The Seattle Design Festival (SDF), formerly known as Design in Public, was founded in 2011 to celebrate all the ways that design makes life better for Seattle, and to nurture relationships among multidisciplinary designers, civic leaders, business innovators, community organizers, educators, artists, and activists.
Through a broad range of events developed by our community partners, we are able to engage a diverse cross-section of the people that live, work, and play in our city. SDF believes that design is for everyone, and its benefits should be accessible, intersectional, and informed by a diverse public.
To learn more about past Festivals, visit our Festival Archive page.
Respond to our Call for Proposals to be considered for the 2024 Seattle Design Festival. Each year, we release a call for proposals, and our community responds with experiences, events, exhibits, and installations that address it.
Our 2024 Call for Proposals outlines each Festival element and guide your submission process. The call went live on April 3 and submissions are due May 29, 5pm. More information here
Sustainability Commitment
This year we are asking all of our partners to help us better meet our sustainability goals. Built installation partners will have to demonstrate their commitment by either:
• Partner with a community organization who will take ownership of all or part of the installation after the Festival.
• Commit to reusing materials in your own future work.
• Prioritize the use of materials that can be donated to Festival partners.
We are also asking Pop-Up Partners to communicate how their program will consider sustainability! Read the Call for Proposals to learn more.
We’ll be hosting the SDF Mainstage @ the Block Party!
The 2024 SDF Planning Team wants to highlight design conversations, skillshares, and in-person and online performances this year! You’ll still be able to catch all of the programs on the SDF YouTube channel, but you’ll also see some at our kick-off event.
Find the link to our Submission Platform on the first page of our call.
Each Festival element has unique submission requirements, outlined in our call. In addition to those considerations you will need to:
Have your lead team member register for a Submittable account. This should be the person who will be the point of contact for feedback and questions about your Built Installation, Pop-Up, or Mainstage Program.
To complete the Submittal Form you’ll need:
• Design Team Information
• Primary Point of Contact
• Proposal Information
• Marketing Materials*
• SDF Partner Agreements
*For your submission Marketing Materials, follow the guidance in the SDF Co-Branding Kit.
You can start, save, and return to your draft submission at any point until submission close. To return to a draft submission, log in and select the “Saved Drafts” tab.
The Festival is entirely a product of the people that are involved in it. It is planned by a core group of dedicated volunteers, many of them emerging designers, who develop our Call for Proposals each year. All of the proposals brought forward by our community will be reviewed by the Festival Planning Team. This team will be looking for proposals that directly relate to the theme and demonstrate the relevance of design thinking, empower communities to leverage design, and promote a culture of collaboration.
We evaluate the quality and feasibility of each proposal: is it thorough or vague? How will you communicate your design process? Is it design-focused and accessible to all? Is the proposed format engaging and participatory? The Festival Planning Team provides feedback to all Festival Partners when sending out acceptance letters.
On average, we have over 100 program partners a year, including not only designers and their firms, but also community groups, nonprofit organizations, government partners, and students. The most successful proposals come out of partnerships between designers and community groups, creating lasting relationships that live on past the festival and spark change in our city moving forward.
Accepted Festival Partners will be notified on June 7.
We aren’t just a single moment in time! There are SDF activities running throughout the year. Are you subscribed to our e-news? If not, you might be missing our Design in Community series, updates about public planning meetings, and other exciting engagement opportunities.
On board for all of that, but also want to know about the annual Festival?
February- Annual Theme Announced
April 3- Call for Proposals Opens
May 29- Close for Proposal Closes
June- Festival Calendar Launches
August 17-22- SDF 2024: WHAT IF?
Volunteer your time to bring the Festival together! We will be soliciting applications for our Festival Planning Team in the next few months if you’re looking for a long-term commitment. If not, consider joining us next summer as a day-of volunteer!
Sponsor the Festival to demonstrate your commitment to the Seattle design community, and help us unleash the design thinker in everyone to illuminate Seattle’s challenges and ignite action.
Donate to make a gift to support the design thinker in everyone and keep the festival FREE!
Seattle Design Festival envisions a culture of design that fosters equitable, resilient, and thriving communities. To achieve this vision, it is critical that we cultivate and sustain an inclusive environment rooted in trust, mutual respect, and accountability.
To support this, SDF and AIA Seattle worked together to develop a Community Standard, to support our growth as members of this shared community.
It is the expectation that all Seattle Design Festival contributors agree to uphold and integrate these standards in all Seattle Design Festival-related activities and shared spaces (committees, site visits, programs, discussions, community events, etc.). We are grateful to everyone for helping further our mission, values, and goals!
We prioritize accessibility as we plan all of our Festival events, and require all Festival Partners to prioritize safety, inclusivity, equity, and accessibility when designing their experiences. However, we are constantly aiming to increase support to our community. Read more about how we encourage accessibility in design.
If you have any specific concerns that aren’t addressed on event pages, please reach out to us at info@seadesignfest.org.
When you attend Seattle Design Festival events, you are entering an area where group photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction thereafter.
When 4 or less adults are being photographed in an image – or any number of children – our photographers will inform the subjects verbally of their representing the festival and asking for consent/parental consent. They will also have individuals fill out photo release forms.
These media materials may be utilized in SDF publications, news releases, online platforms, and other communications aligned with SDF’s mission only.
Contact info@seadesignfest.org with any additional questions.