We are proud to share that Lumsden has received a King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, recognising our work across global branded environments, cultural, and visitor attraction.
Announced on Wednesday 6 May 2026, the award places Lumsden among 185 organisations nationally to receive a King’s Award for Enterprise this year. The recognition marks an important milestone for our London-based design studio, which was founded in 2012 and specialises in retail and hospitality spaces for brand-led environments, cultural venues, museums, and visitor attractions.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are among the UK’s most respected business honours. What used to be called The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise were understandably given a new name in 2023 to align with His Majesty The King’s continued support for recognising outstanding UK businesses. Now in their 60th year, the awards celebrate high performance across categories including Promoting Opportunity, Sustainable Development, Innovation, and International Trade.
Recognition For International Growth
Receiving the award for International Trade reflects the scale and quality of Lumsden’s work outside the UK. Over recent years, our studio has delivered projects across the US, Asia, Europe and further international markets, working with some of the world’s most recognised cultural institutions and entertainment brands.
Our recent portfolio includes work for Netflix, Warner Bros and the Natural History Museum of Denmark. These projects reflect the breadth of our studio’s role in shaping physical spaces where retail, hospitality, storytelling and visitor experience come together.
James Dwyer, owner and creative director of Lumsden, described the award as a genuine milestone for the studio and a recognition of the team’s long-term work across international markets. He noted that each project has contributed to the studio’s growth, with recent work demonstrating Lumsden’s belief that strong experiences are rooted in story and shaped around how people connect with a brand, collection or fictional world.
Designing For Visitor Attraction And Cultural Audiences
Lumsden’s work sits at the intersection of culture, commerce and experience design. Our projects are developed for venues where audiences expect more than a transaction. They expect spaces that feel connected to the wider visit, support the identity of the destination and create lasting value for operators.
Internationally, our recent interior design work includes front-of-house visitor, retail and hospitality spaces at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, Netflix House projects in Dallas and Philadelphia, and Harry Potter flagship stores in Chicago and Tokyo.
These projects require a close understanding of guest behaviour, operational flow, brand integrity and commercial performance. For visitor attractions and cultural venues, retail and hospitality spaces are increasingly important parts of the full experience. They can support dwell time, revenue, memory-making and the relationship between visitors and the wider destination.
A Team Achievement
For Lumsden, the King’s Award is a recognition of the whole studio. It acknowledges the commitment, skill and care of our team, as well as the trust placed in us by clients and collaborators across international markets.
Successful organisations are permitted to use the King’s Awards Emblem for five years, offering a visible mark of excellence to clients, partners and global markets. For Lumsden, that recognition reinforces our position as a UK studio working internationally across some of the world’s most ambitious visitor-facing environments.
As we continue to grow, our focus remains on designing spaces that are commercially strong, operationally considered and emotionally resonant. This award is an important moment for our studio, and a testament to the people, partnerships and projects that have shaped Lumsden since 2012.
