The festival will showcase local design along with exciting international names in everything from fashion, to furniture, architecture, and food design. This year's focus is Finland, as part of the Design Capital Helsinki 2012 international program.
The festival will open with the DesignTalks and DesignMatch programmes aimed at the professional audience, with DesignMatch joyously described as "speed-dating" for designers and buyers. Speakers confirmed for the DesignTalks series include internationally acclaimed Dutch food designer Marije Vogelzang, founder of NOW, architect (and sometimes rapper) Tuomas Toivonen, Koert van Mensvoort of Nextnature, and graphic designer Hjalti Karlsson of NYC-based studio KarlsonWilker.
The festival also features local talent including Katrín Ólína, Crymogea and MUNDI . Held in spring just as the long arctic winter comes to an end in Iceland and the days become longer than the nights, Design March director Greipur Gislason points out this is the perfect time "for a design festival for a young, emerging design scene".
