The seventh edition of Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW) saw London’s key design cluster generate over 41,000 new business leads from 34,973 visitors. With over 90 local showrooms, and more than 300 exhibiting brands, CDW brought London’s most idiosyncratic and creative quarters alive last month.

Visitors came from over 70 countries, mixing with exhibitors drawn from more than 20 countries, as CDW used its transitional year to build on its position on the international design calendar.

Sponsored by Renault for the second year, 65% of the visitors to CDW were architects or designers, confirming the show's importance for London’s creative sector. It was delivered in a unique format, including eight exhibition venues, over 150 local businesses and a series of original site-specific installations, through over 400 events.

New for 2016 was the comprehensive recalibration of the show, which stretched across Clerkenwell, masterplanned by local architecture practice OMMX. This provided a fresh outlook on both the area and the experience of visiting a business-focused design event. Eye-catching way-finding guided visitors between festival locations as they explored the new parts of Clerkenwell, to hunt out the latest in design.

Along with the geographic expansion of the exhibitions, a gateway destination to Clerkenwell’s showrooms was added at Brewhouse Yard, and The Goldsmiths’ Centre took centre stage as the show’s Live Events Hub.

The Conversations at Clerkenwell series of talks and panel discussions, sponsored by 250 City Road, included a host of design thinkers and influencers and was headlined by a specially devised salon series curated by Ineke Hans, featuring Daniel Libeskind in conversation with Patricia Moroso and Tom Dixon on his CDW installation, The Church.

The live events programme complemented a series of high-profile product launches and CDW exclusives, such as Loll’s UK debut and Layer design’s world’ first 3D printed wheelchair by Benjamin Hubert at Clerkenwell London.

Show director William Knight comments: “It has been a sensational year for Clerkenwell Design Week with a completely new layout and the introduction of exciting new venues, such as the iconic Fabric nightclub and Design Fields near Exmouth Market. The campaign ‘covered’ by Parallel, new way-finding and a strong set of installations all contributed to a memorable and transitional edition of the show.

"Much of the work is down to the commitment of creative teams and sponsors, in particular Renault and Fusion Events, Giles Miller and British Ceramic Tile, FleaFollyArchitects and Hakwood and White Arkitekter with Equitone.

"We know Clerkenwell is a dynamic and significant part of London’s design economy - our ambition is for CDW to reflect this and express this in new and original ways. The layout for the show has created a unique experience, and one which we believe will allow for sustained growth in the future.”

Clerkenwell Design Week 2017 will take place from 23rd-25th May.