DESIGN WEEK RI is the annual celebration of design featuring Rhode Island designers and entrepreneurs. The 13th Annual DESIGN WEEK RI brings you 6 days of events! Each year, DESIGN WEEK RI offers talks, tours, workshops, parties, and more that showcase the design talent across Rhode Island – featuring and hosted by our many partners and design friends. Below, you can filter by event type, date, and location to find the perfect activities for you. Then, click “Learn More” to see an event’s full details and reserve your spot!
Moniker Brewery | 432 W Fountain St, Providence, RI 02903
Networking Hour with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
Arrive ahead of the Kickoff Party for a networking hour hosted by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. Connect with fellow designers, entrepreneurs, and creative professionals, learn about Goldman Sachs' nationally recognized business education program, and expand your professional network before the official program begins.
Moniker Brewery | 432 W Fountain St, Providence, RI 02903
The Kickoff Party
Celebrate the launch of the 13th annual DESIGN WEEK RI with an evening of networking, local craft beer, and a first look at this year's statewide celebration of design.
Brown University Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center | 75 Waterman St, Providence, RI 02912
Beyond the Brief: Mapping the Design Process from Concept to Completion
Join us for a session on the cognitive process behind visual design, moving past the final export and diving into the non-linear journey of design thinking. Whether you’re a seasoned creative or a curious problem-solver, this session will explore how our team at Brown approaches a new project.
Buttonwoods Brewery | 50 Sims Avenue, Providence, RI 02909
Why We Design: Tales from the Field
Join the Rhode Island User Experience Collective for an exciting evening of networking and short, impactful talks from designers about what, and who, drives us to do what we do. Attendees will have time to network with fellow designers, enjoy some snacks, and hear from their peers about what motivates them to show up every day.
Designed by Systems: How the World We Move Through Shapes What We Make
Join OCTO PD for a panel and live audience discussion on how our daily encounters with machine systems - transit, institutions, cities, platforms, AI, workplaces, shape behavior, sharpen design intuition, and quietly author the technologies that come next.
Portrait Mode: Creating and Understanding Portraits
Portrait Mode is a facilitated, interactive evening of learning and creation! We will begin by exploring the role of portraiture—how it shapes memory, identity, and legacy—followed by a hands on self portrait session.
Illuminating Design: A Hands-On Journey with Lumetta Lighting Design & Manufacturing
Step behind the scenes and immerse yourself in the art and science of premium luminaire design and manufacturing with Lumetta. This interactive tour offers a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the journey of a Lumetta light, from initial concept to finished product.
KITE Architects Studio | 1 Central Street, Providence, RI 02907
Architectural Model Making: Lost and Future Art
Join KITE Architects for this open studio event that brings the evolution of architectural model making to life through live demonstrations. Drawing from KITE’s 50-year archive, the event invites the public to experience how physical and digital models shape the design process, revealing the craftsmanship, technology, and experimentation behind contemporary architecture.
DWRI Letterpress | 40 Rice Street, Providence, RI 02907
Tour a Vital Printing Press
Join DWRI Letterpress founder, Dan Wood, on a tour of the shop. Learn about letterpress printing traditions and see Dan's collection of historical printing presses and equipment. The shop using traditional and contemporary techniques to craft personal stationery, small run books, fine art editioning, posters and more.
JohnnyCakes Design | 378 Broadway, Providence, RI 02909
Behind the Zhush: Taking Your Space from *Womp* to WHOA!
Is your space feeling a little *womp*? In this workshop we'll take you behind the zhush to better understand key elements of design including color, scale, materials, layout, and more to give your the tools for thinking about your own spaces.
Roosevelt Lake in Roger Williams Park | Pine Hill Ave, Providence, RI 02907
Co-Creating Living Infrastructure Through Citizen Science
Step into Roosevelt Park and experience ecological design at full scale! BIOPOD is a Rhode Island-founded consultancy that deploys modular, mycelium-based floating wetlands to restore urban waterways, and this guided site tour puts you directly inside a live 20-unit installation. You'll walk the water's edge, examine real water samples, and learn how mycelium, plant roots, and microbial communities work together to filter pollutants, build habitat, and treat biology itself as a co-creator.
RISD Museum | 20 North Main St, Providence, RI 02903
Finding Your Way: Reconceiving Wayfinding at the RISD Museum
This session with members of the RISD Museum design team will dive into the complexities of creating design systems within multifaceted institutions, why user testers are necessary, and what visitors really need.
The Long Table at RISD: A Public Studio for Community Exchange
The Long Table at RISD: A Public Studio for Community Exchange invites the greater Providence and Rhode Island community into a participatory space for dialogue, drawing, mapping, and shared inquiry. As part of a day-long Design Day, the table will serve as a living archive and gathering point, helping participants surface connections and imagine what might continue beyond the event.
(add)ventures | 20 Risho Ave, East Providence, RI 02914
Introduction to Virtual Production: Lunch and Learn
Step inside the future of content creation with a behind-the-scenes look at virtual production, hosted by Scott Maiocchi, Chief of Creative Technology at (add)ventures. Explore the transformative technology reshaping storytelling and branding. Whether you’re a curious first-timer or a seasoned creative, this is your chance to connect, learn and be inspired.
Join DM Engineers for an engaging Design Week RI conversation exploring the unseen engineering systems that shape comfort, sustainability, performance, and the overall user experience within the built environment. This interactive event brings together architects, engineers, designers, and industry professionals to discuss how collaboration and integrated design help bring great spaces to life.
Amigos Taqueria y Tequila | 2 Canal St, Westerly, RI 02891
Rhode Island Minorities in Architecture & Design Meetup
Join RIMiAD on Thursday, September 17th at 5:30pm at Amigos Taqueria y Tequila in Westerly for apps, drinks, and great conversation. RIMiAD is dedicated to supporting minority designers by creating space for them to meet a great networking support system while supporting RI's local minority owned restaurants.
The UNITED Theatre | 5 Canal St, Westerly, RI 02891
Designing Spaces to Gather: The Irreplaceable Role of Live Arts in the Age of AI
As AI tools make it easier than ever to create music, art, and film from a bedroom or a laptop, a fundamental question emerges: what do we lose when we stop showing up for each other? This panel brings together artists, educators, technologists, and community leaders to make the case for the live, in-person arts experience as a necessary counterweight to the atomization of creative life.
Providence Place Mall | One Providence Place, Providence, RI 02903
Big Box, Bigger Dreams: Designing the Future of Providence Place
Providence Place Mall is endangered, indebted, and full of possibility. Join us to imagine what comes next. This walking design charette will be led by Emily Bryant and Caroline Stevens, both seasoned guides in public humanities and urban dialogue, alongside artist Michael Townsend, who once built a hidden apartment inside the mall itself. Now is the time to dream out loud. The city is listening.
Anyhow Studio’s Most Excellent Pottery Throwdown: THE SEQUEL!
Eat, drink, reconnect with all your favorite DESIGN WEEK RI pals, and watch Rhode Island’s boldest ceramicists throw down for the crown! Will our potters prevail in rapid fire challenges, or will their work flop on the wheel?? Come through DESIGN WEEK RI’s no-holds-barred closing party to find out!
