Program Library

Design is the undercurrent to our lives. But how do you create experiences that touch myriad people, with different needs, goals, and interests? Today, innovation in design is critical to the lifeblood of creators, and a top priority for clients and consumers alike. Creating and designing inclusive spaces and experiences doesn't happen by accident.

Annie Jean-Baptiste is a business disrupting tech executive who builds for the 21st century needs of consumers. She transforms companies into human centered, authentic brands that can tap into unlocked growth opportunities. She’s brought her forward-looking, data driven approach to game-changing products serving billions of customers globally. Her talk demonstrated how designers of all kinds can leverage lived experiences to fuel innovation, creating more holistic experiences for everyone.

Design is one of the most powerful forces in our lives, and the most exciting. Alice Rawsthorn, author of Design as an Attitude and cofounder of the Design Emergency Podcast, shared her vision of design at NeoCon 2025 as an eclectic, open-ended agent of change that can help us all to live safely, fairly, and prosperously by developing ingenious solutions to the complex social, economic, and ecological challenges we face. She also explored how the NeoCon community can benefit from this new concept of design at a time when we are becoming increasingly sophisticated in our expectations of the spaces where we work and play.

What will the future of public space look like – and how will design address the evolving needs of the next generation, starting today? IIDA and our Futurist-in-Residence, Mark Bryan of the Future Today Strategy Group, convene an all-star panel for a research-based exploration of how the spaces of the future can create a sense of welcome and a sense of agency for all. They shared a deeply relevant discussion that ranges from neuroscience to cultural competence, and includes actionable insights and strategies that will shape public space for decades to come.

Four years after offices shut down for the pandemic and working from home became commonplace, the debate rages on as to whether employees need to return to a literal office to innovate.

For this lively discussion, we’ve assembled perspectives from an office designer, corporate end user and workforce strategist, who established, not just if we are returning to the old way of work but what a progressive future of work could be.

In this panel discussion, attendees discovered how the upper floors of the Macy’s building were transformed into office space for a food ingredients company and, how an old bank building in Chicago’s Financial District became the new HQ for a software firm. Both were designed to make employees truly want to get back to the office in this post-pandemic hybrid work environment.

Imagine stepping into a space that makes you feel calm and focused—a space that feels restorative. This is the profound impact of the ScienceDesignLab’s innovative work in fractal-based designs. Dr. Richard Taylor, Anastasija Lesjak and Martin Lesjak- founding members of the ScienceDesignLab, an international collaboration of scientists, artists and designers shared how they have channeled the power of these intricate, stress-reducing, and repeating patterns found in nature to create fractal-based designs scientifically proven to reduce stress, enhance creativity and promote wellbeing.

Achieving neuroinclusion in the workplace requires an integrated corporate culture built upon intentional strategies covering design standards through operational policies. In this featured presentation, subject matter experts drew upon their deep experience and research to share best practices in designing for a neuroinclusive environment and supporting a neurodivergent workforce.

Attendees gained insight on how creating a neuroinclusive environment celebrates various ways of thinking and the value this brings to a corporate culture.

Relevant topics such as inclusivity and connectivity are top of mind for interior designers and end users alike when creating spaces of consequence. What do these themes mean when put into action and practice through design? How can we co-create a new definition of design that encompasses these goals?

Attendees received an aspirational panel discussion with industry leaders from the ASIDx10 Collective. The collective is comprised of interior designers and industry partners that share insights about the A&D community through the lens of Live, Work, Learn, Play, and Heal.

Designing a Better Chicago highlights our city’s extraordinary design legacy — the local talent, resources, and community efforts that have long advanced civic good through design. Launched in 2020 with the NeoCon Design Impact grant program and expanded in 2024 through the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Built Environment grant program, this initiative celebrates the individuals, organizations, public art, and programs that shape Chicago. It invites residents and visitors to reflect on how design improves civic life. In this presentation, the 2025 grant winners shared their work, the impact they are making on Chicago, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.