Every year, a group of people and places work to bring the public closer to an understanding of the impact and importance design has in our daily lives. Whether it's the shape of a building, the pile in a carpet or the colour of your toaster, design has the power of invention and innovation, and designers strive to sell it all in one big, attractive package.

Antwerp has dominated the Belgian design scene for years, producing major talents in fashion and architecture. It was Conix, for instance, an Antwerp architectural firm, that won the bid for the renovation of the Atomium, bringing it up to its full potential.

But not in September. The entrance to the greyer part of the Belgian year will be brightened up next month - as it has been since 2006 - in Brussels. Design September begins.

This major, international festival follows the example of design Meccas such as Paris, London, Milan and Tokyo. International influence has always been embraced by Belgian designers. Historically, they are well-travelled traders. This is what drove Napoleon to burn locally produced goods repeatedly in Brussels' Grote Markt; he found the styles not adequately uniform and certainly not very French, but a mishmash of all their journeys.

In the same spirit of experience and diversity, the capital of Europe is a perfect location for this event, as it has a history in the development of avant-garde research since the industrial age, while leaning on its sense of humanism. Think of the scientific basis of Art Nouveau and its curves compared to the steadiness of Art Deco.

Design September takes place all over the city, with a dynamic programme that includes exhibitions, conferences, film, debates, visits to designers' studios (haven't we all been curious?), markets and more. It offers a multi-faceted view on the true jewels of the Belgian design scene as well as bringing in a solid number of international speakers.

The all-star line-up includes Italian architect and interior designer Michele de Lucchi, Finnish furniture designer Harri Koskinen, Paris avant-garde product designer Mathieu Lehanneur and two of the Netherlands' best products and lighting designers, Ineke Hans and Kiki Van Eijk.

The most obvious way of getting to know design is through the exhibitions, which count about 30. The Belgian team of Thalen & Thalen, for example, are in the Kelman Visser Gallery. The focus of T&T is function and fit. Does a teapot have its own hotplate that fits on the tray with the cup, milk and sugar, wasting no space? At this firm it does, presented in stunning contemporary silver made romantically in a film-worthy studio.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Cyclical Kitchen on view at Micromarché. A "living" kitchen designed by Brussels' own Intrastructures, it "digests" kitchen waste, which is transformed into gas that can be used to cook food. The system is powered by the normally wasted heat given off by the refrigerator.

Fighting the Box, meanwhile, is on display at Elektriciteitscentrale and features 20 respected Belgian designers as they explore the relationship between raw design and industrial manufacturing, the challenging process of maintaining integrity as designs travel from the workshops of forward-thinking artists to mass-producing factories.

Follow that up with Prospectives 010 at Designed in Brussels gallery. Direct from Paris, this exhibition by Specimen Editions offers young designers the chance to make one-of-a-kind work without the constraints of conforming to the needs of industrial production. And you can see what kind of unadulterated design poetry comes from that. From graceful simplicity to complex organic works that rather defy definition, you'll find a light bulb dangling from a sculptured desk clip and an intricately carved marble bedside table. Contemporary and challenging, this is a guaranteed star on the slate of exhibitions.

The journey from design to manufacturing is clearly at the heart of design discussions these days: De Lucchi, a headliner during the rise and fall of the MEMPHIS design collective, will tackle the subject as well, and talk about the role of the architect in executing projects with both a respect for aesthetics and a responsibility for quality. The €7 entrance also buys you a guide book to design in Belgium.

Other in-person highlights reach from Jeremy Morisson of Sotheby's auction house to Dutch Design (one of the most influential forces in the search for simplicity and smart use of materials) to Neo- Graffiti and Post-Graffiti, a commentary on art in urban spaces at Recyclart.

Now the fun bit: shopping. "Made in Belgium" is a travelling friet van driven by the Finnish-based design duo Company, who brought their designs to the respected craftsman of Belgium to realise them. They'll pull into three locations in Brussels, including Tour & Taxis, which is also the spot for this year's Brussels Design Market.

This is an event in and of itself, attracting treasure hunters who do not even necessarily realise it's part of Design September. You'll find international retro designs from the 1950s to the 1980s in this market that doubles as a showcase of European post-war design. As usual with festivals, there is something for kids. Bluub, the Children's Movable Centre for Arts and Architecture will present its bright red, portable, plasticine pod. (If that sounds familiar, they also participated in the recent Human Cities festival.)

For the peeping-Toms among us is Designers Open Doors, happening later in the month. The list of Brussels-based designers extending their hospitality around town is too long to list and sundry in nature. It includes architects, artists, graphic designers, product designers, brand designers and industrial designers, the likes of Xavier Lust, Danny Venlet and Laure Kasiers.

Design September is a complex, interesting, stimulating and fun event. Grab a programme and create your own schedule of opportunities to learn why the world around you looks and feels the way it does and if it's going to stay the same way much longer.

Although Design September officially begins on 9 September, some of the exhibitions are already running. Check the programme for details

Design September
9 September - 1 October Across Brussels
www.designseptember.be