Your gift powers design for all. As a volunteer-powered 501c(3) nonprofit, we rely on the generous giving of our supporters to bring free and affordable programs to 10,000+ people citywide every year.
Become a Festival Partner
The Seattle Design Festival thrives on creative collaborations! Whether you’re a professional designer, community organization, student, or design enthusiast, your ideas can help shape our city’s premier design event.
What Does Partnership Mean?
As a Festival Partner, you’ll:
- Showcase your creativity at our signature Block Party at Lake Union Park
- Connect with thousands of visitors and fellow designers
- Be part of Seattle’s broader conversation about design’s role in addressing urban challenges
- Join a community of over 100 program partners who contribute annually
Three Ways to Participate
Each year the Festival Planning Team comes together to envision our annual Festival. Recently, partners have been able to engage in three different ways:
Built Installations
Create a temporary outdoor structure that engages the public of all ages, skills, and abilities.
Pop-Up Experiences
Design an interactive experience through hands-on activities, workshops, or design stations.
Mainstage Programs
Deliver a talk, performance, skillshare, or film (in-person or virtual).
Built Installations
Create a temporary outdoor structure that engages the public of all ages, skills, and abilities.
Pop-Up Experiences
Design an interactive experience through hands-on activities, workshops, or design stations.
Mainstage Programs
Deliver a talk, performance, skillshare, or film (in-person or virtual).
How to Become a Partner
Our annual call for proposals is unveiled each spring. We’re in search of proposals that not only align with our goals, but also have the potential to unleash the design thinker in everyone, sparking meaningful change.
Selected Festival partners will collaborate closely with our dedicated planning team to bring their proposals to life in August. For our non-profit and emerging partners, there’s an opportunity to seek modest financial support to facilitate your participation.
Benefits of Partnership
- Visibility: Showcase your work to thousands of festival-goers and through our digital channels
- Community Impact: Create meaningful interactions that address real community needs
- Professional Development: Receive feedback and support from our planning team
- Festival Replay: Your contribution continues to reach audiences through our YouTube channel after the event
- Funding Support: Non-profit/emerging designers can apply for modest financial assistance (up to $500)
For our firm, the festival is a chance to connect across our Portland and Seattle office. We gather to explore the yearly theme — always provocative and relevant — with big conversations about how design shapes our city. Turning our conversations outward, the Festival offers an opportunity to create something unique with our community that is unconstrained by traditional project limitations.
— 2021 Festival Partner
