The 2013 London Design Festival, the eleventh, brought London to life with a fascinating mix of commissioned installations, events and contributions from design studios, retailers and galleries. The V&A was the ‘hub’ of the festival and visitors to the galleries were fascinated by projects such as Omar Arbel’s intriguing chandelier of giant glass baubles which hung above the entrance, the door made of paper windmills, Swarovski lenses to enhance the detail on objects which might only be glanced at and a wonderfully theatrical dinner party by Scholten & Baijings. The Festival celebrated typographical design in style too with a Type-Tasting workshop attended by hundreds of participants, eager to create their own type faces. The festival’s landmark project was Endless Stair, a huge structure inspired by MC Escher’s surreal staircase, created in American tulipwood by Alex de Rijke of dRMM. Overlooking the Thames from its position in front of Tate Modern, the installation attracted 400,000 visitors. The Global Design Forum brought together key figures from across the design world and the London Design Medal was won by Peter Saville and eminent designer Dieter Rams won the Lifetime Achievement Medal. The London Design Festival 2014 will run from 13 – 21 September.