December 16, 2024 • Posted by Design Bay Area
A message from DesignBayArea CEO, Dawn Zidonis
As we close out 2024 and look forward to the new year, I want to take a moment to reflect and thank you for being an essential part of our region’s growth and successes—both individual and collective.
DesignBayArea is more than just a hub for creativity; it’s the heart of all things design in our region. We are a dynamic community of industry creatives, not confined by buildings or a single zip code, but connected through place-based experiences. The true home of design in the Bay Area lives within the individuals, studios, products, and brands that make this place so vibrant and inspiring.
Since stepping into the role of community leader in 2011, I’ve had the privilege of watching this community grow, connect, and thrive. I’ve also stood alongside you as we faced challenges together, proving the resilience and ingenuity of our region. These experiences, along with the dedication of our community members, have fueled my commitment over the past 14 years to championing, supporting, and evolving our creative ecosystem.
2024 was an exciting year as we continued to enhance the resources we offer. Guided by our mantra steeped in forward-thinking and innovation, “The Future Started Here,” we’ve built upon the unique strengths and creativity that define our region.
Here are some key highlights from the past year, along with a preview of what’s to come in 2025:
Investing in Technology: Connecting Our Creative Community
We heard you: finding design and creative events in our region can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. With so many organizations managing separate calendars, events often slipped through the cracks—only to be discovered after the fact through friends social media photos.
To bridge this gap, we launched the first-ever Design Community Event Mobile App in early 2024, aggregating the region’s events into a single, user-friendly calendar. The response has been incredible: nearly 1,000 users have joined, and over 100 community events have been self-published by members since launch.
Looking ahead to 2025, we’re excited to roll out Phase 2:
- Enhanced User Engagement: New ways to connect and collaborate with fellow community members.
- Web App Integration: A streamlined platform that allows users to publish events to both the Website and Mobile App simultaneously.
Expanding Our Regional Impact
This year, we celebrated 18 incredible years of San Francisco Design Week, held in June under the thought-provoking theme, “Attention: Commanding and Controlling a Precious Commodity.” We welcomed over 2,500 attendees and also funded 221 tickets for those impacted by layoffs through our Free Ticket Program. Dates for 2025 SF Design Week will be announced January 15th.
We expanded our reach with the launch of Design Healdsburg, where I met with the Mayor for a ribbon cutting ceremony, and Design Palo Alto where we explored the heart of Silicon Valley through the lens of design, and a holiday edition of Design Sausalito focused on makers, artists, landscape and architecture (and houseboats)! Through these events we showcased exceptional talent and products across our region while fostering new ideas and connections. We collaborated with creatives across boundaries led by our Advisory Committee to which I am extremely grateful.
The numbers speak for themselves: all in all, we produced over 260 events this year, sparking unparalleled creativity and fostering meaningful collaboration across our community.
Looking ahead to 2025–2026, we’re excited to announce new regional initiatives while also growing existing programs:
We’re bringing back our International Program, launching our “New to the Bay Area” initiative for those who’ve recently relocated to our region to help them find their community, and we’ll be introducing new regional design destinations.
We’ll also be launching a Call for Volunteer Opportunities to join our leadership in helping to shape the organization.
Support the Work We Do to Build Community and Amplify Design in our Region
As a 501c3, we need your help to continue funding our existing and future initiatives! Please consider making a donation to support our efforts to continue growing and making it easier than ever to connect, create, and inspire!
Want to collaborate or sponsor? Contact us to explore opportunities and a member of our team will reach out to you!
Together, we’re building a more connected and vibrant Design Bay Area. Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for being part of our growing community.
Wishing you a happy, prosperous New Year!
Warmly,
Dawn Zidonis
CEO, Design Bay Area
Photo credit: Orange Photography