DesignTide Tokyo is an annual design event that takes place in Tokyo in late autumn. It is analogous to the type of design events that take place in major cities around the world such as Milan's Salone del Mobile

Salone del Mobile

The Milan Furniture Fair is a furniture fair held annually in Milan. It is the largest trade fair of its kind in the world. The show showcases the latest in furniture and design from countries around the world....

, Cologne's IMM

Imm Cologne

The imm Cologne is an international, public open furniture trade show held at koelnmesse exhibition centre Cologne, Germany - every year in January....

, New York City's ICFF and the Stockholm Furniture Fair.

Other events that take place in Tokyo concurrently with DesignTide include 100% Design Tokyo and Tokyo Designers Week

Tokyo Designers Week

Tokyo Designers Week is an annual design event that takes place at Meiji Jingu Gaien in central Tokyo, Japan. The event features product design, interior design and has expanded to include art and graphic design as well as short films.-Location:...

.

Founding

An organization that planned a similar series of events, Tokyo Designers Block

Tokyo Designers Block

Tokyo Designers Block is one of Tokyo's main recurring design events. It is a 5-day exhibition showcasing hundreds of international and domestic designers of all backgrounds...

, was dissolved after its 2004 events due to financial concerns. DesignTide was started with the hope of continuing to support design in Japan despite the loss of Tokyo Designers Block. DesignTide's original founders were many of the same people that were involved with Tokyo Designers Block. As a result it originally followed a similar focus as Tokyo Designers Block, namely emphasizing designers' creative vision rather than pursuing a role as a trade show. Since 2007, DesignTide has sought to develop a trade show component to the event to achieve a more equitable balance between design as creative vision and the need to support commercial activity in the field.

Location

In 2005, DesignTide took place in shops and galleries throughout Tokyo's design-conscious areas. Since 2006, added to this format has been a main exhibition site in a medium-scale hall within the city (as opposed to a large-scale convention center outside the city).

The location of the main exhibition site often changes each year. In 2006 the main exhibition took place in a soon-to-be-demolished building in Harajuku; in 2007, in a gymnasium at the National Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium (Tokyo)

or National Stadium is a stadium in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan that served as the main stadium for the 1964 Summer Olympics. It currently serves as the stadium where the Japan national football teams home matches and major football club cup finals are held.-History:The stadium was...

; in 2008 and 2009 in the meeting hall of Tokyo Midtown.

Off-site exhibitions continue to take place as in 2005 in art galleries, museums and boutiques throughout Tokyo's main design-conscious neighborhoods. These have typically centered around Aoyama

Aoyama, Tokyo

is a neighborhood of Tokyo, located in the northeastern Minato Ward. During the Edo Period, Aoyama was home to various temples, shrines, and samurai residences. The name Aoyama derived from a samurai named Aoyama Tadanari who served the Tokugawa Shogunate and held his mansion in this area...

 and Harajuku

Harajuku

Harajuku is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan....

 and have also included Daikanyama, Marunouchi

Marunouchi

Marunouchi is a commercial district of Tokyo located in Chiyoda between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat...

 and Roppongi

Roppongi

is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous as home to the rich Roppongi Hills area and an active night club scene. Many foreign embassies are located in Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike...

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Main exhibition site

DesignTide's main exhibition site is a curated design show. This aspect sets it apart from most other major design fairs. Whether applicants are allowed to show at the main exhibition is decided by DesignTide's directors.

The structure of the main exhibition site deviates from other design fairs in that it eschews cubicle-shaped booths. Also, an architect or designer is hired each year to develop unique architectural and design elements used to allot and define exhibitors' spaces, thus turning the exhibition space itself into work of design.