University of the Arts students, using spray chalk, today began their run-up to next month’s “Design Philadelphia” celebration.

KYW’s John Ostapkovich reports that as traffic moved by on South Broad Street near Pine, the students taped stencils to the sidewalk to hold them still in the breeze, then wrote…

“UArts, where design enters the world. Design Philadelphia.”

That’s Beth Van Why, programming director for Design Philadelphia, who says the main event — from October 7th to 17th — will having showings all over town, 90 percent of them free and most with general rather than designer-specific appeal.

Hear the full KYW Podcast…

The point, she says is that Philadelphia is big in design and design is big in life:

“You put on a pair of shoes that were designed by somebody.  You ride a bus that was designed by somebody. You ride a route on your bike that was put into design by somebody trying to figure out how to design your everyday experience, and that happens to everybody every single day.”

For more information go to designphiladelphia.org.

(Photo by KYW’s John Ostapkovich)