The Big Idea
5:30pm-9pm
Grizzly
San Diego Design Week 2026
Join us for five days of inspiring workshops, talks, and networking events celebrating design, innovation, and creativity. This year's theme, "Design for Everyone," turns the week outward. A different discipline takes over a different landmark venue each day, from MCASD La Jolla to the new downtown Arts and Design District, with designers sharing their craft directly with the public through experiential, hands-on, family-friendly programming.
Mon September, 14
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
Tue September, 15
Designing for Health and Wellbeing
This community-centered initiative explores the health and wellness challenges San Diegans experience in their everyday lives—and how local designers, health-tech companies, community organizations, and residents might work together to address them.
Designing for Health and Wellbeing Day at The Art and Design District
12pm-5pm
Design Forward Alliance
Designing for the Subconscious: A Clinical Hypnosis x Sound Experience
1pm-1:45pm
Caitlin Fahey
Biomaterials in Product Design: Circular and Additive Manufacturing Processes
2pm-2:45pm
Akari Nakashima and Inbar Schwartz
Gratitude Journaling Workshop
2pm-2:30pm
Christina Peraza Font /Embodied Architect
Ritual by Design: Designing Human Connection Through Tea & Culture
2pm-2:45pm
The Saint / Burmese Culture Curator & Tea Practitioner
Best Day Ever: What Can Your Breath Tell You?
3pm-3:45pm
Ira Hayes
Designing Human Connection at Work
3pm-3:45pm
PlayInnové
Panel Discussion: Designing for Health and Wellness in San Diego
4pm-4:45pm
Alexandra Sieben
Workshop: Designing Everyday Health and Wellbeing in San Diego
4:45pm-5:30pm
Alexandra Sieben
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
From Wall to Table — Friendship Over Fear
1pm-2:30pm
Friends of International Friendship Park
The Vision and Creation of Costume Design for Theater– A Look Backstage with the La Jolla Playhouse Costume Department.
2pm-3:30pm
La Jolla Playhouse
San Diego Design Week Opening Reception and Design Forward Lightning Talks
5pm-9pm
Wed September, 16
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
Behind the Design of the Golden Door Country Store
10am-12pm
Golden Door Country Store
Firefly workshop with Adobe
12pm-2pm
Meghan Arnold
From Wall to Table — Friendship Over Fear
1pm-2:30pm
Friends of International Friendship Park
From Pattern to Stitch: Inside Gather Sewing Collective
2:30pm-3pm
Gather Sewing Collective
From Space to Place: Imagining the Future of Downtown’s Creative Ecosystem
3pm-4pm
Arts + Design District
The Big Idea
3pm-5pm
Grizzly
Behind The Seams: Fashion Past and Present: An insider’s tour of the San Diego History Center’s historic clothing archive
4pm-5:30pm
San Diego History Center
Evening Open Studio with Burton Landscape Architecture Studio at Cedros Avenue Design District
5pm-8pm
Burton Landscape Architecture Studio
Adobe Create Now
6pm-9pm
Adobe
The Dream Lab: A Space Built for What’s Next
6pm-7pm
DREAMS+DUCATS
Thu September, 17
Designing What We Wear
The Fashion track at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego challenges disposable culture through The Infinite Design – a showcase of local designers and students creating work built to outlive trends. The track explores the tension between fleeting fashion and enduring style.
Designing What We Wear Day at MCASD La Jolla
11am-7pm
Design Forward Alliance at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Unraveling the Archive: 250 Years of Fashion, History, and Regional Heritage-A Conversation with Dr. Tina Zarpour on preserving Historic Textiles
11am-11:45am
Dr. Tina Zarpour
Zandra with a Zed – Documentary exclusive preview
12pm-12:45am
Bridie O'Sullivan - Documentary creator
FROM CONCEPT TO RETAIL: DANTE ROWLEY’S PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS – STRATEGIC INSIGHTS INTO DESIGN, SOURCING AND CURATION
1pm-1:45pm
Dante Rowley
Deconstructing Isaac Mizrahi 30 Years Later: Legacy, Evolution, and Rediscovery.
3pm-3:45pm
Presented by Fashion Designer Olga Cecilia Sanchez
The Dazzle Lab: Stencil Design and Rhinestone workshop
4pm-5:30pm
Design Forward Alliance at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
*From Runway to Classroom: Designing a Future Where Everyone Belongs – Insights from Ashley Nell Tipton, Project Runway Winner.
5:45pm-6:15pm
Ashley Tipton
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
DDX’26 San Diego – UX & Innovation – Conference
9am-6pm
DDX Conference
The Aeron Chair from Herman Miller®: Design for the good of humankind
Various times
Design Within Reach
From Wall to Table — Friendship Over Fear
1pm-2:30pm
Friends of International Friendship Park
Beyond the Gates – How Hospitality Design Is Transforming the Public Golf Experience
5pm-7pm
JN Tropea Design and Del Mar Golf Center
From Idea to Kickstarter: The Design Journey Behind SAAL Surf Backpack
5pm-8pm
Alex Cordeiro / CEO and Founder of Dip Studio
Huerta x Huerta showcase
5pm-7pm
Sarah Irene Garcia Huerta / Huerta x Huerta
Fri September, 18
Designing Our Digital World
This track explores how digital design shapes modern products, services, and experiences — from designing with AI to prototyping ideas and launching digital products. Includes professional sessions, public workshops, and a showcase.
Digital Design Day At Qualcomm
10am-4:30pm
Qualcomm
Tours of Qualcomm Pacific Center Campus
10am-2pm
Qualcomm
Design Lightning presentations
11am-12pm
UCSD Design Lab
Design Showcase Tabling
12pm-2pm
UCSD Design Lab
Stop Designing Cars Like Phones
12:50pm-1:50pm
Ben Kuhn
150 Mentoring Sessions Later: Lessons for Navigating the Great UX Reset
1:55pm-2:55pm
Chris Gielow
Designing with AI Panel + Speed Mentoring
2pm-4pm
SD Design Trek
AMPLIFIED! at Work: Designing Better with HI × AI
3pm-4pm
Kevin Popović
Designing our Digital World Happy Hour hosted by UX Speakeasy
UX Speakeasy
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
Designing for Everyone – The History Behind ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station
10am-11am
obr + Lionakis
Designing the Digital World of the Future: A Human-Centered AI Experience | San Diego Design Week 2026
10am-12pm
From Wall to Table — Friendship Over Fear
Various times
Friends of International Friendship Park
AIA CEU COURSE – Envelope Intelligence: The evolving role of high-performance aluminum fenestration in residential architecture
3pm-5pm
Western Architectural Openings
Sat September, 19
Designing Our Spaces
Spaces explores how architecture, interiors, and landscape design shape the way we live, gather, and connect—inviting spatial concepts that transform environments into meaningful experiences through installations, exhibitions, prototypes, material explorations, iterative process, and hands-on workshops.
Designing Our Spaces Day at NewSchool of Architecture & Design
10am-5pm
NewSchool of Architecture & Design
From Space to Surface: Architecture Through Painting
10am-5pm
Maha Bazzari / studio MAHA
Persian Garden: A Living Landscape of Art, Design & Cultural Memory
10am-5pm
Persian Place
The Arch of Tranquility: Persian Art, Design, and Wellness
10am-5pm
Visions Museum of Textile Art and Persian Place
The Psychology of places: designing spaces for performance and inclusivity
10am-11am
Tiziana d'Agostino
CIVIC CENTER REDEVELOPMENT
10:30am-12pm
Bohan Lang
Rooted in Design: The Persian Cypress Tree
11am-12pm
Persian Place
The Future is Modular
11am-12pm
Vincent Mudd
Carved Stories: Persian Woodblock Printing
1pm-2pm
Persian Place
Rooted Together: Co-Designing Future Legacies from Cultural Memory
1pm-2:30pm
Uday Dandavate — Co‑Founder of SonicRim and ethnographer of social imagination, design researcher, catalyst of co‑creation, poet, oral history facilitator,...
The Power of Color in Play
1pm-2pm
Scott Roschi
Make Me THINK!
2pm-3:30pm
Dario Miticocchio
Threads of Persia: Designing a Persian Rug
2pm-3pm
Persian Place
Seeing Space: An Architectural Photography Workshop
2:30pm-4pm
Maha Bazzari / studio MAHA
Persian Tiles: A Journey in Color & Pattern
3pm-4pm
Persian Place
Designing Social Imagination: New Tools for Healing and Renewal
3:30pm-5pm
Uday Dandavate, Co-Founder, SonicRim
From Reed to Word: The Art of Persian Calligraphy
4pm-5pm
Persian Place
Ritual By Design
4pm-5pm
Kris Farren Moss
The Art of Design – Evening Reception at The Guild Hotel
5:30pm-9pm
The Guild Hotel & JFiN Collective
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
Common roots. Experiential in nature.
Various times
L'Anima
Childrens Park: The Realization of a Community Vision
10am-11:30am
JT Barr, Schmidt Design Group & Brad Lents, Spurlock Landscape Architects
Golden Door Country Store Fall Market
10am-2pm
Golden Door Country Store Maker's Markets
Design Pop Up Shop
12pm-5pm
Sunset Projects
Guided Tour of Murals of La Jolla
12pm-1:30pm
Murals of La Jolla
Plaza Central: Designing Our Civic Space
1pm-5pm
Máximo Creative Communications, presented by AIGA San Diego Tijuana
Sun September, 20
Designing Multimedia Experiences
This new track explores how multimedia design transforms stories into shared experiences through motion, sound, video, XR, projection and interactive media and the latest emerging creative technologies. This day features media installations, screenings, live demos, & interactive programming.
[ONLINE] Experience Innovation: Designing for Engagement in Immersive Environments
10am-10:30am
Hoda Solati
[ONLINE] Designing for the Mind: Bridging Human Experience and Emerging Technologies
10:45am-11:15am
Shima Solati
Designing Multimedia Experiences Day in Downtown San Diego
11am-9pm
Design Forward Alliance
The Vessel: An Activation for Designing the Inner Conditions for Creativity
1pm-2pm
Leila Astarabadi
Workshop: Visualize Your Future – San Diego Office of Anticipation
1pm-2pm
Us Against When
Film Screening + Q&A: Thresholds – A Multimedia Study on Transition
1:30pm-2pm
Joseph Holson
Bossity Content & Podcast Popup
2pm-7pm
Bossity, Nova Renay
Film Screening + Q&A: Meditations on the Deep Sea Part I
2pm-3pm
The Holyfield
Designing Audio-Reactive Visuals with TouchDesigner
3pm-4pm
Benjamin Guerrette - Ten Six Pines
Creator Economy Panel: From Craft to Company
4pm-5pm
Nova Renay, Design Forward Alliance
Experiential Design Panel: Designing Moments That Move People
5pm-6pm
Catherine Eng
Design Week Closing Party: DJ Silent Disco
6pm-8pm
Design Forward Alliance
Projection Exhibition: Human Made – After Dark
8pm-9pm
Media Arts Center San Diego + AIGA SDTJ + OurWorlds
The We The People Museum Experience
Our Genetic Legacy
Events Around Town
Explore diverse design activities happening across San Diego, from networking mixers to specialized workshops and collaborative sessions.
Designing Downtown, District-by-District; A San Diego Case Study. A design discussion led by Howard Blackson, urban designer.
9am-10:30am
Howard Blackson :: Urban Design
Tue September, 22
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