Themes expected and unexpected/
Themes expected and unexpected emerged; from gorillas (courtesy of Studio Job at Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Bronze Age at Southern Guild) to mobius strips (as jewelry crafted by Gijs Bakker at Caroline Van Hoek, woven in bamboo by Shouchiku Tanabe at Pierre Marie Giraud, and 3D printed by Janne Kyttanen at Gallery VIVID). The work of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne could be seen both as furniture – in the display of works from Peter Marino’s collection – and as jewelry made of copper and bronze with Louisa Guinness. Indeed bronze in general was a theme material of the fair, appearing on social media under #designmiami #bronzeage. The work of North American designers was a notable presence – via galleries including Johnson Trading Gallery, Edward Cella Art+Architecture, Gallery Diet and Volume Gallery. This theme was also highlighted by a panel exploring new American design at the Design Talks Studio.

Design Miami/ also enjoyed a visible increase in Latin American design, with pieces by Lina Bo Bardi and Joaquim Tenreiro at R & Company, Hechizoo and Sebastian Errazuriz at Cristina Grajales Gallery and the Campana Brothers at Galleria O.

Design Commission/
This year a young designer from Minneapolis – Jonathan Muecke – received the Design Commission to create the fair’s pavilion. A circular structure painted intense tones of blue and yellow on the exterior and red and green within, the elegant, photogenic design rapidly became a popular spot for photographers and provided some much needed tranquility away from the bustle of the fair.

Collaborations and satellites/
This edition saw some notably inventive design collaborations from the fair’s partners, including mischer’traxler’s enchanting Ephemerā installation with Perrier-Jouët, for which responsive plants grew out of mirrors and an oak table top; Jeanne Gang and James Balog’s Thinning Ice, a poignant but captivating meditation on global warming for Swarovski; Audi’s first concept car from new Head of Design Marc Lichte; and Dimore Studio’s warm and seductive Roman Lounge for Fendi. Book signings and special appearances by David Adjaye, Theaster Gates and Marella Chia, to name but a few, took place in ARTBOOK’s display space, this year featuring a special selection of fine, rare and vintage reads chosen by Wes De Val.

Prominent visitors gave particular praise this year to the strength of the gallery exhibitions, the brand collaborations, the well-designed layout, and the quality of the design talks - citing this as the best edition of the fair yet.