Design Bay Area: The Future Started Here

We unite and empower the design, arts, and culture sectors across the San Francisco Bay Area’s nine counties. We create opportunities for designers, businesses, and organizations to thrive, positioning the region as a leader in innovation, sustainability, and community impact. Through local and global partnerships, we amplify the influence of design on society and culture.

Our Vision

We believe our communities should thrive culturally, technologically and economically with access to design for all.

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Strategic Pillars
Unity in Variety

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to several design organizations. DesignBayArea’s role is the leading organization in the region to align the various design groups by leveraging common goals through shared activities and programming while not seeking to replace distinct interests.

Place-Based Engagement

The San Francisco Bay Area is a large region made up of 9 counties and our community is not confined by one zip code and neither are we. We embrace an approach without boundaries, creating authentic experiences rooted in the places where our community lives and works, engaging directly to cultivate deeper relationships and meaningful collaborations.

Civic Involvement

With the societal impact of design endeavors taking center stage, an emphasis on ethics and civic responsibility becomes paramount in design for the 21st century. Such involvement includes working with our municipal government to secure a design voice in the public discourse with the end-goal of improving the experience of our city be it through active participation in existing efforts to create a design led region.

Sustainability

With the climate crisis upon us, the Bay Area design community is a leader in sustainable methods and products. DesignBayArea keeps sustainability front and center throughout all our actions and productions.

Go International

The Bay Area finds itself at the crossroads of many economic, social, and cultural intersections as well as being an international travel hub bridging North America with the Pacific. Design Bay Area furthers its role in the global design community by leveraging these uncommon qualities that few cities enjoy through a number of efforts: from potential partnerships with our sister cities around the world and international events produced by Design Bay Area attracting design enthusiasts from all over.

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Leadership

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Our History

DesignBayArea was founded in 2021 by Alana Washington, Clement Mok and Dawn Zidonis in memory of August de los Reyes who believed in community and inclusivity. DesignBayArea produces events throughout the year in all 9 counties, offers resources and economic opportunities for the local and international design community and produces San Francisco Design Week, Design Healdsburg, Design Palo Alto and Design Sausalito, annual design festivals that spans the SF Bay Area.

Thank you to our Co-Founder August de los Reyes, for your dedication in building this project with us from the ground up. Even though you left us too soon, your legacy lives on through the Bay Area design community and San Francisco Design Week. San Francisco Design Week is funded by a gracious financial gift from the Estate of August de los Reyes.

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Design Ambassadors

Our Design Ambassadors are selected as leaders to represent our communities diverse set of disciplines and also distinct regions to represent the nine counties of the SF Bay Area. They act as ambassadors, advisors and represenatives for the Design Bay Area organization.

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Support Team

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In Memoriam

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Thank You

Thank you to our partners at Retronyms Labs for the development of the website and Mobile App. Retronyms excels at using design, engineering, and strategy to bring integrated-technology experiences to life.

To Christopher Simmons and the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Chapter of AIGA SF for planting the seeds and starting San Francisco Design Week in 2006. In 2011, Dawn Zidonis took over the reigns and built the event into an international design festival. In 2021 Design Bay Area acquired the brand and has been producing the event ever since.

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Main Sponsors