I was privileged to walk in the footsteps of the city’s creative talent last week at The Detroit Design Festival (#DDF2013). The five day event (Sept 17-22) showcased a spectrum of ideas, exhibits and experiences using retail, technology and design. The first event I attended, was the kick-off expo on Tuesday night. 10 other fellows accompanied me as we embraced the art that surrounded us. I was most intrigued by a “live” display that featured a white 2013 SRT Viper. The sports car served as a canvas for multiple video projections. I was inspired to learn that these video projects were in fact a live feed of attendees at the expo. As a producer of digital content, this aesthetic was invigorating to me.

Experience

With over 70 events in the festival, I was able to attend several that appealed to me. One in particular was Eastern Market After Dark (EMAfterDark). Walking through the retail culture of Eastern Market at night was fun, and encouraged me to come back to the neighborhood.

On Friday, Challenge Detroit actively supported the events on Livernois Avenue, Detroit’s historic fashion & retail corridor. In collaboration with the Livernois Community Storefront, fellows helped pop-up retailers set up for the day of activities. At night DDF incubated one of the most community-involved events of the festival: Light Up Livernois.

Create

Everyday I am reminded how creative this class of fellows is! We put on our design caps and participated in Park(ing) Day. #ParkingDayDet served as a prototype for open-source urban design, accessible to the Detroit community. In its inaugural launch, the event was made possible by the Detroit chapter of Architecture for Humanity.

Design

Fellows split into teams and creatively tackled 4 different 8’x18’ spaces. Each of our teams took time to plan and design around this question: Considering the range of social, cultural or ecological deficiencies in Detroit, what is missing from this city? We pulled from our experiences Living, Working, and Playing in the city to come up with some exceptional parking spaces:

• #Bicyclet, tackled safe bike parking in the city by providing a complementary bike valet. The team offered a solution to provide a safe and friendly bike valet service.
• Sweet On Detroit (@SweetOnDet), turned their space into a pop-up recording studio that offered passerby’s home-baked cookies in exchange for a live video testimonial about their positive thoughts on Detroit.
• Another team built a stage where festivalgoers could creatively express themselves through poetry, singing, and dancing. The idea was to create a space that allowed exposure to art, expression,  and imagination.
• Taste the Space: The team that I was a part of, brought attention to healthy living through food options. We shared recipe cards, and food samples with festival-goers. Some of the produce at our space was actually grown in a Fellows farm right here in the City.

Park(ing) Day & the Detroit Design Festival was a fantastic opportunity to explore and engage with the city’s creative community. Detroit’s authenticity for the arts is rooted in its rich history as a center for innovation and creativity. I found it really inspiring to see the innovation-taking place in Detroit’s backyard. Keep on designing Detroit!

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