About Us

Festival 2026

“Change” : 10th–12th June 2026

For our eighth year we took the lead from a changing industry, with the biggest change to BDF since 2019. A new district and over 80 speakers all sharing their thoughts on ‘Change’.

A changing industry

The festival of 2026 brought a moment of reflection on a changing world and a changing design industry.

We encouraged speakers from around the world to discuss how change has shaped their careers, their workflows and their perceptions across a new look festival as BDF embraced changed by introducing the Analogue district, a new home for all things made and tactile.

Once again the festival was filled from attendees from across the globe for an experience you truly only get at BDF.

Highlights

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“Hands down one of the most wholesome, coolest and best evenings of my life. Met so many like-minded people, got my book signed, a photo with James and he was just the best, most generous human being”

BDF 2026 Attendee

Speakers

Aneesh Bhoopathy

Designer at Forge Design

Nellie Scott

Executive Director at Corita Art Center

Barrie Gower

Prosthetic Makeup Designer & Creative Director of BGFX

Sarah Gower

Co-Director of BGFX

Led By Donkeys

Akiko Stehrenberger

Artist & Designer

Cold War Steve

Artist

James Ortiz

Director & Puppet Designer

Lou Downe

Founding director of the School of Good Services

Barrington Reeves

Creative Director & Founder of Too Gallus

Samar Maakaroun

Partner at Pentagram

Danny Miller

CEO at Human After All

Myungeun Kim

Senior Motion Designer at Buff Motion

Viv Greywoode

Head of Design at Stink Studios

Nicholas Hulley & Nadja Lossgott

Chief Creative Officers of AMV BBDO

Kevin McCaul & Emma Hetherington

Allies

Laura Tofarides

Stop Motion Director & Animator

Kaye Symington

Chief Marketing Officer at Newspaper Club

James White

Illustrator and Art Director • Signalnoise

Sachini Imbuldeniya & Darren Smith

Co-founders of House of Oddities (HOO)

Dom Edwards

Co-founder of The Arena

Lauren Archer

Co-founder of The Arena

Tudinh Duong

Founding Partner & CEO of Made by ON

Yukai Du

Illustrator, Animator

Matt Baxter

Founder, Baxter & Bailey

Dom Bailey

Founder, Baxter & Bailey

Meg Fatharly

Collage, Print, Words and Handmade Art

Papa Akuffo

Director, Product at Projects by IF

Karen Hughes & Khadija Kapacee

Co-founders of EDIT Brand Studio

David Johnston

Founder, Accept & Proceed

Amy Louise Evans

Illustrator

Mayokun Ogungbola

Product Designer at Just Eat

Matt Redway

Sr. Creative Director at PlayStation

Mary Hemingway

Founder of Design by Women

Rich Rhodes

Executive Creative Director at SomeOne™

Simon Manchipp

Founder of SomeOne™

Elise Foster Vander Elst

Head of Exhibitions & Environmental Impact Lead, the Design Museum

Graeme McGowan

Co-Founder & Strategy Director of Jamhot

Oonagh & Jenny Simms

The Marshmallowist

Mat Voyce

Type Design & Motion

Cesca Hadland

Writer + Creative at Reed Words

Sabrina Shim

Writer at Reed Words

Mark Murphy

Artist and Designer

Alison Richings

Wayfinding Design Director, Endpoint

Allister Malcolm

Glass Artist

Serlina Small

Designer at Substrakt

Ellmer Stefan

Type Designer, The Pyte Foundry

Alice Bishop

Senior Designer at Rokabye

Jan Waterston

Artist, Designer, and Fine Furniture Maker

Matt Caldwell & Alice Fraser

Monday Nights

Shaqa Bovand

Type Designer at F37 Foundry

UUendy Lau (UU)

Illustrator, Designer & Installation Artist

Sean Rees

Creative Director and Co-Founder of Create With Meaning

Mohammed Ali

Artist

Laura Smith

Designer and researcher, Unboxed

Dr William Bradlow

Cardiologist, University Hospital Birmingham

Dauvit Alexander

Quartermasters

Chris Randall

Creative Director at Second Home Studios

Olivia Ricketts

Dual Works

Steve Snell

Dual Works

Craftspace

Karoline Rerrie

Illustrator & Printmaker

John Joseph Holt

Founder, Creative Director & Editor-in-Chief of LAW

Frankie Ratford

Interior Designer & Entrepreneur

Liz West

Sponsors

Main partners

District partners

Media

Community

Supporters