Description:

Auckland Design Week - A Living Framework for Aotearoa’s Design Future

Auckland Design Week (ADW) is a future-focused festival that celebrates and elevates the creative energy of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa. Conceived as a platform for transformation, ADW brings together designers, thinkers, brands, retailers, and the public to explore how design informs the way we live, work, and connect - culturally, socially, and economically.

At the heart of the project was a bold ambition: to uplift the role and value of design in Aotearoa, position Auckland as a global centre of creative excellence, and support the design sector to grow, connect, and export. Drawing on deep cultural drivers and the concept of mauri - the life spark that runs through all living things - the idea was to create a vibrant, open and forward-thinking design brand that would unite disciplines, audiences, and voices under a single, living identity.

The brand purpose was clear: to instigate change through the positive power of design. With this in mind, ADW set out to create a new platform - optimistic, inclusive, and future-ready. This led to the development of a brand idea: A New Energy, A Living Spirit. These principles informed every creative and strategic decision, from the tone of the programme to the visual language of the identity.

Visually, ADW is built as a living framework - bright, bold, and adaptable. The identity uses bespoke letterforms and a modular graphic system that reflects the diversity of design disciplines while remaining cohesive and recognisable. This open-ended, energetic system ensures ADW can flex across formats, audiences, and future evolutions, including the planned expansion into Aotearoa Design Week.

In 2025, the event hit new heights. With a significantly expanded programme of exhibitions, installations, workshops, and the flagship Design Conference, ADW drew a 420% increase in event participation and a fivefold growth in international attendance. The week-long festival spanned five dedicated design precincts across the city and showcased leading local and international voices, including keynote speaker Karim Rashid. Attendees averaged 1.7 events per person, and visitor spend jumped from $1,200 to $1,800, reflecting ADW’s growing economic contribution to New Zealand’s creative industries.

More than just a celebration, ADW creates tangible value across three areas:

Cultural Value: Showcasing the unique creative identity of Aotearoa and making design accessible to all.

Social Value: Creating new spaces for cross-disciplinary connection, learning, and creative exchange.

Economic Value: Attracting global attention, encouraging export, and boosting the business of design locally and internationally.

Now trademarked and recognised globally, Auckland Design Week is more than an event - it’s a platform for creative leadership, a connector of people and ideas, and a vehicle to frame design happening in Aotearoa. It is, in every sense, a new energy for New Zealand’s creative future.