“In many industries, the number of businesses that have turned their attention to the value of design has approached a tipping point. Mainstream business media such as Business Week and Fast Company have declared design strategy ‘the new black,’ moving away from Six Sigma and other respected methodologies upon which many corporations have built their operational practices. The conversation about why design is increasingly important for product differentiation, business problem solving, and global competitive advantage is a lively international one - weaving through the agendas of everything from the World Economic Forum in Davos to design conferences in Singapore, Boston, Aspen, Toronto and Shanghai.”
-- Dr. Larry Thompson, President, Ringling School of Art & Design
And perhaps nowhere is this more true than in the Philadelphia region - especially from October 16th to October 22nd, when design leaders and innovators will meet at DesignPhiladelphia to celebrate our vibrant and growing design community.
DesignPhiladelphia began in 2005 with a single goal: to create an exhibition to show off the work of students from the city’s seven colleges with design departments — Penn, Drexel, Temple, University of the Arts, Moore College, the Art Institute and Philadelphia University. The intent was to bring together the seven schools of design with the professional world and strategically promote the world of design that exists in Philadelphia.
Now in its 4th year, DesignPhiladelphia has evolved into the largest annual celebration of design to be found anywhere across the U.S., featuring 90 events, 85 participating organizations and showcasing the work of more than 500 designers. Innovation Philadelphia is proud to be a Champion sponsor of this world-class event.
“Design affects everyone and everything every moment of every day. It is architecture, product design, graphic design, urban planning, fashion, landscape architecture, industrial design, and multimedia,” said Beth Van Why, Project Manager for DesignPhiladelphia and an adjunct professor in the industrial design department at The University of the Arts. “Design affects society, work, life, interactions, commutes, education – it is really in every form of our lives – the poster we look at while waiting for the bus that takes us to a building where we use computers to communicate and produce; it helps us decide what box of cereal to buy, which coat to wear, how we carry food home from the store, and so on.”
In addition to enhancing our lives, the economic impact of design is impressive as well.
- Of the 11,700 degrees awarded during the 2005-2006 academic year in for-profit creative economy fields, 16.1% were in design. (National Center for Education Statistics; 2006)
- The Philadelphia Region boasts nearly 56,000 for-profit, creative economy firms and 766,000 creative industry workers. Of these, 18% are in design, with a direct output of $2.7 billion. (Creative Footprint, 2008)
- The design fields account for regional employment of almost 75,000 workers, or approximately 16.8 of the creative occupation sector employment in the Philadelphia MSA. (Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, (2005))
National publications from the New York Times and Modernism Magazine to regional publications including the Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine have recognized this event and its growing reputation. For instance, when describing the event, the New York Times says that the printed program of events “looks more like a book than a pamphlet – a reflection, no doubt, of Phillys’ expanding creative economy. The local design culture is springing up in previously untrodden fringes of the city, while the mushrooming of design studios, boutiques, and galleries and the recent reinvention of several venerable cultural institutions attest to the spirit of optimism ushered in by a new mayor and his commitment to the arts.”
“Even for Philadelphians oblivious to design, the festival will be hard to miss,” said Philadelphia Magazine
“We’re four years old,” says Hilary Jay, Director, DesignPhiladelphia and Executive Director of The Design Center at Philadelphia University. “Our goal was to get as many people from as many design disciplines as possible engaged in helping to tell the story of design.” And by all accounts, they have been successful, with attendance expected to double – even triple, last year’s 140,000. The theme this year is ‘Down to Earth: Evolving Design in the 21st Century’ and so”, says Jay, “(Many) of the 90+ events address the global need for change and what designers can [do] and are going [to do] to help us all think about where we’re going.”
True to its original goal, the participating schools and the specific design disciplines represented in this exhibition include Art Institute of Philadelphia (multi-media design), Drexel University (interior design), Moore College of Art and Design (fashion design), Philadelphia University (textile design), Temple University/Tyler School of Art (graphic design), University of the Arts (industrial design) and University of Pennsylvania/Penn Praxis (architecture and urban design).
DesignPhiladelphia is an opportunity for anyone and everyone – whether they are designers, design students, individuals interested in design, or general citizens in the region – to experience the world of design. Open studios showcase how design happens and where it takes place; exhibitions showcase the work of designers in, for, and around the city; lectures and symposia create conversations about design; events create new venues and moments to launch products, talk to designers, create new design, and workshops provide hands-on experiences within design. “DesignPhiladelphia 2008 will reach more than one million people through advertising and press, and hopes to have more than 200,000 people attend the 90+ events,” added Van Why.
Program highlights include:
- The Challenge of Interior Design
- A Clean Break: Pop up Neighborhood
- Designers Breakfast @ USArtists
- Nature, Form, and Spirit
- Organic Mechanics
- PRODUCT DESIGN: Surpriseutility
- STARE: a live model installation of permanent body design
- Hard Hat and Finished Tour of Green Affordable Philadelphia
- Art Buggy Derby 3.0
- Art for Lunch: Film Screening of "The Powers of Ten"
- Terror Behind the Walls, Halloween at Eastern State Penitentiary
- Creative Entrepreneur Expo, part of the Closing Reception of DesignPhiladelphia
Highlights also include the eight installment of the silent auction party of the year, the first Philadelphia Emerging Architecture Prize, and the [Spot] awards, where Philadelphia artists and designers claim the urban parking spot—an idle space between the bustling streets and sidewalks of the city – for a series of outdoor interventions that explore the potential dynamics of this momentary urban space.
And much, much more.
New this year, Innovation Philadelphia is turning the table on the traditional job fair. At the Creative Entrepreneur Expo, design entrepreneurs and freelancers will have the opportunity to showcase their talent and portfolios for business professionals to preview and contract their services. The closing reception will follow, to celebrate the success of this year’s week-long celebration.
“The Creative Entrepreneur Expo is one of the only events providing business opportunities for design entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia Region,” said Kelly Lee, Executive Vice President of Innovation Philadelphia. “We wanted to participate to provide the opportunity for these freelancers and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in the region.”
Admission for the event is free but pre-registration required. For more information or to pre-register, visit www.innovationphiladelphia.com.
“Philadelphia historically has been a center for design and continues to be home for internationally-recognized designers and firms,” adds Van Why. DesignPhiladelphia is the place to be.
So no matter what your design interest, DesignPhiladelphia offers the opportunity to explore the city, be enriched and enlightened, talk shop, and bask in the atmosphere of creativity. To view DesignPhiladelphia’s complete and most up-to-date schedule or to register, please visit www.designphiladlephia.org.