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On November 10, the World Design Organization (WDO) announced the San Diego-Tijuana region was selected as the World Design Captial for 2024.
According to a press release, the selection of San Diego-Tijuana as a joint bid makes them the first binational World Design Capital in WDO history.
This makes San Diego the first U.S. city to ever receive the WDC designation and Tijuana the second city in Mexico. Mexico City held the World Design Capital title in 2018.
The selection is a result of a rigorous submission and evlation process. After being named a finalist in July 2021 along Moscow, Russia, San Diego-Tijuana welcomed WDO for a three-day site visit in early October.
"We did it!" said Don Norman, founder of UC San Diego’s Design Lab and co-founder and Board advisor to the Design Forward Alliance (DFA). "Designers, city officials, and organizations in both the Tijuana and San Diego regions collaborated to make our binational community the World Design Capital for 2024. It shows the power of design as a way of thinking, to address important societal issues, and as a source of innovation for companies, organizations, and educational communities at all levels. We have built a permanent coalition of our communities to address civic and climate challenges, to grow our industrial sectors, and to support a strong culture of cross-border design."