September in Detroit means Design: 2017 Detroit Design Festival kicks off

In Detroit, you might as well call September “Design Month.” Thanks to the efforts of Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3), a variety of design-themed events have been planned for the month as part of the Detroit Design Festival (DDF). 

The month kicks off with the Detroit City of Design Summit from Sept. 8 through 15 (last year’s inaugural summit was covered by Model D). The event was spurred by UNESCO endowing Detroit with its prestigious “City of Design” designation—the first city in the United States to receive one. It will explore how Detroit can harness the designation and the efforts made towards that goal in the last year.

From Sept. 9 through Oct. 7, guests can view “Footwork,” an exhibition put on by a series of partners on the future of work. Model D covered the group that went to St. Etienne, France where the exhibition was originally on display. 

The “festival” portion unofficially begins with a Drinks x Design on Sept. 14, where attendees can grab a program guide and tour some design-centric businesses and organizations. 

As usual, DC3 has helped organize the wondrous Eastern Market After Dark and Light Up Livernois events—annual displays of the ways art and business and historic public spaces can enliven each other. 

The 2017 Detroit Design Festival is taking place throughout most of September and some of October. Most of the events are free. View the whole DDF schedule here.