New Zealand
Festival of Design
16–25 October 2026
Whanganui & Palmerston North
Celebrating how design shapes life in Aotearoa.
New Zealand Festival of Design (NZFD) is a national festival celebrating how design shapes life in Aotearoa and beyond, from the streets we walk to the products we use to the systems we rely on and the stories we tell. Launching in October 2026 and anchored in Whanganui, Aotearoa’s UNESCO City of Design, with events across Whanganui-Manawatū, the festival will bring together designers, technologists, businesses, and communities. NZFD is where big ideas meet everyday life, inviting everyone, from practising designers to the simply curious, to see, test, and co-create the future of design in Aotearoa.
What to expect
Exhibitions and installations
Talks, panels and labs
Workshops and live performances
Public activations across the city
Who it’s for
Designers, makers, artists, businesses, educators, students, iwi partners, public sector – and anyone curious about how design can shape better futures.