In May 2013, New York City held its first ever multi-disciplinary design festival. Titled NYCxDESIGN, the festival showcased New York's incredible assets in design and raised the profile of one of the most important, but underappreciated, parts of the city's economy. NYCxDESIGN has generally been regarded as a big hit, but as New York moves forward with preparations for the second edition of NYCxDESIGN this spring, our February 2014 forum discussed how to make the festival an even bigger success.

What about the 2013 design week worked well and what could be improved upon? How can NYCxDESIGN build stronger connections to the city's design firms and design universities? Are there lessons from design festivals held in London, Milan and other cities that could be adopted in NYC? What can be done to ensure that this becomes a recurring annual event that benefits both New York's design community and the city's economy?

Have a suggestion for the NYCxDESIGN steering committee or want to get involved? E-mail [email protected].

Click here (PDF) to download symposium materials including agenda, bios and other handouts.

Welcoming Remarks

• Tim Quinn, Regional Vice President, Steelcase
• Jonathan Bowles, Executive Director, Center for an Urban Future

Panel Discussion: How to Improve and Build on NYC’s First Ever Design Week

• Moderator: David Giles, Research Director, Center for an Urban Future
• Caroline Baumann, Director, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
• Kyle Kimball, President, New York City Economic Development Corporation
• Kiel Mead, Executive Vice President of Design, Fab.com
• Eddie Opara, Partner, Pentagram
• Willy Wong, Chief Creative Officer, NYC & Company

Closing Remarks

• Tom Vecchione, Board Member, Center for an Urban Future; Design Director, Gensler

This conference was generously sponsored by Steelcase.