The 2026 Design Weeks Index

A global calendar shaping how design is exhibited, discussed, and distributed

The design week format has evolved beyond trade fairs and product launches. Today, these events operate as cultural checkpoints - where industry, education, craft, and technology intersect. The 2026 calendar reflects this shift, balancing legacy European fairs with digitally native platforms and rapidly growing scenes across Asia and the Middle East.

Together, they outline how design circulates globally - physically through exhibitions and virtually through networks of media, research, and collaboration.

Milan Design Week

Milan · 20 — 26 April 2026

Milan Design Week remains the industry’s primary launch platform. Anchored by Salone del Mobile and an expanding citywide program, it sets annual directions across furniture, product systems, lighting, and mobility adjacencies. For brands, Milan is market-facing. For independent studios, it is positioning.

Digital Design Week

Online / Global · 20 — 26 April 2026

Running parallel to Milan, Digital Design Week reflects the decentralisation of exhibition culture. XR environments, virtual showrooms, and interface-led showcases allow interaction design and digital products to exist outside spatial constraints, expanding participation across geographies.

NYCxDESIGN

New York City · 14 — 20 May 2026

NYCxDESIGN operates at the intersection of culture and commerce. Its programming spans galleries, institutions, and tech spaces, creating dialogue between industrial design, architecture, media, and urban innovation.

DesignMarch

Reykjavík · 6 — 10 May 2026

DesignMarch offers a materially focused counterpoint to larger fairs. Rooted in Nordic production values, it foregrounds sustainability, craft lineage, and experimental fabrication, often spotlighting emerging European practices.

3daysofdesign

Copenhagen · 10 — 12 June 2026

3daysofdesign has scaled into a major Scandinavian showcase. Heritage furniture houses sit alongside contemporary studios, presenting work through curated showrooms that emphasise longevity, tactility, and manufacturing precision.

London Design Festival

London · 12 — 20 September 2026

London Design Festival distinguishes itself through public engagement. Installations embedded within museums, academic institutions, and civic spaces position design as a cultural dialogue rather than a trade-only exchange.

Vienna Design Week

Vienna · 25 September — 4 October 2026

Vienna Design Week centres on social design and local industry collaboration. Historic sites become exhibition grounds, enabling contemporary interventions within long-standing craft and manufacturing contexts.

Dubai Design Week

Dubai · November 2026

Dubai Design Week reflects the Middle East’s infrastructural investment in design. Large-scale installations, urban development discourse, and future mobility projects define its programming, supported by institutional backing.

Design Mumbai

Mumbai · 25 — 28 November 2026

Design Mumbai signals India’s growing design economy. The event bridges contemporary studios with craft ecosystems, highlighting material intelligence and regional production networks.

Seoul Design Festival

Seoul · 26 — 29 November 2026

Seoul Design Festival closes the calendar with a consumer-tech and lifestyle focus. CMF innovation, electronics, and product branding dominate, reflecting South Korea’s influence across global product culture.

Reading the 2026 calendar

What emerges from this index is not hierarchy, but distribution.

Europe continues to anchor furniture and industrial discourse. North America merges design with media and technology. The Middle East positions design within urban development. Asia advances consumer product and interface innovation. Digital platforms dissolve geographic limits altogether.

For students, these weeks function as exposure infrastructure. For studios, they are market access. For institutions, they are research stages.