Design is everywhere — from the built environment to the packaging on our groceries, the music in an elevator or a fanciful public art sculpture. But it's not always easy to define.
San Diego Design Week 2025
Sept. 17-21, 2025 | Various locations
Full program schedule and reservations: sddesignweek.org/
"The answer that resonates with me the most is that design is what makes everything cool," said Eric Weiss, president of the Design Forward Alliance, organizer of San Diego Design Week.
He said design is the way we dress, or put our kids’ artwork on the fridge. It's the way we organize files on our computers or phones. It's compelling logos, app user interfaces, sidewalks, hiking trails, freeway interchanges and latte art.
"Design is really about creativity, and it's marrying the art and creative sides of us with the functional side," Weiss said. "It's the fashion design, it's the interior design, it's the architecture, it's how we design products."
San Diego Design Week (SDDW) launched in 2020, spearheaded by Mingei International Museum. In the five years since, the program has evolved, with dozens of panels, exhibitions, guided and self-guided tours, events, installations, workshops, activities, lectures and more — most of them free. This year’s SDDW comes after the San Diego-Tijuana 2024 World Design Capital designation, which elevated the region's standing as a major design destination and served to unite and galvanize local creatives and organizations on both sides of the border — to be what Weiss describes as ambassadors for human-centered design.
Now we're saying, "OK, now that we all know that we're designers, let's figure out how we can make an impact and make our city a better place."Eric Weiss, San Diego Design Week
"The theme this year is 'Design for Impact,'" Weiss said. "Now we're saying, 'OK, now that we all know that we're designers, let's figure out how we can make an impact and make our city a better place.'"
For Weiss and the organizers, the big themes this year are evident in two separate focus days: AI in Design Day on Wednesday at the Mingei and an Education Day on Friday at the UC San Diego Park & Market Design Lab.
The vast majority of SDDW events are free to the public with registration, though some tours, parties and dinners require paid tickets. Here’s a list of standout free events:
Exhibitions and performances
Mindful Data Audiovisual Project
The body is the instrument in this performance-meets-exhibit. After a mini lecture about biometric data and tapping into the mind-body connection using technology, artist Mario D. Alvarado straps into the hot seat to perform music based on the body's biometrics. Following the performance, visitors can give it a whirl themselves.
7-11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 | Sound by the Sea, 325 S. Coast Hwy., Oceanside | MORE INFO
Digital Witness: Student Typographic Explorations
Typography students (sign me up for that class!) from Point Loma Nazarene University explored a LACMA exhibit centered on the evolution of graphic communication from analog to digital. Students then created their own posters, now on display at the Mingei.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 | 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park | MORE INFO
Como Si Mi Coyote Viviera Aqui / As If My Coyote Lived Here
Tijuana-based ceramics and design studio Perro y Arena pairs with community art house Dear Tomorrow in Oceanside for this immersive exhibition. Artists transformed the building — once, and once again, a home — into a dwelling for an imagined coyote. Expect cute coyote-themed ceramics, an acoustic indie performance from Somos Aire at 5 p.m. and a meditative look at what it means to inhabit.
4-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 | Dear Tomorrow, 216 S. Tremont St., Oceanside | MORE INFO
Border Echoes: Art as Resistance and Reclamation
Border artist Ana Maria Herrera's exhibition features found-object assemblages, mixed-media, photography and installation pieces that evoke memory, identity and migration. The exhibit is on view at the Nissan Design America space.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 9800 Campus Point Dr., UTC | MORE INFO
Casa Paredita
Architectural designer Xinyu Yan's tiny rammed-earth structure prototype is imagined for glamping or a dwelling in the mountains — combining minimalism with sustainability and the natural landscapes. Yan and Herrera's installations are part of a collection of visual art pop-ups at Nissan Design America.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 9800 Campus Point Dr., UTC | MORE INFO
Tours
Downtown Public Art Tour with Real Working Public Administrators
Take a two-hour walking tour of downtown with the city's public art team to get the inside scoop on how art interacts with the city landscape, how public art pieces are chosen and the stories and histories of each piece. The tour kicks off at Children's Park.
10 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Sept. 18 | 326 W. Harbor Dr., downtown | MORE INFO
RaDD Art Tour
The RaDD Artwalk is a collection of 19 works of public art installed among private buildings, sidewalks and alleys near the Waterfront. The tour meets at the Waltzing Matilda sculpture
10-11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 | 925 Waterfront Pl., downtown | MORE INFO
Guided Tour of Murals of La Jolla
Meet at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library to begin a guided walking tour of murals in the Murals of La Jolla series. Established in 2010, the program has installed 50 temporary murals throughout La Jolla, including one by the late John Baldessari.
Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 1008 Wall St., La Jolla | MORE INFO
Activities and meetups
Education Day
This day of programming for educators, students, parents and designers aims to infuse design principles into education and learning through activities, workshops and discussions at UC San Diego Park & Market Design Lab (virtual options available).
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 | 1100 Market St., downtown | MORE INFO
San Diego Made Live!
Browse open artist studios, participate in artmaking events, view a silent documentary screening and enjoy food and drinks for purchase at San Diego Made Factory.
6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 | 2031 Commercial St., Sherman Heights | MORE INFO
Coastal Cleanup Day
View the winners of the Design for Clean Water: Stormwater Pollution Challenge at a coastal cleanup event sponsored by I Love A Clean San Diego beginning at Robb Field. Four winning projects explore design solutions that combat pollution in San Diego's stormwater systems.
9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Sept. 20 | 2525 Bacon St., Ocean Beach | MORE INFO
Refugeoly
This art installation-meets-giant board game at the Nissan Design America space invites visitors to experience the journey of a refugee navigating their way to safety. Turning the extreme capitalism of Monopoly on its head, the game explores the real stories and financial struggles of refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants, where each transaction is a potential step toward safety or further peril.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 9800 Campus Point Dr. UTC, | MORE INFO
Panels and lectures
AI Create: How AI Is Shaping Creative Futures
A panel featuring Mohammad Khan of AI Create, with Di Le, Brent Summers and Wendy Ginsberg, will discuss the ethics, practical uses and possible futures of AI in design industries.
4-5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17 | Mingei International Museum | MORE INFO
Designing Memory: Visual Storytelling with Dave Eassa
Get a sneak peek at the new "Head Above the Clouds" exhibit and hear from artist Dave Eassa and the team at the California Center for the Arts about how exhibition design can tap into deeper emotions and ties.
6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17 | California Center for the Arts, Escondido | MORE INFO
Oslyn Whizar: 'Textile Paintings, a Journey Through an Interdisciplinary Practice'
Painter-turned-textile artist Oslyn Whizar creates abstract, sculptural fiber works and hangings. Coinciding with an exhibit at Visions Museum of Textile Arts, Whizar will present a lecture about her evolution as an artist, and what her current exhibition means to her. The exhibit will be on view through Oct. 25.
1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 | 2825 Dewey Rd. Ste. 100, Liberty Station | MORE INFO
Workshops and artmaking
ReVision: An Inclusive Studio & Artmaking Experience
This pop-up exhibition and workshop is presented at ReVision's Hillcrest studio space, where resident artists will lead guests in specialty artmaking activities. ReVision is an organization that promotes inclusivity, centering disabled artists.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 | 3609 Fourth Ave., Hillcrest | MORE INFO
Tea-ming Up for Health
This hands-on workshop and exploration of tea will lead attendees through the design process and craft of making tea while discussing how the tea-making mindset can be applied to real-world problems.
10:15-11:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 9800 Campus Point Dr., UTC | MORE INFO
SDXD Presents: Designing the Communities We Want to Be Part Of Featuring Sheba Najmi
Embrace the bigger picture of design while also zooming in locally. This lecture and group discussion, led by civic design expert Sheba Najmi, poses questions about the kind of community we want to live in and prompts attendees to imagine a more thoughtfully designed neighborhood.
1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 9800 Campus Point Dr., UTC | MORE INFO
Self-Portrait as Divine Reclamation
Galina Semenova's Womanity Portrait Foundation will present a workshop exploring self-portraiture — whether for DIY professional headshots, lifestyle photos for a portfolio or just improving selfies in an empowered, creative way.
1-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | 9800 Campus Point Dr., UTC | MORE INFO
Ancient Wisdom for Design Solutions
Artist and educator Chitra Gopalakrishnan will lead a workshop pairing modern design needs with ancient wisdom, such as sacred geometry and Indigenous practices.
2:30-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 | Nissan Design America | MORE INFO
