If you are part of the design industry, you’ve likely heard the exciting news by now: the City of Chicago has officially proclaimed the second week of June as “Chicago Design Week.” It came as a nice surprise, like an early holiday gift we hadn’t expected. As a Chicagoan and longtime member of the Chicago design community, I was both surprised and delighted. Even more meaningful was learning that IIDA, our very own International Interior Design Association, played a central role in bringing the idea to life and was the catalyst for getting the City to issue the proclamation. As an interior designer, educator, and longtime IIDA member, it felt like a proud and validating moment for both our profession and the design community.
Maybe that’s why this year’s NeoCon and Design Days felt a bit conflicted: more significant, more meaningful – but also a little too familiar. Maybe we secretly had higher expectations. Maybe the timing of the Chicago Design Week announcement didn’t allow for much planning. But NeoCon/Design Days 2025 felt just like NeoCon/Design Days 2024 – and the years before. While there were beautiful products, impressive showrooms, and some new trends, overall it still felt like a fairly traditional trade show: focused mostly on product features, incremental updates, and somewhat familiar aesthetics. Beautiful, but also a bit expected. Many offerings had similar product features, with only slight difference in look and feel from their next-door neighbors. Like scrolling through Pinterest, everything began to blur together after a while. 
What was missing was that sense of surprise, joy, and deeper discovery. How might we push the experience beyond the expected? How can we create products, spaces and moments that feel more human, experiential, immersive, and emotionally resonant? How can we celebrate the people, the power of design, and intentionally connect with each other and our broader community?
The best part, as usual, was the people. NeoCon has always been about bringing the design industry together: the gatherings, the hugs, and the rich conversations that remind us why we do what we do. That sense of community is what keeps us coming back. Still, dividing time between the Mart and Fulton Market has made the experience feel split. OfficeInsight editor-in-chief Rob Kirkbride offered a brilliant solution: why not fully embrace Chicago Design Week as a unified, week-long celebration? NeoCon could anchor the first half of the week and Design Days the second, allowing attendees to fully experience both without compromise.
Now that we have the official proclamation, we have an opportunity to think bigger. What do we want Chicago Design Week to be? A showcase for products? A platform for innovation? A bridge that connects and brings people together? A stage for immersive experience? A celebration of people, ideas, and creativity? A glimpse of the future? Or a broader, connected, and collective vision that reflects the evolving nature of design itself? The Chicago design industry has a unique branding opportunity. How might Chicago Design Week distinguish itself from other events? Could it become a destination like Salone del Mobile, Paris Design Week, or NYCxDESIGN? Or forge its own identity – a hybrid of TED, CES, SXSW, and Milan Design Week, where ideas, innovations, experiences, and communities converge?
Milan Design Week is an interesting reference point. Even though Salone del Mobile, the world’s largest furniture and design fair, is the most popular anchor event of Milan Design Week, there are other happenings throughout the city during the week. These events are known as Fuorisalone (outside of Salone), which include art installations, exhibitions, pop-ups, art talks/lectures, and gatherings. What began as a furniture fair grew into a global design festival, drawing over 360,000 visitors each year. It transformed Milan’s brand and economy and positioned the city as a creative powerhouse.
How should Chicago Design Week position itself? With our rich legacy in architecture and design — from Wright to Mies to the innovation that built iconic skyscrapers and interiors — Chicago’s design history is unmatched. IIDA, headquartered in Chicago, has long championed the role of design in connecting people and shaping environments. NeoCon has welcomed the interior design community to the Mart since 1969, and the emergence of Fulton Market Design Days has added new energy. The foundation is here. The City’s proclamation marks a turning point. It’s time to reimagine how we come together and what we stand for as a design community. To explore that, I reached out to three industry leaders for their take on where the design world is headed and how we can make the most of this pivotal chapter. Their insights, in their own words, reveal both shared optimism and distinct visions. Together, they offer a unified but multifaceted roadmap forward.
Cheryl Durst, International Interior Design Association (IIDA) CEO and Executive VP
“This year’s Chicago Design Week was incredibly instructive to me and to our team at IIDA. We saw, so clearly, the unceasing creative energy of the design community and the excitement around convening to share knowledge, ideas and innovation. We also saw the need to help create an experience that is more than the sum of its parts — with NeoCon and Design Days as established anchors, and the City of Chicago providing a robust platform on which to build, the industry has an opportunity to create a more inclusive, inviting, connected event.
Chicago Design Week was born in IIDA’s office, with our determination to give a name to the phenomenon this event has become — and honestly, it’s just easier to say than “NeoCon and Design Days”! The Chicago city council gave it their seal of approval, and now it’s official. We couldn’t be more delighted.
IIDA has always been an expert “convener”, an organization that is adept at bringing people together and facilitating future direction in our industry. That role and the fact that we are a key design entity headquartered in Chicago placed us in the ideal position to promote the idea of Chicago Design Week. And we hope to continue to do that, continue bringing people together around the idea. With the city of Chicago as an ardent supporter, let’s see how far this great idea can take the industry.
Design is human-focused, and integral to solving so many of the challenges we face today; what could be better than expanding our footprint as an industry to invite more people to experience the power of design, and to contribute to where design will take us all next? I think innovation in design will continue to come as a result of collaboration and co-design, and I believe we get there by continuing to stretch our vision and our scope. Chicago Design Week can be a part of that — a benefit to our entire industry, the city, and the world.”
Mark Bryan, Senior Foresight Manager, Future Today Strategy Group (FTSG)
“As the inaugural concluded, it is clear that Chicago Design Week is poised to lead on the world stage. However, right now it still exists as a fairly traditional trade show. It can only become a true leader if it evolves from a series of individual events to an overarching, interconnected setting for innovation. For manufacturers, this shift would mean they would need to launch ecosystems, not just products. For attendees, it would mean demanding to see new forms of value and aspiration through a continuous experience that is woven throughout the urban landscape. These changes, along with others, would drive longer stays, deeper engagement, and greater value creation for brands, attendees, and the city itself.
I anticipate a similar evolution in the industry as a whole. Firms and designers will deliver future value not just from creating static spaces, but from shaping continuous, connected experiences across an individual’s day. Imagine telling a company you can design not just their workplace, but their worker’s entire daily experience to increase connectivity, productivity, and access to new skills and culture. That reduces the focus on fads or individual trends and reframes design to think about the convergence of shifting changes. This shift will open a door to new types of project cycles, higher-margin opportunities, and true differentiation at a time when commoditization and automation are advancing quickly across the built environment.”
Amanda Schneider, Founder and President, ThinkLab
“Each year offers an opportunity to reinvent—not by anchoring ourselves to the past or even the present, but by imagining a better future. At ThinkLab, we’ve tracked nearly a decade of data on the perception of NeoCon and the emergence of Fulton Market Design Days, and the message is clear: most in the industry want greater coordination between the two.
But to me, the opportunity is even bigger. Over the past five years, the public has become much more attuned than ever to how space makes them feel. This is a pivotal moment for both product companies and interior designers to step up—not just to inspire one another, but to translate the power of our collective creativity in ways that resonate far beyond our industry. The world is ready. I hope we can all take this opportunity to think—and act—bigger.”
While each leader offers a unique vision through their own distinct lens, they all agree: this is our chance to unite the design industry and expand its impact. Chicago Design Week is a critical opportunity for the design industry to come together under one banner, evolve beyond fragmented events, and move toward a more cohesive, impactful, and future-focused experience. This is a rare chance to look back at where we’ve been, rethink and align around a collective vision, and reinvent and co-create the future of design together. The sky is the limit, and I can’t wait to see what we — a united design industry — build together.