The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), North America’s annual platform for global design, will be 25 in 2013. To celebrate its silver anniversary at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, May 18-21, the ICFF is mapping the frontier of what’s best and what’s next in design more fully, in greater detail, and more innovatively than ever before. Within an anticipated 145,000 net square feet (13,500 net square meters), it expects to host more than 500 exhibitors from more than 30 countries, 10 contingents, 9 special features, and more than 26,000 attendees. It may well exceed those estimates, given the unprecedented momentum of early confirmations from exhibitors and contingents. To date, Artek USA, Bernhardt Design, Brizo, Fermob, Jake Dyson LLP, molo, Rich Brilliant Willing, Tom Dixon, and Vitra have committed to showing. Contingents Inside Norway and Interiors from Spain have also assured that they’ll be there on the ICFF floor.

A key feature of the ICFF’s focus on innovation is the introduction of fabricators. For starters? Design whiz Tom Dixon will collaborate with the high-tech company Trumpf on an ICFF-exclusive product that explores Dixon’s creativity and Trumpf’s remarkable sheet-metal processing and laser-based production capabilities – in real time. In a unique product-development program, the ICFF will match material and fabricator exhibitors with select designers to develop ICFF-exclusive product for the inauguration of Material Makers™, a special features exhibit.

What’s the future of design? The ICFF gives some insight into that pressing question each year with its Schools and ICFF Studio programs. Both have already put out a call for entries with a December 15 deadline.

The ICFF Opening Night Party is the design world’s can’t-miss event each ICFF. This year’s festivities are slated for Saturday, May 18 at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). To be celebrated that night is the launch of the MoMA Design Store program Destination: NYC - Made in the USA, promoting designers living and working in New York City's five boroughs. The ICFF is the exclusive sponsor of Destination: NYC - Made in the USA.

New York-based 2x4 has developed a graphic program and design system with an eye-catching color palette and silver highlight for this year’s ICFF motto: 25 Years of Design, 25 Years of Ideas, 25 Years of Innovation, 25 Years of ICFF.