The DesignPhiladelphia Festival was created to focus attention on Philadelphia’s standing as a hub of creativity and innovation while also increasing the public’s awareness of the role that design plays in our everyday lives. No small endeavor, but with more than 120 events planned in and around the city for the 2013 festival, it’s clear to see this is a place where noteworthy design can be found at every turn.

As previously mentioned here on the Home Furnishings site, for the first time, the festival has been given a theme: EXPERIENCEdesign! The notion behind the theme is actually a challenge for participants who are being called upon to demonstrate how design is experiential, sparks emotions, evokes strong memories and creates lasting connections.

“As we move through our everyday lives, it’s easy to take the things that surround us for granted,” said Hilary Jay, co-founder of DesignPhiladelphia and director of the Center for Architecture in Philadelphia. “DesignPhiladelphia invites us to take a fresh look around. The 120 events presented for 2013 help us appreciate once again everything we see, smell, hear, touch and even taste.”

Accessing Design

Complete programming for this year’s festival will be announced in mid-September via the DesignPhiladelphia website and 10,000 copies of the free DesignPhiladelphia Guidebook that will be distributed throughout the city. Interested parties will be pleased to know the vast majority of events are free and all are open to the public.

Jason Schupbach, director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts, called DesignPhiladelphia “one of the most important design festivals in the country, uniting and highlighting all design disciplines to promote a unique and innovative Philadelphia. DesignPhiladelphia is a model for how cities can leverage their local assets and create a compelling brand, one that attracts visitors and new residents alike.”

Programming for EXPERIENCEdesign! Includes a mix of exhibitions, book signings, lectures and public forums, runway shows, workships and open studios across design disciplines, including fashion design and architecture, graphic design and multimedia, industrial design and urban planning. Events will take place in boutiques, galleries, museums, universities, warehouses, and city streets.

Just a few of the events you may want to add to your calendar:

What’s Your Design Personality? With David Bromstad
Monday, October 14
Design guru David Bromstad will help you understand your design personality during this discussion of how to design your home, particularly the kitchen and bathroom, to reflect the real you.

From Design to Fabrication: A Discussion of the Creative Industry in Philadelphia
Tuesday, October 15
This conversation looks at the success stories of entrepreneurs and artists working in a range of mediums who have opted to stay in or move to Philadelphia, driving the need for small to mid-size manufacturers to commercialize their designs. The event includes a networking reception aimed at bringing potential local partners together.

GRAY AREA Preservation Provocateurs: Post-Preservation?
Wednesday, October 16
Architect Shohei Shigematsu of OMA New York and a curator of the Cronocaos exhibition with Rem Koolhaas will present diverse responses to historic preservation in the contemporary city.

Kick Off Event

This year’s festival will kick off with PopUp Place, a ticketed party and benefit being held at Bahdeebahdu, a multi-disciplinary working studio for design and development of custom furnishings and one-off products, located in the South Kensington section of Philadelphia. Among the plans for the evening are gastro-molecular tastings, live music, a body art fashion show and one-of-a-kind seating that will be auctioned off during the event. For the auction, regional designers from across design disciplines were called upon to transform an IKEA chair into something more. Designs can be functional but also purely aesthetic.