This year's London Design Festival was a quiet affair with designers, brands and organisations combining modest physical presences with digital experiments amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The pared-back festival, which ran from 12 to 20 September, featured a smattering of shows around the city. Participants reported low footfall but a positive mood at one of the first architecture and design events to take place since lockdown.
It came shortly after the rescheduled 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, where attendees reported a "celebratory" mood, and coincided with Open House London, which completely revamped its programme due to the "fiendish challenge" posed by the pandemic.
At LDF, many events moved entirely online with the annual London Design Medals dinner replaced with a virtual picnic, with guests provided with hampers of food to eat while they watched proceedings from home via Zoom. Meetings replace parties
Instead of hosting glitzy showroom parties, design brands invested in digital showcases and held invitation-only, face-to-face briefings with journalists and clients. Some said this was more effective than the open-door policy of previous years.
"What we've found is that it's easier to tell the story behind the products on a more personal basis," said Sara Nosrati, head of communications at Italian furniture brand Cassina.
"That creates a stronger connection rather than having 300 people at a cocktail party where maybe they don't get...