Los Angeles Design Festival (LADF) Announces 2025 Dates and Programming
Los Angeles, CA, February 28, 2025 --(PR.com)-- The Los Angeles Design Festival (LADF) is set to return from June 26-29, 2025, with a bold new theme: Design Futurism. This year’s city-wide celebration of design will explore how design shapes the future of human experience, gathering visionaries, creators, and communities to spark dialogue and innovation across various design disciplines.
Since its founding in 2011, LADF has championed Los Angeles as a global design capital, fostering accessibility and inclusivity across all creative fields. The four-day festival will feature exhibitions, installations, panel discussions, workshops, studio tours, and city-wide activations, connecting local talent with global creative industries.
“Los Angeles is a city shaped by memory, imagination, and the hands of those who build, rebuild, and define,” says LADF Executive Director, Erika Abrams. “The 2025 festival will explore how design serves as both a reflection of our past and a tool for shaping what’s next—whether by reviving ancestral knowledge, preserving the spirit of this city, or speculating on the futures ahead."
2025 Theme: Design Futurism
Design Futurism is not about predicting the future—it’s about creating it. This year’s theme challenges designers to reimagine how we connect, create, and challenge existing narratives, focusing on human-centered innovation beyond technological spectacle. From architecture and UX/UI to environmental and systems design, LADF 2025 invites participants to experiment fearlessly and imagine new possibilities for Los Angeles and beyond.
Programming HighlightsLADF 2025 will present an exciting lineup of curated tracks and interactive experiences at key venues across the city, including ROW DTLA, Helms Bakery District (Culver City), DTLB, and Art Center Pasadena. Programming includes:
Thursday (June 26): Emerging Designers & Awards Night
Spotlight on students, recent graduates, career switchers, and self-taught creatives.
Exhibitions, installations, and panel discussions.
LADF Awards recognizing innovation across categories: ICON, EDGE, EMERGE, and COMMUNITY.
Friday (June 27): City-Wide Activations & Block Party
Studio tours, exhibitions, installations, and presentations.
Evening block party with music, food, and open-access spaces.
Saturday & Sunday (June 28-29): Keynotes, Workshops & Salons
Full-day programming at all locations, featuring keynote speakers, workshops, and design salons.
Silent spaces for reflection and immersive experiences.
Saturday Night: Design Dinner – an intimate gathering of industry leaders and visionaries.
Curated Festival Tracks
LADF 2025 will feature four major content tracks, each offering a unique perspective on design’s evolving role:
L.A. Forever (Co-curated by Frances Anderton) – Examining design’s role in shaping a resilient, sustainable Los Angeles post-wildfires.
Revenge of Analog – Celebrating the resurgence of analog media, craftsmanship, and tactile design in a digital era.
The Ancestors Have Answers – Exploring indigenous and ancestral design knowledge as solutions to contemporary challenges.
I Have Seen the Future – A deep dive into cutting-edge advancements in AI, robotics, and emergent technologies.
Additional Perspectives & Global Insights
Beyond the core tracks, LADF will explore cross-cultural design, advocacy, material innovation, fashion as a design language, everyday design, and the intersection of food and design. A special focus on the 2028 Olympics will highlight how design can shape the city’s infrastructure and cultural identity ahead of the global event.
Get Involved
The Los Angeles Design Festival invites all designers, thinkers, and makers to participate through sponsorship, community partnership, or submitting event proposals at ladesignfestival.org. Whether through attending events, showcasing work, or engaging in conversations, LADF 2025 is an opportunity to craft an intentional, design-driven future.
For more information about the 2025 Los Angeles Design Festival, please visit www.ladesignfestival.org.
Since its founding in 2011, LADF has championed Los Angeles as a global design capital, fostering accessibility and inclusivity across all creative fields. The four-day festival will feature exhibitions, installations, panel discussions, workshops, studio tours, and city-wide activations, connecting local talent with global creative industries.
“Los Angeles is a city shaped by memory, imagination, and the hands of those who build, rebuild, and define,” says LADF Executive Director, Erika Abrams. “The 2025 festival will explore how design serves as both a reflection of our past and a tool for shaping what’s next—whether by reviving ancestral knowledge, preserving the spirit of this city, or speculating on the futures ahead."
2025 Theme: Design Futurism
Design Futurism is not about predicting the future—it’s about creating it. This year’s theme challenges designers to reimagine how we connect, create, and challenge existing narratives, focusing on human-centered innovation beyond technological spectacle. From architecture and UX/UI to environmental and systems design, LADF 2025 invites participants to experiment fearlessly and imagine new possibilities for Los Angeles and beyond.
Programming HighlightsLADF 2025 will present an exciting lineup of curated tracks and interactive experiences at key venues across the city, including ROW DTLA, Helms Bakery District (Culver City), DTLB, and Art Center Pasadena. Programming includes:
Thursday (June 26): Emerging Designers & Awards Night
Spotlight on students, recent graduates, career switchers, and self-taught creatives.
Exhibitions, installations, and panel discussions.
LADF Awards recognizing innovation across categories: ICON, EDGE, EMERGE, and COMMUNITY.
Friday (June 27): City-Wide Activations & Block Party
Studio tours, exhibitions, installations, and presentations.
Evening block party with music, food, and open-access spaces.
Saturday & Sunday (June 28-29): Keynotes, Workshops & Salons
Full-day programming at all locations, featuring keynote speakers, workshops, and design salons.
Silent spaces for reflection and immersive experiences.
Saturday Night: Design Dinner – an intimate gathering of industry leaders and visionaries.
Curated Festival Tracks
LADF 2025 will feature four major content tracks, each offering a unique perspective on design’s evolving role:
L.A. Forever (Co-curated by Frances Anderton) – Examining design’s role in shaping a resilient, sustainable Los Angeles post-wildfires.
Revenge of Analog – Celebrating the resurgence of analog media, craftsmanship, and tactile design in a digital era.
The Ancestors Have Answers – Exploring indigenous and ancestral design knowledge as solutions to contemporary challenges.
I Have Seen the Future – A deep dive into cutting-edge advancements in AI, robotics, and emergent technologies.
Additional Perspectives & Global Insights
Beyond the core tracks, LADF will explore cross-cultural design, advocacy, material innovation, fashion as a design language, everyday design, and the intersection of food and design. A special focus on the 2028 Olympics will highlight how design can shape the city’s infrastructure and cultural identity ahead of the global event.
Get Involved
The Los Angeles Design Festival invites all designers, thinkers, and makers to participate through sponsorship, community partnership, or submitting event proposals at ladesignfestival.org. Whether through attending events, showcasing work, or engaging in conversations, LADF 2025 is an opportunity to craft an intentional, design-driven future.
For more information about the 2025 Los Angeles Design Festival, please visit www.ladesignfestival.org.
Contact
LA Design Festival
Christine Joo
562-882-5648
ladesignfestival.org
Christine Joo
562-882-5648
ladesignfestival.org
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