Design should not be reserved for insiders, because it is a powerful driver of economic, environmental and social innovation. Leonardo da Vinci — well known to the general public — understood this before anyone else: observe, question, design, improve. This approach is what design has always been about, and it belongs to everyone. Protected by King Francis I, he spent his final years in the Centre-Val de Loire region, where he left a considerable legacy.

That is why Copryce Lab — whose team brings solid experience in creating professional and cultural events — is exploring the idea of a design festival for the general public, rooted in the Centre-Val de Loire region (The Loire Valley). The territory is not chosen at random: it brings together a dense ecosystem of businesses, local authorities and schools where design is present, a pool of designers and recognised expertise, and a Renaissance heritage that resonates naturally with creative and inventive thinking. A region that has already known how to attract the whole world — why should it not also become the first living laboratory of design for all in Europe?

The envisioned festival would be an immersive, festive, itinerant journey between heritage sites and public spaces. Design shapes the objects and products we use, the spaces we inhabit, the messages we read, the services that make our lives easier, the healthcare systems that care for us, the cities that welcome us. Open-air exhibitions, conferences and masterclasses with internationally renowned designers, activities for all ages, encounters between professionals, students, businesses and the simply curious — so many entry points into a discipline that touches every aspect of our daily lives. An event where design ceases to be an abstract discipline and becomes a concrete, shared, useful experience.

We believe that the rigour of a design approach combined with a resolutely inclusive programme can produce a festival of its kind.