Welcome!

The 2016 DesignPhiladelphia Festival will take place from October 6-16th, with no programming on the 11th and 12th in observation of Yom Kippur.

DesignPhiladelphia is the oldest open source design event of its kind in the country and the signature event of the Center / Architecture + Design. Working with over 150 partners each year, we offer a wide range of public programming to demonstrate Philadelphia’s re-emergence as a 21st century city shaped by design, technology, and collaborative business practices.

Over the course of nine days, universities, cultural institutions, city agencies, retailers, manufacturers and startups across the region participate in more than 80 events on topics spanning across all design disciplines.

This year’s DesignPhiladelphia Festival is Presented By:

Map of Events

Tracks

This year, we’ve streamlined our programming into tracks for two main reasons - to guide event planners towards developing events in line with DesignPhiladelphia’s mission, and to make attending the Festival a little more easier to navigate for attendees. Each of the six tracks corresponds to one of our program goals and is geared towards a specific segment of our audience.

  • Advocate

    Ideal for community & grassroots warriors, budding change agents, and the civic-minded

  • Enthusiast

    Ideal for design aficionados and inspiration seekers

  • Explorer

    Ideal for history-buffs, urban explorers, DIY-ers, and makers

  • Next Generation

    Ideal for students K-12, their parents and educators

  • Patron

    Ideal for American-made product fans, design connoisseurs, and trend-watchers

  • Practitioner

    Ideal for creative professionals, college & graduate level students interested in design & creative fields, and higher education faculty

View Signature Events