New Designers 2027

Every summer, more than 2,500 design graduates haul their degree-show work into one Victorian exhibition hall in Islington and wait to see who stops at their stand. Sometimes it’s a buyer from John Lewis. Sometimes it’s a design director scouting a hire. And sometimes it’s the moment a career actually starts. That’s New Designers — the UK’s longest-running graduate design showcase, championing emerging talent since 1985 — and it returns to the Business Design Centre from June 30 to July 3, 2027.

Four Days, One Show: The New Format

For most of its history, New Designers ran as a two-part event, with different disciplines split across separate weeks. That changed in 2026, when the show relaunched in a condensed one-week, four-day format with every discipline presented side by side — fashion next to furniture, ceramics next to game design. The organizers’ reasoning is hard to argue with: design today is interdisciplinary, and the graduates coming out of UK courses rarely stay in one lane. The 2027 edition carries that format forward under the tagline “Multiple Disciplines, One Show, Design Together.”

It’s a meaningful shift for visitors, too. Instead of choosing which week (and which disciplines) to attend, one ticket now puts the entire graduating class of UK design in front of you at once. Ticket options and prices for 2027 will be published through the visit info link at the top of this article — at the most recent edition, they ranged from a standard adult day pass to an all-access pass covering the awards preview evening and multi-day entry, with children 13 and under admitted free.

Thirteen Disciplines Under One Roof

The 2027 lineup spans essentially the entire territory of contemporary design: fashion and costume, textiles, furniture, product design, industrial and spatial design, contemporary design crafts, ceramics, glass, jewellery and metalwork, graphic design, illustration and animation, motion and digital arts, and game design.

For readers of this site, the furniture and industrial-and-spatial sections are the obvious draw — this is where you spot the material experiments and spatial thinking that will filter into interiors and architecture practices over the next decade. But the real pleasure of the show is the cross-pollination. A textile graduate’s bio-material research sits a few aisles from a spatial designer’s modular housing concept, and the connections between them are exactly what the single-show format was built to surface.

The Rhythm of the Week

New Designers structures its four days around distinct audiences. The opening Wednesday is reserved for awards judging and trade visitors, rolling into an Awards Preview Evening — the first chance to see which graduates the industry judges have singled out across more than 30 award categories. Thursday brings the general public in, capped by Thursday Late, an after-work networking session with drinks that has become the show’s social anchor. Friday hosts school groups alongside regular visitors, and Saturday closes the week as the most family-friendly day.

Around the stands runs a full programme: ND Talks with leading design professionals, the ND Awards, a Design Lab, school workshops, and industry stands from the show’s sponsor roster — a list that includes John Lewis & Partners, Habitat, The Conran Shop, Marks & Spencer, WGSN, and Oliver Bonas, among many others. For exhibiting graduates there’s tailored programming, too, most notably a Portfolio Review Programme where major brands give one-to-one, real-time feedback on graduates’ portfolios and how to pitch them effectively.

Fun Fact

Homeware and furniture designer Bethan Gray — now one of the most recognizable names in British design — won an Innovation Award at New Designers as a graduate, and has said the show is what launched her career. Twenty-one years later, she returned to open the event.

Why the Industry Keeps Coming Back

Forty-plus years in, New Designers has become the design industry’s most reliable early-warning system. Trade visitors treat it as a talent-scouting trip: the UK’s top design universities, from every corner of the country, condensed into a single venue. Trend forecasters and buyers treat it as a preview of what’s coming. Deyan Sudjic, longtime director of the Design Museum, has described it as a singular place to see the pick of a generation of young designers in one room.

The press seems to agree. Recent editions have drawn coverage from Elle Decoration, The Guardian, The Times, Dezeen, Creative Boom, and ICON — the kind of attention few graduate shows anywhere in the world can claim. Organized by Immediate Live, the event has provided a launch platform for over 2,500 graduates every year since its inception, and its alumni now populate studios, brands, and workshops across the industry.

If you’re a US-based designer, buyer, or design-curious traveler planning a London trip for summer 2027, this is a strong reason to aim for that first week of July. Full programming details are announced in the spring through the official site linked at the top of this article, and exhibiting universities and graduates can find application details via the exhibit link above. For anything else, the organizers can be reached at the email listed in the overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does New Designers 2027 take place?

New Designers 2027 runs from Wednesday, June 30 through Saturday, July 3, 2027, at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. The opening Wednesday is dedicated to awards judging, trade visitors, and the Awards Preview Evening, with the show open to the general public from Thursday onward.

What will I actually see at the show?

The work of more than 2,500 hand-picked design graduates from universities across the UK, spanning thirteen disciplines — from fashion, textiles, and jewellery to furniture, product, industrial and spatial design, graphics, illustration, and game design — plus a talks programme, an awards showcase with over 30 categories, and industry stands from major brands.

Is New Designers only for design industry professionals?

No — it’s deliberately built for several audiences. Trade visitors get dedicated access and scouting opportunities, but the show also welcomes school groups, families with teenagers exploring design careers, and general design lovers. At the most recent edition, children 13 and under attended free, and concession pricing was available for students and visitors over 65.