Whoa. I know I sound like a hater, but, did you hire a designer to do that website? Holy crap. A bunch of photoshop effects, logos, and auto-playing videos one on top of another? Geez. Where do I even begin to expound on the problems with that UI.

Maybe I'm just jealous that I live and work in Pawtucket and won't be able to be part of your district.  But when you want to innovate, you better make sure you know who your audience is. Most designers are going to run screaming after seeing that homepage, shake their heads, and think to themselves that Providence is using designers like they used artists during the "Renaissance". Pretty soon their cool loft-style digs in the Jewelry District will be too expensive to live and work in, and more Bostonites who think Providence is "funky" will snatch those spaces up. 

Ok, this is a tear, I know. It's easy to rip things apart online like this. If you want to involve the creative community, I just hope that you are prepared for criticisms like this. Though I may sound harsh, I am pretty sure I am not the only one who is skeptical of City government getting involved in promoting ONE sector of the workforce for the gain of all. Did you even talk to the group that is already promoting design nationwide, the AIGA? There is a strong RI chapter that should be involved in most of what your Design District is proposing.

Anyway, good luck with the district. It's a tough task to unite creative people.

Someone pointed me to this thread, and I just wanted to throw a few questions out there: 

-Why is a mission statement for "designers" or "a design district" difficult to read?

-Would typographers and font-o-philes be okay with a "design district" document that uses that font?

-If the mission statement begins "We the Designers of the City of Providence," why is there only one signature? Were other designers contacted?