In a world of tradeshows based in anonymous exhibition halls, Clerkenwell Design Week stands out for the way it takes over an entire district of London. Its venues include the historic Charterhouse complex dating back to the 14th century, and St Bartholomew the Greatchurch with its 900-year old nave.
This is all really working for it commercially:
38,885 professional visitors (an increase on previous years)
20 curated exhibition venues
300+ international design brands
160+ local showrooms
And creatively, this works too. Here is an overview of key themes, trends and innovations from the show.
Themes
The overarching themes of the 2026 festival were “Sustainability and Sound”.
The Clerkenwell canary
The “Canary Clock Tower” installation, designed by George King Architects. Clerkenwell Design Week’s description explains: “Just as a traditional clock reveals the passage of time, this tower reveals air quality in real time through a series of simple analogue dials made from recycled plastic.”
From the ‘Circular pathways to certification’ session by Aquafil and Design Milk: environmental certifications are no longer perceived as mere marketing tools; they actively increase the capital value of commercial assets, command higher rental yields, reduce operating costs, and are frequently required by institutional investors mitigating climate risk.
Walking the walk
By utilising highly durable, recycled plastic boards that can be easily updated with vinyl, swapped between locations, or fully recycled post-event, the graphic design and operational teams successfully aligned the festival’s massive logistical infrastructure with its overarching theme of environmental sustainability.
The ‘Remake, Reuse, Revalue’ panel examined whether the pivot toward furniture reuse and remanufacturing is primarily driven by environmental responsibility, or pragmatic commercial sense. The consensus from the discourse was that these two motivations are fundamentally symbiotic.
Installations
An opportunity to elevate products into sculptural artworks, and create social media opportunities.
Products
Barbie X Hewi bathroom accessories collection: a novel use of brand licensing
Storytelling through products
Karta’s recycled leather flooring features prints of wood floors from specific heritage buildings
Another Country and Goldfinger’s bespoke bookcase made from ‘treecycled’ elm, stamped with the exact GPS coordinates of where the tree once stood, told a unique story about the provenance of the material.
Activations
Wellness and sustainability were key themes for activations and marketing
Amtico’s wellness retreat theme applied throughout their showroom and office space
Wagstaff & Umbrella Furniture hosted highly popular, oversubscribed “Puppy Therapy” sessions
Altro seed planting activation - messy but well attended!
Taylor Maxwell’s darts activation, inspired by their sponsorship of the world’s no. 2 ranked darts player
Milliken turned their certification journey into a primary activation, offering RIBA-accredited CPD tours titled “The Journey to WELL Platinum”
Milliken also hosted a sustainability-themed Mary Portas talk at their showroom
Digital activations
Bisley: launched the “BeSmart Innovation Hub”. Their activation focused heavily on smart systems, connected storage, and
AI-assisted workplace journeys, which they promoted alongside a panel discussion featuring AI and smart-space experts.
VitrA ran virtual reality experience sessions.
Iris Ceramica Group utilised digital installations in their exterior windows to attract passers-by, while the ground floor featured an augmented reality experience allowing visitors to discover the hidden, eco-active properties of their Active Surfaces®.
Laufen introduced a virtual space that took visitors on an “immersive digital journey” into dreamlike, futuristic bathroom environments designed in collaboration with experiential designers and architects.
Arrow Group: to engage both in-person and remote audiences, Arrow Group commissioned an interactive 3D virtual tour of their showroom on the Matterport platform.
Villeroy & Boch and Ideal Standard: dynamic digital projection mapping, light, texture, and scent to challenge traditional perceptions of the bathroom environment.
Showroom: Interface
Themed areas within the showroom based around different types of flooring, movable display units enable different configurations
Branded bicycle outside the showroom is a nice touch
Bright archways signpost the showroom from the street
Showrooms and pop-ups
Exhibition stands
Exhibition stand: Colorville
The gelato-themed Colorville stand was tactile, light-hearted and a great ice-breaker to encourage people to approach the stand and talk to staff there
Exhibition stands
Ecousta let their products market themselves, with bespoke installations cut from their acoustic board, with laser-etched typography
Gerberit’s modern display contrasted effectively with the historic setting
Printed collateral
A move away from passive brochure distribution has been observed compared to past years, though printed materials are still more prevalent at CDW than at many other trade shows.
With sustainability being such a high priority, printed collateral needs to meet the highest environmental standards too.
Inspired? Contact us to discuss how some of the themes and techniques shown here could be relevant to your brand.