Detroit's Citywide Celebration of Design Features 70 Inspiring Design Happenings Sept. 18-22

Detroit, MI, September 04, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Detroit’s annual citywide celebration of design, the Detroit Design Festival, launches Sept. 17 with a kick-off party that will set the stage for more than 60 events set to take place Sept. 18-22, 2013. Home to the highest concentrations and quantities of commercial and industrial designers of all U.S. metropolitan regions, the third-annual Detroit Design Festival spans all design disciplines and brings together commerce, culture, education, and entertainment with a full, varied program of exhibitions, openings, installations, shows, talks, and open studios.

Taking place at venues along Detroit’s Creative Corridor, from Downtown Detroit to New Center, in Eastern Market and in more than 13 neighborhoods throughout Detroit, the Detroit Design Festival has designated paths, which will help festivalgoers choose among the plethora of events to attend. Design Happenings are labeled using the following paths:

Community: Programming that features innovative design applications, installations or interventions that improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

Consumer: Programming that provides opportunities for designers to launch new products or services; clients and consumers identify new vendors, source creative projects and purchase design forward products.

Practitioner: Programming that provides the design industries with professional development and networking opportunities.

Enthusiast: Programming featuring rare glimpses into the people and places that inspire Detroit’s design community.

Exploration: Exploratory programming that educates a broad community about the role design plays in developing processes and products that improve our quality of life.

Youth: Programming that inspires younger generations to consider design and creative professions.

Additional notations include Shop DDF, which highlights shopping opportunities during the festival, and CVP, which denotes a Detroit Creative Corridor Center Creative Venture Business Accelerator.

“The Design Festival features events that will appeal to kids and families, and those that are geared more to networking and professional development, and everything in-between,” says Melinda Anderson, DC3’s community engagement manager. “By curating paths for the festival, we hope to help guide attendees to the Design Happenings, which best align with their agenda.”

Highlights of this year’s DDF include:

Sept. 17: DDF Opening Night Kickoff Party & Design Expo
Sept. 18: The Toyota Lecture Series
Sept. 19: Eastern Market After Dark and the debut of The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller at the DIA
Sept. 20: Light Up Livernois
Sept. 21: Youth Innovation Center and Design in Motion
Sept. 22: The Mies van der Rohe Lafayette Park Walking Tours

Design disciplines span architecture, art, design thinking, digital, craft, fashion, furniture, graphic design, industrial, interiors, landscape, lighting, products, media, theater, and urban design. This citywide event will showcase and promote Detroit’s rich design community.

For a full list of Design Happenings, please visit the Detroit Design Festival website: www.detroitdesignfestival.com/happenings. Connect with DDF on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/detroitdesignfestival and use hashtags #DDF2013 and #DesignLivesHere.