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SDF 2026 At a Glance
Block Party
August 15 & 16
Lake Union Park
The Seattle Design Festival kicked off at the Block Party, our keystone event at Lake Union Park. This 2-day celebration featured large-scale installations, mainstage programs, and hands-on activities developed by 84 design teams – representing over 260 individual designers!
8,300+ attendees joined us for Block Party weekend, with 65 Festival Programs to explore — including Mainstage Programs, Built Installations, and Pop-Up Activities. Through this year’s SDF theme “IN[FLUX],” attendees explored movement, instability, and possibility all at once.
Learn more about the program types below —
Built Installations
Temporary installations created by the SDF community. These interactive structures promote collaboration, empower communities, and demonstrate design thinking in action. Each installation engages multiple senses through touch, sound, and visual elements, making design accessible to everyone.
Pop-Up Experiences
Short-term engagements lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, bring design to life in exciting ways. These timed activities included hands-on workshops, interactive art projects, immersive learning opportunities, and more.
Mainstage Events
Thought-provoking talks by design leaders, practical skill sharers, filmmakers, and more demonstrated techniques and shared knowledge through performances that blended creativity with storytelling.
Design Mixers
August 18 & 19
Beyond the Block Party, the Festival extended into evenings with free, registration-required Design Mixers hosted at partner venues throughout the city. These networking events – with community partner ARCADE NW Publishing and our sponsor Adobe – offered unique opportunities to connect with fellow design enthusiasts in creative environments. Each host crafted a distinctive experience that built on the Festival’s theme while providing a relaxed setting for meaningful conversation.
Closing Party
August 20
The Shop @ LMN
We capped off an incredible week of design at our Closing Party! This festive celebration brought together Festival attendees, partners, and organizers for a night of music, light bites, and community connection.
Festival Replay
The Seattle Design Festival lives on long after the 6-day celebration through the Festival Replay. Visit the SDF YouTube channel after the Festival to revisit your favorite Mainstage Programs, explore Built Installations you might have missed, and discover Pop-Up Experiences from throughout the Block Party. This growing digital archive allows you to engage with design thinking whenever- or wherever- inspiration strikes. The 2026 Festival Replay is now live!
