UN-BRIEFED · TRACE
TRACE
International Open-Call Exhibition Presented as Part of NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026
Featured on NYCxDESIGN
TRACE is a process-driven international open-call exhibition presented by UN-BRIEFED as part of NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026. Presented online from April 21 to May 20, 2026, TRACE brought together architecture, spatial photography, UX/UI, fine art, illustration, digital fabrication, light wood construction, and material experimentation to examine how space can be interpreted, recorded, and reimagined through contemporary design practice.
International Reach and Curatorial Review
TRACE was developed through an international open call that received 50 group submissions representing approximately 85 artists, designers, and creative practitioners from five countries and regions. Participants represented a broad range of disciplines, including architecture, interior design, fine art, sculpture, UX/UI design, photography, and graphic design. Following curatorial review, 10 groups were selected for inclusion in the final exhibition.
The curatorial process shaped a focused multidisciplinary exhibition centered on experimentation and distinctive approaches to space and visual culture. The selected works brought together perspectives from different creative fields and geographic backgrounds, reinforcing TRACE's international and cross-disciplinary character.
Recognition Through NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026
TRACE's inclusion in NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026 placed the exhibition within one of New York City's most prominent annual design platforms and within a citywide program reaching an international professional design community. NYCxDESIGN identifies its Festival as "The Official New York Design Week" and states that the 2026 edition featured more than 250 hosted events, together with major design fairs, exhibitions, installations, talks, keynotes, tours, launches, and receptions across the city. Its programming spans architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design, product and industrial design, graphic design, lighting and sound design, technology, art, and entertainment by design.
The official 2026 Festival archive describes the event as bringing together a diverse global design community across New York City. The Festival's industry prominence is further reflected in dedicated 2026 coverage by major international design publications. Wallpaper* described NYCxDESIGN as "the biggest city-wide celebration of design in North America" and published a dedicated guide to the 2026 edition. Architizer likewise published a curated guide to NYCxDESIGN 2026 and served as an official NYCxDESIGN media partner, while Interior Design extensively covered the 2026 NYCxDESIGN Awards and the Festival's broader impact on New York's design community. TRACE's official inclusion therefore connected the exhibition to a citywide design platform with international participation, multidisciplinary reach, and substantial industry visibility.
Curatorial Leadership
TRACE was curated by Yan Huo and Yuqing Huang. Yan Huo is an architectural designer, curator, and interdisciplinary design researcher whose work has received recognition through the INDE.Awards, New York Architectural & Interior Design Awards, Dezeen Awards, and The 6th Bauhaus Award International Design Award. Her work has also been presented through international design events including London Design Festival 2025 and Shanghai Design Week 2025.
As Founder and Curator of UN-BRIEFED, Yan Huo brought together architectural practice, curatorial research, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in shaping TRACE as an international platform for contemporary spatial practice.
Yuqing Huang is a product and experience designer, curator, and interdisciplinary creative practitioner whose work spans digital products, UX/UI, visual communication, and experience design. Her work has been featured by design media and presented to international audiences. Her practice focuses on translating complex ideas into engaging and cohesive experiences across digital and cultural contexts.
As Co-Founder and Experience Director of UN-BRIEFED, Yuqing Huang shaped TRACE's curatorial direction, digital strategy and audience experience. She led the development of the exhibition's online environment and translated its curatorial framework into a cohesive experience for an international audience.
Audience Reach and Measurable Platform Growth
TRACE also produced measurable audience growth for UN-BRIEFED's digital presence. Following the exhibition's launch and promotion, UN-BRIEFED's official Instagram account attracted more than 600 followers. This growth, together with TRACE's international applicant pool and official NYCxDESIGN Festival inclusion, demonstrates the exhibition's ability to reach beyond the participating designers themselves and engage a broader design audience.
Why TRACE Matters
TRACE TRACE combined an international applicant pool, a structured curatorial review process, official participation in NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026, and measurable audience growth. The open call received 50 submissions representing approximately 85 artists, designers, and creative practitioners from five countries and regions, with 10 submissions selected for presentation in the final exhibition. Together with the visibility provided by New York City's official design week and the expansion of UN-BRIEFED's digital audience, these factors demonstrate the growing reach and influence of UN-BRIEFED's curatorial initiatives.
UN-BRIEFED · TRACE
TRACE
International Open-Call Exhibition Presented as Part of NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026
TRACE is a process-driven international open-call exhibition presented by UN-BRIEFED as part of NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026. Presented online from April 21 to May 20, 2026, TRACE brought together architecture, spatial photography, UX/UI, fine art, illustration, digital fabrication, light wood construction, and material experimentation to examine how space can be interpreted, recorded, and reimagined through contemporary design practice.
International Reach and Curatorial Review
TRACE was developed through an international open call that received 50 group submissions representing approximately 85 artists, designers, and creative practitioners from five countries and regions. Participants represented a broad range of disciplines, including architecture, interior design, fine art, sculpture, UX/UI design, photography, and graphic design. Following curatorial review, 10 groups were selected for inclusion in the final exhibition.
The curatorial process shaped a focused multidisciplinary exhibition centered on experimentation and distinctive approaches to space and visual culture. The selected works brought together perspectives from different creative fields and geographic backgrounds, reinforcing TRACE's international and cross-disciplinary character.
Recognition Through NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026
TRACE's inclusion in NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026 placed the exhibition within one of New York City's most prominent annual design platforms and within a citywide program reaching an international professional design community. NYCxDESIGN identifies its Festival as "The Official New York Design Week" and states that the 2026 edition featured more than 250 hosted events, together with major design fairs, exhibitions, installations, talks, keynotes, tours, launches, and receptions across the city. Its programming spans architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design, product and industrial design, graphic design, lighting and sound design, technology, art, and entertainment by design.
The official 2026 Festival archive describes the event as bringing together a diverse global design community across New York City. The Festival's industry prominence is further reflected in dedicated 2026 coverage by major international design publications. Wallpaper* described NYCxDESIGN as "the biggest city-wide celebration of design in North America" and published a dedicated guide to the 2026 edition. Architizer likewise published a curated guide to NYCxDESIGN 2026 and served as an official NYCxDESIGN media partner, while Interior Design extensively covered the 2026 NYCxDESIGN Awards and the Festival's broader impact on New York's design community. TRACE's official inclusion therefore connected the exhibition to a citywide design platform with international participation, multidisciplinary reach, and substantial industry visibility.
Curatorial Leadership
TRACE was curated by Yan Huo and Yuqing Huang. Yan Huo is an architectural designer, curator, and interdisciplinary design researcher whose work has received recognition through the INDE.Awards, New York Architectural & Interior Design Awards, Dezeen Awards, and The 6th Bauhaus Award International Design Award. Her work has also been presented through international design events including London Design Festival 2025 and Shanghai Design Week 2025.
As Founder and Curator of UN-BRIEFED, Yan Huo brought together architectural practice, curatorial research, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in shaping TRACE as an international platform for contemporary spatial practice.
Yuqing Huang is a product and experience designer, curator, and interdisciplinary creative practitioner whose work spans digital products, UX/UI, visual communication, and experience design. Her work has been featured by design media and presented to international audiences. Her practice focuses on translating complex ideas into engaging and cohesive experiences across digital and cultural contexts.
As Co-Founder and Experience Director of UN-BRIEFED, Yuqing Huang shaped TRACE's curatorial direction, digital strategy and audience experience. She led the development of the exhibition's online environment and translated its curatorial framework into a cohesive experience for an international audience.
Audience Reach and Measurable Platform Growth
TRACE also produced measurable audience growth for UN-BRIEFED's digital presence. Following the exhibition's launch and promotion, UN-BRIEFED's official Instagram account attracted more than 600 followers. This growth, together with TRACE's international applicant pool and official NYCxDESIGN Festival inclusion, demonstrates the exhibition's ability to reach beyond the participating designers themselves and engage a broader design audience.
Why TRACE Matters
TRACE combined an international applicant pool, a structured curatorial review process, official participation in NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026, and measurable audience growth. The open call received 50 submissions representing approximately 85 artists, designers, and creative practitioners from five countries and regions, with 10 submissions selected for presentation in the final exhibition. Together with the visibility provided by New York City's official design week and the expansion of UN-BRIEFED's digital audience, these factors demonstrate the growing reach and influence of UN-BRIEFED's curatorial initiatives.
Featured on NYCxDESIGN
UN-BRIEFED · TRACE
TRACE
International Open-Call Exhibition Presented as Part of NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026
Featured on NYCxDESIGN
TRACE is a process-driven international open-call exhibition presented by UN-BRIEFED as part of NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026. Presented online from April 21 to May 20, 2026, TRACE brought together architecture, spatial photography, UX/UI, fine art, illustration, digital fabrication, light wood construction, and material experimentation to examine how space can be interpreted, recorded, and reimagined through contemporary design practice.
International Reach and Curatorial Review
TRACE was developed through an international open call that received 50 group submissions representing approximately 85 artists, designers, and creative practitioners from five countries and regions. Participants represented a broad range of disciplines, including architecture, interior design, fine art, sculpture, UX/UI design, photography, and graphic design. Following curatorial review, 10 groups were selected for inclusion in the final exhibition.
The curatorial process shaped a focused multidisciplinary exhibition centered on experimentation and distinctive approaches to space and visual culture. The selected works brought together perspectives from different creative fields and geographic backgrounds, reinforcing TRACE's international and cross-disciplinary character.
Recognition Through NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026
TRACE's inclusion in NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026 placed the exhibition within one of New York City's most prominent annual design platforms and within a citywide program reaching an international professional design community. NYCxDESIGN identifies its Festival as "The Official New York Design Week" and states that the 2026 edition featured more than 250 hosted events, together with major design fairs, exhibitions, installations, talks, keynotes, tours, launches, and receptions across the city. Its programming spans architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design, product and industrial design, graphic design, lighting and sound design, technology, art, and entertainment by design.
The official 2026 Festival archive describes the event as bringing together a diverse global design community across New York City. The Festival's industry prominence is further reflected in dedicated 2026 coverage by major international design publications. Wallpaper* described NYCxDESIGN as "the biggest city-wide celebration of design in North America" and published a dedicated guide to the 2026 edition. Architizer likewise published a curated guide to NYCxDESIGN 2026 and served as an official NYCxDESIGN media partner, while Interior Design extensively covered the 2026 NYCxDESIGN Awards and the Festival's broader impact on New York's design community. TRACE's official inclusion therefore connected the exhibition to a citywide design platform with international participation, multidisciplinary reach, and substantial industry visibility.
Curatorial Leadership
TRACE was curated by Yan Huo and Yuqing Huang. Yan Huo is an architectural designer, curator, and interdisciplinary design researcher whose work has received recognition through the INDE.Awards, New York Architectural & Interior Design Awards, Dezeen Awards, and The 6th Bauhaus Award International Design Award. Her work has also been presented through international design events including London Design Festival 2025 and Shanghai Design Week 2025.
As Founder and Curator of UN-BRIEFED, Yan Huo brought together architectural practice, curatorial research, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in shaping TRACE as an international platform for contemporary spatial practice.
Yuqing Huang is a product and experience designer, curator, and interdisciplinary creative practitioner whose work spans digital products, UX/UI, visual communication, and experience design. Her work has been featured by design media and presented to international audiences. Her practice focuses on translating complex ideas into engaging and cohesive experiences across digital and cultural contexts.
As Co-Founder and Experience Director of UN-BRIEFED, Yuqing Huang shaped TRACE's curatorial direction, digital strategy and audience experience. She led the development of the exhibition's online environment and translated its curatorial framework into a cohesive experience for an international audience.
Audience Reach and Measurable Platform Growth
TRACE also produced measurable audience growth for UN-BRIEFED's digital presence. Following the exhibition's launch and promotion, UN-BRIEFED's official Instagram account attracted more than 600 followers. This growth, together with TRACE's international applicant pool and official NYCxDESIGN Festival inclusion, demonstrates the exhibition's ability to reach beyond the participating designers themselves and engage a broader design audience.
Why TRACE Matters
TRACE combined an international applicant pool, a structured curatorial review process, official participation in NYCxDESIGN Festival 2026, and measurable audience growth. The open call received 50 submissions representing approximately 85 artists, designers, and creative practitioners from five countries and regions, with 10 submissions selected for presentation in the final exhibition. Together with the visibility provided by New York City's official design week and the expansion of UN-BRIEFED's digital audience, these factors demonstrate the growing reach and influence of UN-BRIEFED's curatorial initiatives.
An economico-populistic reimagining of Jakarta's commercial and civic spaces.
An economico-populistic reimagining of Jakarta's commercial and civic spaces.