World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 (WDC 2024)
The first binational WDC designation in history
Client: World Design Organization (WDO)
Lead: Design Lab @ UC San Diego
Partners: City of San Diego, City of Tijuana, Design Forward Alliance, Burnham Center for Community Advancement
Duration: Full designation year 2024; 10 years of planning
Scope: Binational Convenings - San Diego, California, USA & Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Project Goal
The Design Lab led the effort to secure and deliver the World Design Capital 2024 designation for the binational region of San Diego and Tijuana. The World Design Organization (WDO) recognizes a city every two years as a World Design Capital for its effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development.
The goal was to demonstrate the transformative power of design across the entire San Diego Tijuana metropolitan region, uniting two countries, two cities, and hundreds of designers, creatives, and community leaders around a shared vision of design-driven progress.
Project Problem Statement
“How might we harness the unique binational identity of San Diego and Tijuana to demonstrate that design can drive systemic economic, social, cultural, and environmental transformation across borders?”
Project Results
After nearly ten years of planning and work, San Diego and Tijuana were jointly awarded the World Design Capital 2024 designation, a historic first. Over the course of 2024, the program delivered:
- 9.2x ROI: Return on investment across the full designation year
- 1.17B Media Impressions: Global coverage of the binational design capital designation
- 1M + event attendees: Across nine signature international events and community programming
- $100.4M in economic output across the binational region
- 1,804 full-time equivalent jobs created
The year 2024 strengthened key partnerships between the Design Lab, Design Forward Alliance, Burnham Center for Community Advancement, the City of San Diego, the City of Tijuana, and hundreds of designers, creatives, and leaders on both sides of the border.
Client Testimonial
“WDC 2024 designation celebrated the transformative power of design in shaping resilient, inclusive, and forward-thinking communities. San Diego Tijuana showcased that design is more than aesthetics - it drives systemic change, unites diverse communities, and sparks innovation. The designation with the support of Design Lab @ UCSD and the other partners, amplified the region’s identity as a binational hub of creativity and collaboration, leaving a lasting legacy of design-driven solutions, cross-sector partnerships, and a shared sense of pride in its role as a global leader in urban innovation.”
Mai T. Nguyen, Board Chair WDC 2024 & Director of Design Lab @ UC San Diego
