what events are right for me?

Design Week is almost here and some of you may be wondering as you comb through the 100+ listings: what events are right for me? We want to show you a few of the things you can do, with a focus on virtual events, to truly immerse yourself in the programming while at home. This is a very brief sampling of how you can interact, and there are many events in our programming that fall into each of these categories: see, learn, connect, create, listen. Read through the below to get inspired to register to start creating your own personal San Diego Design Week itinerary.

See

Film screenings are always exciting, and we’re thrilled to have a few as part of SDDW. One of the (free!) virtual screenings allows registered participants to watch the film Rams any time on Friday, September 11. Rams is a 2018 documentary by New York-based filmmaker Gary Hustwit. It’s a portrait of Dieter Rams, one of the most influential designers alive, and a rumination on consumerism, sustainability, and the future of design. It features original music by pioneering musician and producer Brian Eno.

Learn

On Thursday, September 10 from 2-4 p.m., learn how we might harness human-centered design to radically reimagine our city’s future. Big topic, right? This is a working design session where participants will need to prepare by reading the designer’s toolkit and come to the table with collaborative and creative ideas to imagine a better future for our city. This big-picture event is brought to us by UC San Diego Design Lab and Design Forward Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes human-centered design as a tool to help advance San Diego as a premier city for business, education, and enjoyment. The alliance has a big goal for our region: apply to the World Design Organization for the San Diego/Tijuana region to be certified as World Design Capital for the year 2024 – and they want to get as many people involved as possible to contribute.

Connect

Grab a mimosa or breakfast cocktail and host a virtual brunch with your friends to support local artists and designers! Mingei’s incredible shop, Shop Mingei, will be doing a virtual shopping event on Instagram Stories (@shopmingei). Featured San Diego artists and galleries include Arline Fisch, Ashley Kim, Cara Golden, Entoten, Folk Project, Housgoods Jewelry, Jack Boyd Studio, Joanie Laib, Jyumoku, Maru Lopez, Michele Linback, Miki Iwasaki, Mr. Blueskye, Nan Coffin, and The Slipped Studio. Items begin posting for sale at 10 a.m., so tune in early for first dibs.

Create

Local artist Yomar Augusto is doing a live one-hour workshop on Sunday, August 13 from 3-4 p.m. for $20. Dust off your brushes and learn the classical starting point for a calligraphic base. Starting by drawing the horizontal rule-lines to set proportion and to work within, letters and words are constructed within a framework, allowing you to create simple, clean, and honest compositions. You’ll learn the fundamentals of letterform proportion and the use of a broad-edged pen. Bonus: the first 10 guests to register for the workshop will receive a 25" x 35" print by Yomar Augusto, from his Letter Series, with the opportunity to select a letter of your choosing. The print will be packaged and shipped to you at no cost, courtesy of Impact Visual Arts, anywhere in the U.S.

Listen

Tim Mays is a local icon, the impresario behind legendary venue The Casbah. His other business ventures include the timeless restaurant and cocktail bar Starlite; another music venue, Soda Bar; Golden Hill coffee shop Krakatoa; and Vinyl Junkies Record Shack. Tim has curated a San Diego Design Week playlist inspired by the designs of his favorite LP covers, which will be released on our Instagram the evening of the first day of Design Week (September 9, but who’s counting?)