Design

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We connect Detroit’s designers, businesses, and communities through impactful programs, high-profile events, and global partnerships that strengthen our city's designation as a UNESCO City of Design.

Our work

Innovative and inclusive programming

We provide business education, accelerator programs, a Design Network, and other support for creatives and small businesses.

Programs →

Globally-recognized events, for the community

From local networking events like Drinks x Design to our global, annual Detroit Month of Design festival, we produce events that showcase Detroit as an international creative leader.

Events →

Stewardship of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design

We manage international cooperation, facilitate global exchange programs, and tell Detroit’s design and innovation stories to the world.

About Us →

$4.5mm+

circulated in Detroit’s creative economy

2000+

design events in 15 years

350+

Detroit designers and works sent around the world, seen by over 4 million visitors

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For individuals & creatives

Classes and workshops

Upskill with our classes and workshops tailored to freelancers and small businesses

Design Network

Join the Design Network for premiere access to opportunities for business support, professional development, client-connections, and promotion

Events

Connect with your community and potential clients at our design-centered events and panels

Resources

Check out our guides for how to get your Detroit-based small business off the ground

For businesses

Connect with a designer

Reach top talent for services you need

Advertise with us

Increase your visibility through event sponsorships, brand activations, UNESCO Exchange programs, and morepromotion

Consultation services

Connect with your community and potential clients at our design-centered events and panels

Business resources

Understand how to use design to scale your business with our business guides and other resources

The Definitive Guide To Detroit For Design Lovers

September 29, 2025

A guide to Detroit’s living design culture—where industrial legacy, creative community, and everyday innovation collide block by block.

Detroit's Month of Design returns with sustainability focus

August 22, 2025

A snapshot of Detroit Month of Design at ten years in—where UNESCO recognition, sustainability goals, and nearly 100 events show how design shapes civic life, culture, and the city’s future.

Eight adaptive reuse projects in Detroit that showcase the city's transformation

August 7, 2025

A look at Detroit’s wave of adaptive reuse, where historic churches, factories, and skyscrapers are reimagined as cultural, residential, and creative spaces in a city navigating renewal and change.

Detroit Month of Design 2025, September 1–30: A Citywide Celebration of Creativity, Culture, and Collaboration

September 6, 2025

Exhibition detail from “Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the U.S.” at Cranbrook Art Museum. Photo by PD Rearick.

Cultural Highlights from This Year’s Detroit Month of Design

September 19, 2025

Detroit celebrates a decade as the U.S.’s only UNESCO City of Design, revealing how the city’s design-forward thinking extends far beyond the festival calendar.

An exhibition at Cranbrook Museum of Art spotlights overlooked perspectives from the midcentury modern movement

September 26, 2025

An exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum reframes midcentury modernism through Detroit’s lens, spotlighting overlooked designers and showing how the movement’s ideas continue to shape modern living.

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showcase

Hubert Massey

Working at Scale

Inspired by Dr. Massey’s wish to build lasting monuments to tell the story of Detroit, the AMPLIFY series shares insight from diverse design voices of Detroit Month of Design. Presented by Design Core Detroit and generously supported by the William Davidson Foundation.

Featured Story

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Ash Arder

Solar Design

Ash Arder is a transdisciplinary artist, organizer and educator who has spent the last decade transforming problem solving. Their exhibit, Whoop House, acts as a catalyst for conversations around clean energy, natural landscapes, and the potential for music and art to be a uniting force for social change.

Zara Adebayo

Fragments of Infinity: Detroit Unbound

This gallery explores the boundless intersection of form, color, and identity, offering an abstract journey through Detroit's dynamic cultural and artistic landscape.

4.23.2025 - 5.7.2025

6-10pm

Upcoming Exhibition

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