Portland is certainly a city of festivals.  So much so that it’s hard to keep up with them all, but one I’ve got my eye on plenty of time in advance is Design Week Portland, Oct 9 – 13.  From fine art to architecture to fashion to graffiti art, it seems to cover a wide spectrum of design fields.  While my profession is in web design, I am truly enamored by how art and design play a role in nearly every aspect of our lives.

I’ve enjoyed attending Portland’s Creative Mornings lecture series the past few months, so it was nice to see the October CM talk appearing as a part of Design Week Portland.   Not only that, but this month’s speaker is Thomas Webster who leads Second Story Labs, exploring technology in innovative ways to create unique interactive experiences.  This is a must-see for me!

While digging through the Creative Mornings video archives I came across this gem by designer Aaron Draplin called The DDC 50-Point Plan to Ruin Yer Career.  It’s incredibly entertaining and insightful, and I agree with everything he says except for that last point…  While it’s nearly an hour, it’s definitely worth the watch.  I’ll warn you, you won’t be able to work-and-watch; you’ll want to give this your full attention.  I also think it’s something non-designers can enjoy.

Portland/CreativeMornings – Aaron James Draplin from CreativeMornings/Portland on Vimeo.

Aaron Draplin is also participating in Design Week Portland with sketchXchange, a night of inspiration and drawing in sketchbooks on Fri, Oct 12.  Illustrators, you don’t want to miss this!

What are some other great design events in Portland?  What are your favorite design events in your city?