explore the West Loop’s burgeoning design district.
No registration required.