Designing Together

However complicated or entrenched the challenge, design illuminates the way. Together, we can use the science of design to guarantee a better future.

designlab collab event

Mindsets on Megafires

The Design Lab at UC San Diego, in collaboration with the San Diego Supercomputer Center and WIFIRE Lab, hosted the "Design-a-thon: Mindshifts on Megafires," an innovative event that brought together multidisciplinary teams to tackle the pressing issue of megafires through human-centered design approaches. Participants, including students, faculty, and industry experts, engaged in intensive design thinking sessions to develop creative solutions aimed at preventing and mitigating the devastating impacts of megafires. The event, led by Kevin Popović fostered collaboration and innovation, encouraging participants to reimagine strategies for wildfire management and resilience. The Design-a-thon not only highlighted the potential of design thinking to address complex environmental challenges but also emphasized the importance of cross-disciplinary partnerships in generating impactful solutions.

Design Forward Alliance

The Design Forward Alliance (DFA) was initiated by the UC San Diego Design Lab in 2016 through a citywide, one-day conference called Design Forward. This landmark event was significant for the San Diego design community, bridging a design legacy in architecture, interiors, culture, and graphics with design-driven innovation in technology, civics, and industry. The DFA leverages partnership opportunities and makes connections between world-class design and designers and San Diego talent. The DFA promotes design-driven innovation in business, education, and government. For more information, visit designforwardsd.com.

World Design Capital 2024

Every two years, the World Design Organization recognizes a city as the World Design Capital for its effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development. In 2024, this designation belongs to San Diego and Tijuana together–the first time binational cities have been awarded a joint designation. The Design Lab was one of the leading architects for the community-driven bid. The output of this massive undertaking includes seven signature international events and programming that encompasses six focus areas:

Arts and Culture
Climate and Sustainability
Youth and Education
Health and Wellbeing
Planning and Placemaking
Science and Technology

For more information, visit wdc2024.org.

California 100

For the spring 2022 quarter, Design@Large partnered with California 100 to convene leading experts from across California for a transformative speaker series called Designing California’s Future. This series, led by Mai Nguyen, allowed an audience of students and community members to interface directly with key civic, elected, academic, and organizational leaders to brainstorm solutions for the state’s next 15, 20 and 100 years. For more information, visit california100.org.

Additional Partners

We are proud to have partnered with these nonprofits, educational institutions, governments, governmental organizations, and other organizations.

Collabs