Having spent time in both cities, Christina Perla found there to be distinctions between San Francisco and New York’s Design Weeks that, in a lot of ways, perfectly mirror the cities they reside in
This is as unbiased as I can be, and that’s saying something, because I’m a native New Yorker through and through. NYC is where my heart is. It’s where I live, work, and where my creative and cultural foundation was built. But after spending time in both cities and having experienced both SF and NYC Design Weeks, I have to say: I was pleasantly surprised by what San Francisco had to offer.
Last summer, I spent two months in SF. I met great people, went to a lot of events, but walked away feeling like I hadn’t made real connections.
It felt surface-level and hard to penetrate. So, going into SF Design Week this year, I tempered my expectations. What I found was something that really caught me off guard in the best way.
NYC Design Week: Craft, Emotion, and Cultural Density
New York Design Week is expansive. It doesn’t just fill a calendar, it fills the city. From Manhattan to Brooklyn, the entire week becomes a moving exhibition of creativity and craft. There’s something about NYCxDesign that feels rooted in legacy and experimentation all at once. It’s layered, and at times overwhelming but in the best way.
What stood out to me most this year was the caliber of work on display- not just from students or emerging talent (which, of course, is always exciting), but from studio leads, heads of design, and creative directors at some of the top agencies and brands in the industry. It’s rare to see senior-level creatives putting personal or team work on public display. These are people who are usually too buried in client decks, internal reviews, and team management to have time to “play”- and yet, this week, they showed up.
And the work? It was deeply intentional. Mature, but still explorative. You could feel the years of experience behind it- the kind of work that doesn’t scream for attention but holds your gaze. There was real storytelling, material experimentation, and a strong sense of authorship. It was the kind of design that doesn’t just look good- it means something.
From the thesis shows at Pratt and Parsons to ICFF to the satellite exhibitions in Dumbo and Soho, every corner of the week was curated to inspire and provoke. And it worked. I walked away from each space with this deep urge to slow down and make.
There’s something powerful about being surrounded by design that isn’t trying to sell a product, solve a UX pain point, or optimise a flow. Just pure design: expressive, emotional, unapologetically focused on form and concept. It reminds you why you got into this field in the first place.
SF Design Week: Systems, Strategy, and the Power of Conversation
Then you’ve got SF. It’s smaller, leaner, and wildly different, but no less impactful.
Where NYC is about showcasing, SF Design Week is about connecting. It’s filled with talks, panels, founder meetups, and studio tours. You’re there to talk about the why behind it, and the systems that brought it to life.
The entire week is geared toward open dialogue. Fewer exhibits, more roundtables. Less craft object, more product and process.
Design studios, tech companies and agencies across the Bay Area opened their doors, literally. We were invited inside spaces that are normally behind NDAs or tucked deep in the start-up world. We got a peek inside growing product design firms, mid-stage startups and design-forward tech companies. And not just to walk around, to actually hear how they think, build and lead.
Some of the most compelling moments were in these studio visits and tours. Hearing teams talk openly about their work, their values, their friction points. Seeing what tools they’re using, how their teams are structured, and how design is integrated into product or engineering. It wasn’t surface-level, it was refreshingly transparent.
I found myself in conversations about speculative futures, AI toolchains, industrial design for climate solutions, the ethics of emerging tech.
These weren’t just design folks either- there were hardware founders, researchers, investors, PMs, engineers. And the best part? Everyone was accessible. There wasn’t a ‘cool kids’ table. You could ask a question and actually get a thoughtful answer.
This year’s SF Design Week surprised me. I went in with low expectations, especially after spending two months in SF last summer and walking away feeling like I hadn’t broken through. This time, it was different. There was a sense of openness and intention that felt rare.
As someone building a business in this space, that kind of access- to people, ideas, spaces- is everything. It reminded me that the Bay Area, for all its fast-paced, tech-first energy, still knows how to show up for meaningful, design-led conversation. And when it does, it’s incredibly powerful.
SF may be smaller than NYC when it comes to design weeks, but it leans into its strengths. It doesn’t try to match scale- it focuses on depth. And for me, that depth is what made all the difference.
Two Cities, Two Different Focuses
In a lot of ways, these two design weeks perfectly mirror the cities they live in.
NYC is about expression. It’s intellectual, emotionally charged, steeped in history. The work is there to be seen, admired, and interpreted. It’s inspiring and expansive- it feeds your creative side.
SF is about execution. It’s network-oriented, future-forward, and fast. It asks,how can we build this? Who do we need to talk to? What system gets it done? It feeds your entrepreneurial side.
As a founder, I found both experiences valuable, but in completely different ways. NYC refilled my creative tank. SF gave me forward motion.
NYC left me creatively inspired, awed by the sheer quality of design work, and more reflective about my own practice, while SF left me with actual follow-ups, new people in my orbit, and a stronger connection to the design-meets-tech world.
So if you’re building something at the intersection of design and business, go to both if you can. But go in knowing what you’re there to get. And if you’ve done both, I’d love to hear your take. What city resonates more with where you’re at in your journey?
Christina Perla is , and the Co-Founder and CEO of Makelab, where she has built a thriving digital manufacturing company specialising in high-quality prototyping and low-volume production.
Under her leadership, Makelab has expanded operations to become bi-coastal, optimised digital workflows, and strengthened partnerships with leading brands in robotics, aerospace, medical devices, and industrial design.
With a background in industrial design, Christina brings a unique perspective to manufacturing, combining technical expertise with a deep understanding of product development cycles. Her leadership extends beyond Makelab—she is actively engaged in industry discussions, partnerships, and thought leadership to advance the adoption of digital fabrication technologies.
