Selection of Projects
Founded by Jimmy MacDonald in 2007, the London Design Fair hosted over 1000 brands, designers, curated exhibitions and country pavilions, from 27 countries annually during the London Design Festival until its sale to a US media group in 2018. At its peak in 2018, it was the largest and most international fair of the Festival, attracting over 29,000 visitors from 17 countries annually.
LONDON DESIGN FAIR
Meet Ribbon is an all in one event-tech platform that includes all visitor and exhibitor needs including: ticketing, badging, onsite and online brand and product discovery in one seamless experience and single sign in. Having discovered Ribbon as a start-up, the IDB was invited by Ribbon to create and deliver a global outreach strategy amongst organisers in the interior and fashion trade fair sectors. This role evolved to include further platform technical development and sales strategy. Ribbon has subsequently gone on to provide services to &More (USA - Blackrock), Bellagroup (Denmark), Dubai Global Connect, Copenhagen International Fashion Fair and many more.
MEET RIBBON
Invited by Fiera Milano Asia Pacific, the IDB launched FIND to be the only platform in Asia for European and ASEAN brands during the Covid-19 Pandemic whilst China was still under lockdown. The IDB developed the strategy & P&L, brought in the stakeholders, hired the team and launched the exhibition remotely from London. FIND continued to operate in Singapore for three editions until later being moved to Bangkok in 2026.
FIND: DESIGN FAIR ASIA
British Pavilion — World Design Capital Taipei / Creative Expo Taiwan 2016
International Design Bureau, led by Jimmy MacDonald, was appointed to curate and deliver the British design presentation in Taipei, selecting contemporary British designers and brands to demonstrate the strength of British craft, manufacturing and product design. The pavilion combined established and emerging talent, with Sebastian Cox × deVOL’s specially commissioned All-In-One Island forming its centrepiece, creating a strong platform for British design within Taipei’s World Design Capital programme.
BRITISH PAVILION - WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL TAIPEI
Great Chair Grab was conceived and delivered by the International Design Bureau for the British Plastics Federation. The brief was to create a landmark project demonstrating how EPS could be used beyond packaging and repositioned as a credible design material.
IDB invited Tom Dixon to create a public showcase for Trafalgar Square during the London Design Festival, demonstrating that when design is applied intelligently, EPS can become a desirable, retained product rather than a disposable material destined for landfill.
500 chairs were given away in the Great Chair Grab in Trafalgar Square, London.
The project helped broaden perceptions of EPS, highlighting its potential for applications beyond packaging and creating significant public and media visibility for the industry.
GREAT CHAIR GRAB
Adorno.design is a global platform for collectible design, connecting the world’s most compelling independent designers, makers and studios with an international audience of collectors, architects and design professionals.
Rooted in craftsmanship, material exploration and cultural storytelling, Adorno brings together distinctive work from creative communities across the globe. Through curated collections, exhibitions and digital discovery, it champions design with character, provenance and meaning — creating a contemporary meeting place where objects become stories, local perspectives reach global audiences, and the future of collectible design is continuously discovered.
ADORNO.DESIGN
Trentino Collaborations created for the Region of Trentino was a curated commercial design programme developed and delivered by the International Design Bureau as curatorial strategy and delivery partner. The project matched four leading designers with four specialist Trentino manufacturers to create new, commercially viable products:
Max Lamb (pictured above) × Pedretti Graniti — granite / stone
Sebastian Cox × L’Arte del Legno — wood / furniture
Lucy Kurrein × Molinari Design — upholstery / furniture
Giles Miller × Euro Porfidi — porphyry / natural stone
The aim was to use design as a tool for product development, international market positioning and media visibility, resulting in distinctive new products, stronger global profiles for the manufacturers, and significant international design-media coverage.
The products were launched during the London Design Festival and the collaboration between the designers and manufacturers has continued.
TRENTINO COLLABORATIONS
The International Design Bureau was appointed to find a new home for Collect, the Crafts Council’s most prestigious annual fair for international galleries and makers.
Having secured the Saatchi Gallery, the IDB was further invited to design the fair and layout for over 40 galleries across four floors for the first ever craft exhibition at Saatchi Gallery.
COLLECT ART FAIR - Saatchi Gallery
International Design Bureau was invited by Maison&Objet to curate the British Capsule, a showcase of contemporary British design positioned prominently within the Paris fair.
The initiative was conceived as more than an exhibition. Its strategic purpose was to create a stronger pathway between the UK design market and Maison&Objet, introducing British designers and brands to the fair’s international buyer, press and specification network and encouraging greater UK participation in Paris.
Curated by Jimmy MacDonald, the exhibition brought together six distinctive British design practices: Altrock Surfaces, Bethan Laura Wood, Eley Kishimoto & Floor Story, Lee Broom, Lucy Kurrein and Thomas Hancock.
Maison&Objet described the project as a panorama of British design and positioned it as a major feature of Hall 7, celebrating the strength, originality and international relevance of contemporary UK design.