September 20
September 21
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
IIDA People’s Choice Exhibit
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. (containers close at 8 p.m.)
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
John Street: Design Block
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Photo Challenge and Gallery: Engage Your World
September 22
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
IIDA People’s Choice Exhibit
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. (containers close at 8 p.m.)
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
John Street: Design Block
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Photo Challenge and Gallery: Engage Your World
September 23
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
IIDA People’s Choice Exhibit
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. (containers close at 8 p.m.)
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
John Street: Design Block
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Photo Challenge and Gallery: Engage Your World
Key: 
Speakers + Panels 
Tours 
Exhibits + Sites 
Films 
Activities + Workshops
July 13, 2012 – January 20, 2013
Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closed Monday.
George Nakashima
A Master’s Furniture and Philosophy
An innovator of 20th century furniture design and a father of the American craft movement, George Nakashima (1905-1990) is celebrated for his fine detailing, finishing and spiritual connection with nature. Through his vintage furniture, architectural drawings and sketches, explore how… Read more
September 06 – 29
Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
FutureShack
The Next 50 Years of Residential Design
Photo by Trevor Dykstra What does the next 50 years of residential design look like? How will we live differently in response to changes in the economy, the environment, demographics, and our culture? Are architects developing ideas now that might… Read more
September 13 – 23
Discover Environmental Graphic Design:
Urban Design in Your Environment
Before and during the Festival look for the SEGD-designed arrows on the city sidewalks that are pointing out unique and distinctive elements of environmental graphic design in your world. We invite you to stop, look, and learn about the… Read more
September 14 – October 14
Tuesday – Friday: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: 1 – 4 p.m.
Natural Systems / Emergent Forms
15th Annual Architectural Model Exhibit
Rapid advances in technology have provided powerful tools to make architecture ever more efficient and effective as we move further into the 21st century. At the same time, the parallel trend of looking to the earth’s ecosystems—arguably the most primordial… Read more
September 18 – October 26
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m – 5 p.m.
Transforming Seattle’s 520 Floating Bridge
Design Ideas Competition Exhibit
Seattle’s 520 floating bridge will be decommissioned in 2014. What new, innovative reuse strategies might designers envision? This exhibit features winning proposals from a competition challenging designers to utilize the bridge in its current state or take the bridge apart… Read more
Thursday, September 20
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
South Lake Union: Extreme Makeover
Walking tour
Witness the profound effect that money, green construction, adaptive reuse and streetcars can bring to a community. This will be a “special edition” of the South Lake Union: Extreme Makeover tour that will include a brief preview (and a peek… Read more
Cell phone tour September 20 – 23; live walking tour September 22, 3-7 p.m.
DETOUR: Cascade to South Lake Union
DETOUR: Cascade to South Lake Union is a mapping project of two overlapping neighborhoods. Our venues for the 2012 Seattle Design Festival have a storied history. We’re telling it here in first-person interviews with people who have lived and worked… Read more
Thursday, September 20
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Designing Cities / Seeding Cities / Rearing Cities
There is much conversation lately about how cities are evolving, and a lot of that conversation in the design world is deterministic in nature: “What should the end product look like?” However, making cities is more like making people… Read more
Thursday, September 20
6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
“Innovation is a unique combination of existing ideas”
An evening with Carl Gustav Magnusson
Don’t miss the opening talk of the IIDA speaker series during the Festival, at which Carl Magnusson will talk about design logic and ideas found in a wide variety of examples. Defying classification as a single type of designer, Magnusson… Read more
September 21 – 23
Friday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Brainstorm
Idea Cloud
Our “Design Block” on John Street will be designed from the pavement to the sky! Above our cargo-container pop-up activity centers and shop, a constellation of oversized balloons will form a “cloud” overhead, for a play between the forms on… Read more
September 21 - 23
Friday: noon – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
IIDA People’s Choice Exhibit
Immerse yourself in the region’s interior design
The People’s Choice Exhibit will illustrate this region’s thriving interior design practice by displaying projects submitted for IIDA’s 2012 INAwards design awards program. Friday through Sunday, all are invited to view the project presentations and vote for their favorite. Project… Read more
September 21 – 23
Friday: noon – 10 p.m. (containers close at 8 p.m.)
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. (containers close at 8 p.m.)
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
John Street: Design Block
Urban Intervention Showcase
The “design block” transform an everyday street space into a fun public gathering area as well as a showcase for local design. Shipping containers will become pop-up shops, exhibit galleries, and activity spaces for: A video booth and a gallery… Read more
September 21 – 23
Friday: noon – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
FYI is a Poster Show
Infographic provided by: Killer Infographics Seattle’s graphic design community examines and engages our world through an Infographic Poster Exhibit. This form of visual communication combines impactful information with forceful, direct typography and presents it in a clear and artistic… Read more
September 21-23
Friday: noon – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Photo Challenge and Gallery: Engage Your World
THEME: ENGAGE YOUR WORLDChallenge open from August 27, 2012 until September 16, 2012 From street fronts and landscaping, to transportation and architecture, all kinds of design bring cities alive by creating spaces for people to live, work and play. Join our Hipstamatic… Read more
September 21 – 23
Friday: noon – 8 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Video Booth
Share your festival experiences and favorite design moments. A video booth will be set up in one of the cargo containers at the Design Block. Help capture the energy and story of the festival by recording your message.
Friday, September 21
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Tour of PATH
Check out PATH’s approach to creating affordable health technologies for developing countries
PATH is an international nonprofit organization that transforms global health through innovation. We take an entrepreneurial approach to developing and delivering high-impact, low-cost solutions, from lifesaving vaccines and devices to collaborative programs with communities. Through our work in more than… Read more
Friday, September 21
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Headquarters Tour
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation campus is a global center for innovation, learning and problem solving. Highlighting the building’s energy conservation and sustainable features, the tour of this LEED Platinum facility will be led by members of the design… Read more
Friday, September 21
5 – 7 p.m.
Chihuly Garden and Glass Tour
An evening with the garden designer, Richard Hartlage
The innovative landscape of the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit was designed by Richard Hartlage and Kristin Glandon of AHBL. In an article for Pacific NW Magazine titled “A Seattle Center Garden to match Chihuly’s Vibrant Glassworks,” writer Valerie Easton… Read more
Friday, September 21
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
RETHINK REUSE 520 Bridge Competition
Jury discussion and announcement of winners
A look back at the outcome and judging process of the “Transforming Seattle’s 520 Floating Bridge: 2012 International Design Ideas Competition.” The jury panel includes: Robert E. Hull, FAIA, Architect – Founding Partner and Lead Designer of Miller|Hull Partnership, LLP… Read more
Friday, September 21
5:30 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Upcycle Seattle
Reuse + redesign: From bike tubes to 520 bridge pontoons
Upcycle Seattle celebrates the ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the regional upcycling design community. Come to hear speakers from the leading upcycling design firms in Seattle and stay for drinks and music to follow. A raffle will benefit Bikeworks (www.bikeworks.org),… Read more
Friday, September 21
Each class will be offered at 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m., so attendees can choose more than one class.
IIDA Speaker Series
Open to the Public (with CEUs for Professionals)
This Speaker Series is a complement to the “IIDA People’s Choice Exhibit.” IIDA has collaborated with major furniture manufacturers to bring in notable speakers to discuss how design has shaped our past and continues to play a critical role in… Read more
Friday, September 21
7 p.m.
Design & Thinking
US | 2012 | 73 min | Director: Mu-Ming Tsai | designthinkingmovie.com Design Thinking is an evolving methodology used for creative problem solving. Originating in design and engineering, it has gained influence in everything from business challenges to educational curriculum,… Read more
Friday, September 21
9 p.m.
The Gruen Effect: Victor Gruen and the Shopping Mall
Germany | 2009 | 45 min | Directors: Anette Baldauf and Katharina Weingartner | In English and German with subtitles | dergrueneffekt.at/english The Viennese architect Victor Gruen is considered the father of the shopping mall. Along with his wife and… Read more
Saturday, September 22
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Cascade: “Tenass Chuck” Grows Up
Walking tour
From native settlement to hipster haven, the Cascade neighborhood has been front and center during Seattle’s history. Visit this heart-of-the-city community and learn how it has persevered and is now prospering again. Tour lasts approximately two hours. Advance ticket purchase… Read more
Saturday, September 22
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Waste not!
Designing to encourage smarter consumption
Presented by Nikki Pfarr, Design Researcher & Strategist at Artefact Why do people throw out things that they know are recyclable? Why does a smiley face on an energy bill change usage habits? What effect does labeling a trashcan “landfill”… Read more
Saturday, September 22
1 – 3:30 p.m.
Designing For the Future
Presented by Ming-Li Chai, Strategic Design Researcher at Microsoft As leaders, practitioners and designers who operate in rapidly changing environments, how do we make sense of trends, stay ahead of the curve, recognize an opportunity when it happens, and take… Read more
Saturday, September 22
1 – 4 p.m.
Old, New and Reconfigured Green Places
A walking tour of streets, parks, and plazas in the South Lake Union Neighborhood
On this walking tour of public and private spaces in South Lake Union led by members of WASLA, we will tour open spaces that are built, under construction and planned.Owners and/or members of the design team will make presentations at… Read more
Saturday, September 22
2:30 p.m.
Biophilic Design: The Architecture of Life
US | 2011 | 60 min | Director: Bill Finnegan | biophilicdesign.net Our cities and suburbs are often designed in ways that degrade the environment and alienate us from the nature that we need in a deep and fundamental way…. Read more
Saturday, September 22
3:30 – 5 p.m.
Sensory Deprivation for Breakthrough Innovation
Exploring beyond the touchscreen
Presented by Joyce Chou, Design Program Manager at Microsoft The way we interact with technology is rapidly evolving beyond the touch of a screen or button. Mobile phones enable a whole new world of interaction behavior that leverage gestures and… Read more
Saturday, September 22
4 – 6 p.m.
Pub Quiz/Design Trivia
Test your design knowledge
For the ultimate bragging rights, teams will compete in a design-trivia show down. Big prizes and big glory await the team who answers the most questions correctly in this lively, competitive game. Graphic design, industrial design, architecture, Seattle-specific design —… Read more
Saturday, September 22
7 p.m.
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
US | 2011 | 83 min | Director: Chad Friedrichs | pruitt-igoe.com The story of the transformation of the American city in the decades after World War II is told through the lens of the infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing development and… Read more
Saturday, September 22
9 p.m.
American Artifact
US | 2009 | 88 min | Director: Merle Becker | americanartifactmovie.com American Artifact chronicles the rise of American rock poster art since its birth in the ’60s. Director Merle Becker crosses the country interviewing poster designers who confirm that… Read more
Sunday, September 23
1 – 4 p.m.
The Design League
Taking Design to the Streets by Giving the Everyday its Due
For this public street event, teams of designers will be staged around Westlake Center Park. The designers will invite passersby to participate in a game of “design trivia,” with trivia topics ranging from history and general design knowledge to manufacturing… Read more
Sunday, September 23
2:30 p.m.
Linotype: The Film
UK | 2012 | 75 min | Director: Doug Wilson | linotypefilm.com The Linotype type casting machine was called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by Thomas Edison, and it revolutionized printing and society. Although these machines were once… Read more
Sunday, September 23
5 p.m.
Unfinished Spaces
US | 2011 | 86 min | Directors: Alysa Nahmias & Benjamin Murray | In English and Spanish with subtitles | unfinishedspaces.com In 1961, three young, visionary architects were commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to create Cuba’s… Read more
Sunday, September 23
7 p.m.
Sidewalls
Argentina | 2011 | 95 min | Director: Gustavo Taretto | Cast: Javier Drolas, Pilar López de Ayala | In Spanish and French with subtitles This romantic comedy from director Gustavo Taretto is a clever and moving ode to… Read more
Saturday, September 22
5 - 6:00 p.m. Cocktail Hour
6 - 7:30 p.m. Panel Discussion
RE//ARCHITECT
Join Space.City in a panel discussion with design leaders who have made a conscious decision to move outside the profession of architecture. We will present a facilitated discussion exploring the value of architectural education, the profession of architecture, and… Read more
September 21 - 23
Friday: noon – 10 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Tight Urbanism
Alley Urbanism in the U.S., Australia, and Japan
This is a mobile exhibit by AIA Seattle’s 2010 Emerging Professionals Travel Scholarship recipient Daniel Toole. Daniel travelled to Chicago, San Francisco, Melbourne, Osaka and Kyoto – cities that continue to transform their alley networks – to study the potentially… Read more
Friday-Sunday, September 21-23
VALUE SHOP
A 3-day popup shop celebrating the VALUE of DESIGN in Seattle
The shop will feature 17+ local Seattle studios and a curated selection of products. Come See, Shop, and Value design! SHOP HOURS: 9/21- 12pm-8pm 9/22- 10am-8pm 9/23- 10am-6pm Featured Local Design Studios: Ashley Helvey / Blk Pine Workshop/ Brackish/ Brandon… Read more