From where does the magic of creativity originate? How can we better connect hand and mind? How does magic translate to different contexts? What restricts magic, what compels it?

From March 14 -17 in Reykjavik, Iceland, internationally-renowned designers and local design thinkers explore these topics through openings, exhibitions, workshops and events. Spreading across the city from the harbor to the lava fields surrounding it, the festival showcases the best local creative scene, ranging from architecture to fashion, fonts, furniture and food design.

Design March kicks off with Design Talks at 9:30 a.m. at the National Theatre of Iceland. Here is a look at the speakers:

Eley Kishimoto is a London based fashion and design company run by husband and wife duo Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto. Combining the British craftsmanship tradition and the Japanese esthetics, the label is known for sharp prints and patterns and clean, simple design. Having deliberately stayed in the sidelines of the traditional fashion industry, Eley Kishimoto’s list of collaborators nevertheless includes the likes of Alexander McQueen, Jil Sander, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.

Juliet Kinchin is a curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA. She has previously held a curatorial position at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and is currently an honorary senior research fellow at the University of Glasgow where she researches the role of contemporary design in a social and political context.

Inge Druckrey is a graphic designer with over 40 years of working experience as a designer and professor at Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland. Druckrey has dedicated her life’s work to ideas about the power of eyesight and how exercises can help open your eyes to the design details all around you.

Maja Kuzmanovic is the founder of FoAM, where she leads a multidisciplinary team of scientists, artists, chefs, gardeners, designers and more. Kuzmanovic was named one of the Top 100 Young Innovators (1999) and a Young Global Leader (2006) by the World Economic Forum and MIT Technology Review.

In previous years, guests of DesignMarch have been inspired by the likes of Winy Maas, Ilkka Suppanen, Siggi Eggertsson, Bjarke Ingels and Paul Bennett.

Entrance fee: 5900 ISK including a day of lectures and panels, morning coffee and a light lunch. Tickets are available here.

Another big part of the festival is the DesignMatch program, which pairs local designers and international design producers, retailers, galleries and other design actors together. This is a ‘speed dating’ event of sorts, the companies receive portfolios from designers in advance, based on which they choose, they decide who they want to meet with.

The event has resulted in several contracts over the years, including the most recent, a contract between the Icelandic-American designer Chuck Mack and Design House Stockholm.

Previous partaking companies include Aalto, Iittala and Normann Copenhagen, and previous designers to make contracts following DesignMatch include Vakna Design, Bryndís Bolladóttir, Dögg Guðmundsdóttir and Helga Sigurbjarnardóttir.

For information on how you can participate in DesignMatch, visit the website. Also, follow the blog for additional information.