The Seattle Design Festival is a platform for bold design conversations. We believe that design is for everyone and that inclusive co-design practices are essential to shaping an equitable Seattle. We are multidisciplinary, socially engaged and civic minded.
Festival Archives
2024 – WHAT IF?
What if? is a simple question that reminds us of the potential within every design — an invitation to imagine improvement and expand what’s conceivable.
2023 – CURIOSITY
CURIOSITY fuels passion and sparks innovation. By asking what if, we are free to step into the unknown.
2022 – CONNECTION
The 2022 Seattle Design Festival was all about CONNECTION. When thinking about design, there is something very tangible and physical in how things ‘connect’ – but there is also something very emotional that ‘CONNECTION’ taps into, as well.
2021 – EMERGE
2021 was the year of EMERGE. Our community gathered at Lake Union Party on August 21 &22 for a two-day Block Party to explore what we, as a community, are emerging to as our community heals – as we navigate changed perspectives- and as we think about new ways to leverage design.
2020 – ABOUT TIME
The Seattle Design Festival turned 10! Our anniversary came at a pivotal moment in time. This year’s theme, About Time, sought to ponder past, present and future at a unique moment of transition for the city, the region and the world.
2019 – BALANCE
2019 was the year of BALANCE. From August 16 – 25, the Seattle Design Festival brought together groups, organizations, and individuals from our region and across the globe to explore the role of BALANCE in design.
2018 – TRUST
2018 was the year of TRUST. From September 6-21, the Seattle Design Festival brought together groups, organizations, and individuals from our region and across the globe to explore the role of TRUST in design.
2017 – POWER
The 2017 Seattle Design Festival was September 9-22, 2017. The theme, POWER, reflected on our rapidly changing world and our values as individuals and as a community, reasserting our commitment to civic responsibility.
2016 – DESIGN CHANGE
The 2016 Seattle Design Festival was September 10-23, 2016. The theme, Design Change, proposed that design can maximize the public benefits of change, while empowering the communities most impacted by that change.
2015 – DESIGN FOR EQUITY
The 2015 Seattle Design Festival was September 12-25, 2015. The theme, Design for Equity, created pause and reflection on: What is equity? What is equitable design?
2014 – DESIGN IN MOTION
The 2014 Seattle Design Festival, Sept. 5-19, 2014, brought together designers, businesses, families, community groups and tourists alike to playfully explore all of the diverse and meaningful ways design moves us.
2013 – DESIGN IN HEALTH
SDF 2013’s theme, Design in Health, explored the connection between your health and the design of the city.
2012 – ENGAGE YOUR WORLD
SDF 2012’s theme Engage Your World explored ways in which design can improve and increase our interactions with the urban environment.
2011 – BENEATH THE SURFACE
The first annual Seattle Design Festival initiated a public conversation in our city about how good design can have a positive effect on life in general and on urban life in particular.