The Spaces In Between—Brought to Life by SEGD Chapters

May 13, 2026

Rachel Moran

SEGD Chapters worldwide celebrated International Design Day 2026 around the theme The Spaces In Between, hosting fabrication tours, workshops, transit experiences, and community dialogues across cities including Seattle, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati, and beyond — demonstrating how experiential design connects people, disciplines, and places.

Across the globe, SEGD Chapters came together to celebrate International Design Day 2026, exploring this year’s theme, The Spaces In Between. From hands-on workshops and fabrication tours to conversations on emerging technology and community-centered design, chapters activated their local networks in meaningful and creative ways.

Between April 23 and May 7, these events demonstrated how design connects people to place, fosters dialogue, and creates shared experiences across disciplines.

A Global Expression of Design in Action

Chapters embraced a wide range of formats—each interpreting the theme through their local context and community.

In Raleigh, participants explored the Dollar Shave Club headquarters through a project tour that highlighted how environmental graphics, murals, and brand storytelling come together to shape workplace experience.

The San Francisco Chapter hosted a fabrication-focused tour at Tinkering Monkey, where attendees examined prototyping processes and large-scale 3D printing, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how ideas become physical experiences.

In Minneapolis, a hands-on workshop at Mercury Mosaics brought participants into the making process, exploring tile fabrication and material applications while fostering conversation and creative exchange.

Design as Dialogue and Discovery

Several chapters centered their programming on conversation, reflection, and knowledge sharing.

The Boston Chapter hosted a virtual session with Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) students, introducing them to career pathways in experiential graphic design. The chapter viewed the event as a meaningful step in building long-term relationships with students and educators.

In Vancouver, a speaker-led discussion explored the intersection of augmented and virtual reality with the built environment, examining how immersive technologies can foster emotional connection and shared experience.

The Riga Chapter hosted a reflective workshop focused on the role of design in shaping society. Through collaborative exercises, participants explored how design can foster empathy, participation, and a sense of belonging—extending the conversation beyond the event through shared social media insights.

Experiencing Design in Motion

Other chapters brought the theme to life through movement, place, and exploration.

In Seattle, participants experienced the Link, the city’s new light rail extension across Lake Washington, discussing wayfinding and transit design while traveling between Seattle and Bellevue. Insights from Sound Transit’s wayfinding leadership grounded the experience in real-world challenges and solutions.

The Richmond Chapter explored the transformation of Tredegar Iron Works and the American Civil War Museum campus, examining how architecture, storytelling, and placemaking can shape cultural destinations.

In Detroit, a guided tour of Dr. Ossian Sweet Memorial Park highlighted how design can transform public space into a site of connection and shared memory.

Collaboration, Making, and Community

Hands-on collaboration was a defining thread across many chapter events.

The Cincinnati Chapter hosted a design sprint in a fabrication shop, where teams created exhibition concepts using scrap materials, sparking ideas for future installations and the city’s BLINK festival.

In Salt Lake City, a multidisciplinary design charrette invited participants to reimagine a public park building, bringing together perspectives from architecture, branding, and marketing to propose future uses for the space.

The Charlotte Chapter closed out the programming with a poster-making workshop, where participants chose a prompt as a starting point and then used reclaimed materials to explore connection and creativity through design.

Building Community in Different Ways

Not all chapters approached International Design Day through traditional events, and that diversity of approach was part of this initiative’s strength.

The Chicago Chapter held a networking-focused gathering, creating space for both longtime members and new faces to connect in an informal setting.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chapter aligned its efforts with Kansas City Design Week, focusing on a coordinated social media and email campaign that reached over 400 subscribers and increased engagement across platforms.

Design in The Spaces In Between

From fabrication shops and transit systems to workshops, conversations, and digital campaigns, SEGD Chapters demonstrated the many ways design operates in the spaces in between—between people, disciplines, and experiences.

Together, these events reflected a shared commitment to exploring how design connects us—and how those connections shape the communities we build. Thank you to our dedicated and inspiring Chapters and Chapter Chairs who devote their time to bringing the community together through powerful projects that spark conversations and create new bonds.

What will be in store for next year’s International Design Day? Stay tuned!