Birmingham Design Festival returns with a focus on process

Now in its sixth year, the 2024 edition of the Birmingham Design Festival returns to a full festival format, with over 80 speakers and 100 events across three days and multiple locations.

The festival program is divided into four design districts focused on different directions: graphics, digital, product and illustration. Each district will feature free talks from creators with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, alongside workshops and drop-in sessions.

The end of each day will culminate in a three keynote speaker event at the former Imax Giant Screen cinema. This year’s eclectic mix of posters includes lettering artist Jessica Hische, graphic designer Annie Atkins and Sesame Workshop’s head of character design Louis Henry Mitchell.

There will also be presentations by Oscar-nominated animator Pes, artist Aurelia Durand, Sony Pictures Imageworks FX supervisor Pav Grochola and Sue Murphy, senior global design director at Coca-Cola.

To mark the launch of the festival, an accompanying exhibition will celebrate the work of 30 artists and the process behind it, with behind-the-scenes photographs, sketches and ideas documenting the journey to the finished article on display.

See the full line-up and book tickets at birminghamdesignfestival.org.uk