About - NZ Design Week 2027

Mission

New Zealand Design Week exists to connect people through design, bringing Aotearoa to the world and the world to Aotearoa.

An inclusive celebration of every design discipline, made for industry, for creatives, and for the design-curious. Held annually, NZDW runs nine days of exhibitions, talks, workshops and events supporting innovation and commercial growth.

The NZ Design Awards is the other half of the platform. Where the festival shows the work, the Awards judge it. The NZ Interior Awards is the founding programme, with the Open Brief opening the field further, with more to follow.

Between them they cover architects and object-makers, digital designers and spatial thinkers, fashion creatives and furniture builders, storytellers and strategists, and anyone who simply loves what they make.

History

Formerly Auckland Design Week, NZ Design Week was founded in 2023 by Jen Jones, a construction leader, media voice and longtime advocate for Aotearoa's design community.

It was created to give designers a platform to connect, collaborate and be seen, and has grown into a nationally recognised event drawing international speakers, industry partners and thousands of attendees.

The first NZ Interior Awards followed in 2026, and the NZ Design Awards now stands as a platform of its own: a judged counterpart to the festival, with its own trophy, jury and calendar.

There’s incredible work happening here - but not always the infrastructure to support it. NZDW was created to give the design community something of its own. A week to show up, stand out, and be part of something bigger.