Uniting a trans-national region to showcase design excellence.
San Diego and Tijuana are two sides of the same coin, sister cities; situated across the busiest land border in the Western Hemisphere. They combine to form a mega region of over 7.1 million people, who rely on each other economically, culturally and environmentally.
So after the design communities on both sides of the border had come together for a bid and were shortlisted with Moscow to become the 2024 World Deign Capital, there was a profound and urgent need for cross-border collaboration. And one of the core tenets of our approach was applying a human-centered, community-driven model that would not only amplify but prioritize historically unheard voices in the region.
The COVID pandemic made this process infinitely more complex. What was planned as an in-person visit from the World Design Organization governing body pivoted into a series of hybrid IRL/virtual events all made possible by extensive planning, flexibility, and clever production logistics, during a time when the international border was closed to most crossings.
Our team embodied the scrappy, collaborative spirit that unifies the region, creating a series of performances, lectures, round tables, intimate experiences and custom collateral that showcased what makes these cities unique; and we documented it all on a custom digital hub, updated in real time, so virtual participants could have equally immersive experiences.
These first of their kind efforts gave the World Design Organization selection committee all they needed to recognize the SD-TJ as the first ever bi-national, multi-city World Design Capital. This designation is projected to infuse over 1.5 Billion USD into the community’s economy, fundamentally transforming the region.