Discovering the 'In-Between' Where Things Are Born: Design Festival 'Featured Projects 2026' Launches Website and Announces Programs

Featured Projects Co., Ltd. (Representative Directors: Sonomi Satoru, Ayumi Goto; hereinafter 'Featured Projects'), operating under the belief that 'good creation opens tomorrow,' will host the third edition of its design festival, 'Featured Projects 2026,' from Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27, 2026, at KOKUYO Co., Ltd.'s Tokyo Shinagawa Office, 'THE CAMPUS.'

This event aims to bring together diverse professionals involved in creation—designers and beyond—to broaden perspectives, create, and share through encounters with people, works, and insights. This marks Featured Projects Co., Ltd.'s first major festival since becoming independent from Inquire Co., Ltd. in March 2025, operating under a new organizational structure.

2026 Theme: The 'In-Between' Where Things Are Born

In today's world, technological advancements—especially AI—allow anyone to easily access outputs. Input leads to output; choice leads to delivery. While polished final products are seamlessly delivered, opportunities to engage with the 'process' and 'trial and error' behind them may be diminishing.

In 2026, the focus will be on the people, technologies, and overlapping thoughts present in the 'in-between'—the space before a final form emerges. We believe that by re-examining not just the end result, but also the process leading to it, we can discover new ways of engaging with objects, technologies, and people.

Six Accessible Programs for Diverse Interests

This year, the festival updates its traditional programs with 'dialogue' as the core, offering an experience designed to help participants understand and feel the 'in-between' where things are born.

Talk Session Multiple talk sessions will be held, featuring guest designers and creators from various fields, centered around this year's theme.

Creators Market Approximately 50 cross-disciplinary creators will exhibit. Visitors can enjoy discovering diverse products while engaging in direct conversations with makers.

Exhibition Exhibitions will include process-focused displays themed around 'the in-between where things are born,' poster exhibitions by sponsor companies, and an installation that uses AI to analyze emotions from photographs and visually represent true feelings. These exhibitions allow visitors to engage not only with final forms but also with the underlying thought processes.

Workshop Collaborative workshops with companies and creators will allow visitors to become makers themselves and experience the joy of creation. Programs suitable for children and families are also available.

Table Talk [NEW] An intimate, dialogue-based program where around 15 participants gather around a guest, enjoying tea while discussing a specific theme.

Live Performance [NEW] A program offering close-up experiences of the energy and intensity during the moment of creation—such as live art-making, VJ, and DJ performances.

Event Overview

Name Featured Projects 2026

Dates September 25 (Fri), 2026: 12:00–18:00 September 26 (Sat), 2026: 12:00–19:00 September 27 (Sun), 2026: 12:00–19:00

Venue KOKUYO Tokyo Shinagawa Office 'THE CAMPUS' https://the-campus.net

Access 1-8-35 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8710 https://maps.app.goo.gl/YNKb3kB3ob6KS4DG9

Organizer Featured Projects Co., Ltd.

Special Sponsor KOKUYO Co., Ltd.

Admission Advance Ticket: ¥1,500 On-site Ticket: ¥2,000 Student Ticket: ¥1,000 Individual Supporter Ticket: ¥10,000

Official Website https://2026.featuredprojects.jp

Ticket Purchase https://featuredprojects2026.peatix.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fp_designing

X (formerly Twitter) https://x.com/fp_designing

Threads https://www.threads.net/@fp_designing

Programs, exhibitors, and speakers will be announced gradually from mid-July to late September. For detailed information, visit the official website. Follow our social media for the latest updates.

Ticket Information

To attend 'Featured Projects 2026,' an 'Admission Ticket' is required (Paid: ¥1,500 advance, ¥2,000 on-site, ¥1,000 for students).

Additionally, separate 'Program Tickets' may be required to participate in Talk Sessions, Workshops, Meetups, Table Talks, and Live Performances.

Admission Ticket: https://featuredprojects2026.peatix.com Program Tickets: https://peatix.com/group/11755647/events

Featured Projects 2026 | Design Concept

Inspired by this year's theme, 'the in-between where things are born,' the design concept focuses on the continuous trials, errors, and accumulations inherent in the creative process. This year, we explore the 'in-between' as perceived by individual creators, translating it into visual, web, video, and spatial expressions.

The main visual draws inspiration from a flower stand with plants and a concrete block whose color changes when wet. Each watering alters how text appears and how stains spread, with various states accumulating as part of the process. This visual captures a single moment emerging from that continuous process—not merely an intermediate state, but a completed form standing atop a series of accumulated experiences.

Featured Projects 2026 | Staff Credits

- Art Direction, Design: Hiroyuki Yamaguchi - Graphic Design: Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, Sonomi Satoru - FP MONO: R-Typography, Sonomi Satoru - Web Direction, Design: Kento Goto - Web Development: boko - Spatial Design: Ayami Uchima - Video: Gaku Uemura - Photography (Main Visual): Kohei Kaniya - Technical Support (Main Visual): Fumiya Nakao - Plants (Main Visual): Hidenori Shigona - Project Management: Rio Tanizaki - Staff Leader: Rina Yasuda - Market Operations: Tominaga Hirayama - Exhibition Operations: Ue