This month is going to be all about creative dialogue! The Saudi Design Festival (SDR) in Riyadh opened its doors to the public today on Jan. 10. The Architecture and Design Commission presents the festival as one of a kind in the Middle East. The event lasts for 21 days in the Jax District in Diriyah, and anyone who wants to attend can buy the tickets from here. However, we’re here to tell you what the three-week festival is about, and who its founder is.

The Saudi Design Festival aims to prepare future generations of designers and help them find support with their careers. Moreover, it envokes creative conversations and focuses on the power of transformation in and by design.

Design helps in reimagining the future and leaving a creative mark, and the SDR knows that. The festival is where designers are united to share their talents, insights and engage in a creative dialogue. Moreover, there will be organized discussions to provide emerging designers with opportunities and even workshops.

The Founder

Princess Nourah El Faisal is the founder of the festival. Furthermore, she founded a platform called, Adhlal, which played a part in founding the festival. The SDR works on promoting the local design industry of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, it aids in design thinking and encourages designers to think locally!

El Faisal said, “Within the design community, my target is the youngsters, undergraduates, postgraduates and absolutely the startups. I want them to be able to come and understand that we are trying to give them the tools they need to succeed.”

El Faisal thinks that understanding how to think like a designer at a young age will have a huge impact on navigating the world as an adult. This is not about teaching how to design, but rather on how to create an ecosystem and where to find opportunities.

One of the goals of the festival is to create a link between academia and the industry through creating a dialogue. It’s all to guarantee that graduates would be able to work in their own chosen fields. Not just that, she said, “The major target is getting academia, industry, government, and the whole design community to participate in this connection that will help this new generation coming up.”

As Saudi Arabia quickly advances, so does the design community of the country. This festival is a chance to share knowledge, expertise and evolvement with future designers. According to El Faisal, “The next step in empowering designers in Saudi Arabia is to export Saudi design and Saudi design techniques globally. For that step to be taken, future generations must be equipped with the information and research to succeed.”