DesignPhiladelphia Festival Highlights More Than Good Design

The upcoming DesignPhiladelphia Festival, which runs from October 8-17, will celebrate good design in Philadelphia.

While many events are focused on areas commonly associated with design, such as fashion or product design, the festival will also feature a number of events looking at the design of the city itself — from its architecture and industrial design to urban planning.

Many of these events also touch upon social issues, such as education, neighborhood revitalization, and sustainability. As noted on the festival website, the events “not only showcase the opportunities and talents inherent in this region, they are also instrumental in incubating start-ups, instigating neighborhood change, assembling thought leaders, and fostering positive community growth.”

There are a number of events focused on offering an interactive, educational experience, such as one held by the Department of Making + Doing, where adults, children and families can learn about fabrication and try their hands at building something themselves.

At another hands-on event, attendees will set out into the woods of Bucks County to collect loose sticks and then use them to build make-shift constructions.

Later during the festival, the winners of the Storefont Challenge 2014 will be announced. The Challenge is a part of a larger community development initiative by the Commerce Department and the Community Design Collaborative to help small businesses improve their storefront facades in an effort to revitalize commercial corridors. The winners were selected from a city-wide call for nominations of storefronts that have been improved in the last year.

There are at least two events focused on sustainability: one examining the term “sustainability” itself, another exploring the possibilities of green concrete.

Information on other events is available here.