February 12, 2025 • 48 mins
In this English episode, Monique and Gustavo are joined by Mai Nguyen, the Board Chair of World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 and a professor of Urban Studies and Planning at UC San Diego. Mai’s dedication to reshaping communities through human-centered design has positioned her as a leading force in addressing some of society’s most complex challenges like homelessness, mental health, and climate change. Her visionary approach focuses on fostering lasting economic, social, cultural, civic, and environmental impact, making her a pivotal figure in the world of collaborative design solutions. Together, we explore the transformative potential of World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024, the strategies for overcoming cross-border collaboration challenges, and how design can drive meaningful change. Mai’s deep expertise and passion shine through as she shares how design can address pressing social issues and create sustainable, inclusive communities. This is a conversation about the power of design to truly transform our border and the world!
(Algunos episodios serán en español y otros en inglés, conectando perspectivas únicas de la frontera.)
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(Originally live on Feb 12, 2025)
The key moments in this episode are:
00:00:01 - The Power of Design Thinking
00:09:14 - Rewriting Border Narratives
00:13:30 - The Meaning of Design
00:15:38 - Uniqueness of the San Diego Tijuana Region
00:17:51 - World Design Capital Programming and Legacy
00:19:33 - Fostering Community Engagement
00:22:41 - Building Trust and Collaboration with Tijuana
00:24:42 - Reaching Global and Local Audiences
00:27:41 - Lasting Impact and Collaborative Initiatives
00:35:05 - The Design Lab at UC San Diego
00:38:08 - Embracing the Border
00:39:22 - Making the Border Seamless
00:39:56 - Evolving Relationship with the Border
00:41:17 - Power of Community
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:01):
Olas. Media.
S2 (00:03):
We feel very strongly that using design methods and design
processes and design thinking actually allows us to accelerate change
from our perspective. It's that there isn't this understanding of
design redesigning the entire system. And so using a design framework,
(00:25):
we think about the entire system from how can we
prevent homelessness? How can we deal with mental health? It's
thinking about the entire system in order to actually move
the system forward, as opposed to a whack a mole approach.
S3 (00:43):
Olas Media presents Border Masters, the podcast where the US-Mexico
border takes center stage.
S4 (00:50):
Gustavo is from Nogales. He has amazing credentials, so he's
super knowledgeable of everything border. But we come from very
different borders.
S5 (01:01):
Monique is very good on the emotional intelligence. It's the
personality that she has that allows people just to feel relaxed.
It's part of letting the world know why has it
been so successful to have that border and what has
inspired them about the border?
S3 (01:23):
Now, here are your hosts, Gustavo and Monique.
S4 (01:28):
Welcome to Border Masters, the podcast of border Leaders. I
am Monique Casillas, co-host of Border Masters, and I am
here with my co-host Gustavo de la Fuente. Today I'm
super excited to have an incredible guest, Mai Nguyen, board
chair of the World Design Capital San Diego, Tijuana 2024
(01:51):
and UC San Diego Professor of Urban Studies and Planning.
Thank you so much for joining us. I think we
still glow because of the success of the world. Design
capital San Diego Tijuana 2024. A once in a lifetime,
year long event. An opportunity to shape the future of
(02:12):
our region through the power of design for the most part.
Last year, a team of from both parts of the
border was unified to showcase our region as a global
hub for design, innovation, arts and culture, fostering lasting economic, social, cultural,
(02:33):
civic and environmental impact. This community developed a program that
took place across the San Diego Tijuana region, featuring hundreds
of interactive design experiences for all, from multidisciplinary performances to
innovative art exhibitions to thought provoking conferences and beyond. This
(02:55):
is the first time I formally meeting my. But as
a former UC San Diego employee, I have heard her
speak multiple times, always inspired by her fabulous sparkling shoes
and multi-colored beautiful dresses. You're famous because of that. Mai,
I have to say, I had no.
S2 (03:17):
Idea. I had no idea.
S4 (03:18):
I have a story, and I'm going to to tell
you a little bit about it. And of course, the
amazing work you're doing through the UC San Diego Design lab. Gustavo,
I know that you also met my previously, right?
S5 (03:31):
Yes, I did, yes, I did. And you know, when
I met my probably around the 2021 time frame, I
was executive director of the Smart Border Coalition. Then she
invited me to a dinner and brainstorming session with a
diverse group of businesspeople, entrepreneurs, academics. And I remember talking
a little bit about the cross border experience, the crossing experience, really, um,
(03:55):
and potential innovations we could have at the border. And
I subsequently took my oldest son to see the design
lab and my kind of led the way. She she
kind of led the tour there, and we saw so
many different things going on in that design center, you know,
meeting rooms and people and people with all kinds of backgrounds,
(04:15):
whether it was, you know, computer scientists or political scientists
or what have you, health professionals. So it was it
was a wonderful experience. And I'm definitely not going to
forget that. My.
S4 (04:29):
So thank you so much for being here. And my.
Now your turn. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
S2 (04:36):
Sure. Well, it's a pleasure being here and hearing about
how my outfits get talked about. You know, I moved
from North Carolina about three and a half years ago
to UC San Diego, but I was raised in Orange
County and Riverside County. I went to high school at
(04:58):
Hemet High, so lived in a place called Aguanga, a
pretty rural area. There weren't many neighbors out there. We
I grew up on a farm, so farmed with my
family all throughout my teenage years and even through college.
And I think that living on a farm, living in
(05:18):
a rural area made me want to be an urban planner.
I moved as far away. Wow, rural area from that
because I was just so curious about cities. You know,
once I discovered cities, I thought, wow, this is just
a fascinating laboratory to study human behavior. And, and and
(05:40):
I just became really interested in where people live, how
they live, how they interact with one another. And that's
become my life mission is to study communities, to study
human behavior and human interactions and to make cities better.
You know, people often say, you know what? What what
(06:02):
does an urban planner do? Because they don't really understand
urban planning. And I, I often say, you know, it's
it's almost like we're doctors for cities. We go in,
we diagnose the problem, we try to understand them, and
we try to make them better. I love.
S4 (06:17):
It.
S5 (06:17):
My. So before we get into this conversation about the
world design capital and what that meant for this enormous region,
tell us a little bit about what was what was
your idea or your experience about the San Diego Tijuana
region before you started with this grand project?
S2 (06:35):
Sure. Um, I have studied immigration all throughout my career. Um,
a lot of it was immigration in North Carolina. Um,
and that's a different and it's Latino immigration, uh, usually
in North Carolina. Immigrants from Latin and Central America might
(06:56):
come to New York or LA, and they find it
difficult to live there. It's hard to get jobs, it's
hard to integrate. And so they make a second move
to North Carolina. And so North Carolina in the 1990s
had the largest second migration of of Latinos in the country.
And so that population grew very fast. But what also
(07:19):
happened was a backlash that the local state governments felt
that they it was growing too fast and that they
needed to have anti-immigration policies. And so they actually used
North Carolina as a testing bed for the federal government,
for homeland security to test new anti-immigration programs and policies.
(07:41):
And I was an activist scholar who actually helped immigrants
to try to fight against these, Usually these policies that
definitely violated their human and civil rights. And so that
became my life's mission when I was in North Carolina.
So I come to this region understanding the complexity of immigration,
(08:07):
understanding the complexity of migration. I myself am a refugee.
So I also come from it from a personal perspective
and experience. And so there's there it's just a very
complex issue that, that a lot of people don't understand.
(08:27):
And so for me, going into world design capital, one
of the ways in which one of the goals that
we had was to rewrite border narratives, to rewrite the
perception that San Diego and Tijuana are divided, that you know,
that there are all of these quote unquote criminals coming
(08:50):
over to America, right? We wanted to show the day
to day lives and the day to day interactions and
and how, um, most people who live in this region
actually live very symbiotically. Yeah. Right. And our organizations work
(09:12):
across the border seamlessly that the economy is so interconnected.
And I think that we were really able to accomplish
that this year, and to be able to actually communicate
that to a global audience, not just to ourselves, but
nationally and globally. We had, you know, we have this
(09:34):
whole marketing communications platform where by the end of 2024,
we had 1.17 billion impressions, billion with a B.
S4 (09:44):
Oh my goodness.
S5 (09:45):
That's that's amazing.
S2 (09:47):
Yeah. And these are positive stories, right? Not negative stories.
Positive stories about our region.
S4 (09:52):
And I love that you say that because, as you know,
you're you're one of our our, um, first guests to
our program. And when Gustavo and I were talking about
launching Border Masters. Exactly. This was our aim. And we
hope it is part of this aim to rewrite the
narrative of the border. Right. Uh, with people like you.
(10:16):
So for the people that are listening and they don't know,
maybe they were under a rock. What is the world
design capital? And can you please share why it was
so important to bring the world design capital to our region?
S2 (10:32):
Um, you know, I came in when this train was
already moving. There were a lot of people, civic leaders,
designers who really felt that it was important. And and
a moment in our regional history that we could bring
this international designation, global designation to this region. So I
(10:58):
don't want people to think that I was, you know,
the brainchild of this, but this was a lot of
of people before me who who actually came up with
this idea and why it was important is that we
have so much talent here in San Diego and Tijuana,
are have incredible design, creative talent, and we don't tell
(11:19):
our story well enough. And so when, um, you know, uh,
companies or opportunities for creative, the creative economy come to California,
they oftentimes sometimes they bypass San Diego and go to LA, right? Um,
so there was this opportunity to say to showcase what
(11:41):
we do well, here and the talent here. That was
one one reason why the why the world design capital
is important. But the other reason is that we actually
did want to use the transformative power of design to
tackle some of these very pressing issues in our community,
such as, you know, the border and crossing the border,
(12:02):
such as homelessness, such as climate change. We feel very
strongly that using design methods and design processes and design
thinking actually allows us to accelerate change within these areas
that we've that are intractable. Right. We've we've been spending
(12:24):
way more money on homelessness and the problem keeps on
getting worse. Yes. Right. Yes. And and from our perspective, it's,
it's that there isn't this understanding of design redesigning the
entire system. It's almost like we are putting money at
the problems that are right in front of front of us.
(12:45):
And it's whac a mole. We keep on, you know,
hitting one area, and then a problem pops up elsewhere.
And so using a design framework, we think about the
entire system from how can we prevent homelessness. How can
we preserve housing that people are in so that they
don't become homeless? How can we deal with mental health?
(13:06):
It's thinking about the entire system and understanding how they
work together in order to actually move the system forward,
as opposed to a whack a mole approach.
S5 (13:21):
I think going back to basics once again and this
concept of design, my what it sometimes it's a complex
abstract word. And you know, sometimes you think of it
as a logo or a building or a concept. Can you,
can you elaborate a little bit on what that what
(13:42):
that means for you? What does design mean? And for
our listeners, I think would be a good, uh, good.
S2 (13:49):
Uh, sure. Sure. You know, I actually disagree that it's
a complex, um, and abstract word because when you experience
good design, it's invisible. You don't question it. Yeah. Right.
When things work really well and are well designed, it's
when it's bad. When it's bad design.
S5 (14:10):
I guess I'm thinking of Apple Computer. In terms of
a good design, like a very, you know, seamless and
a very simple but yet elegant.
S2 (14:21):
So that, you know, I think when people think about design,
they usually think about products and they think about tangible things. And, um,
this world design capital was different. And why we won
the designation was because we were focusing on humanity centered design. Wow. Um,
the type of design that actually has real social impact
(14:45):
and it can be a product, but it can be
a product that maybe helps disabled folk, you know, people,
as opposed to just focusing on, you know, market share and,
and profit, profit making because we feel that if if
we are serving the people who are the most needy,
(15:06):
then everybody benefits. Right. When you have inclusive design, for example,
when sidewalks are wider for strollers, then they're also wider
for wheelchairs. So and then they're wider for pedestrians. So
everybody benefits.
S4 (15:24):
Yeah that's correct. And you already touched a little bit
about on this. But why do you think Ah San
Diego-tijuana region is so unique as a global hub for design, innovation,
arts and culture? Are there like specific examples that you
That you can give us of that uniqueness that only
(15:44):
happens in this region.
S2 (15:47):
Sure. I think that the inspiration, um, you talk to
a lot of creatives that the, the lifestyle brands that
come out, the skateboarding, the surfing, the, you know, um,
even painting. Right. You can't to give you an example,
you know, James Hubbell passed away this year, and he's
(16:09):
an artist and a designer and an architect. And and
if you go to his studios, which are in Julian,
you can't not see our region embodied in his work, right?
The colors, the vibrancy, the material. He uses natural material
(16:30):
from the region. Um, and then and then the people,
the people that are embodied in, in the work. And
so I think being a border region and being a
border region that where many people cross on a daily
basis that is so integrated, we can't not be influenced
(16:50):
by that. You know, I even though I study immigration
and I study Hispanics, Latinos, you know, in North Carolina,
it's very different. It's very different than this region. Um,
and there is this, um, humanity here where we understand
each other, that there is this, uh, real desire to
(17:13):
understand each other across the border here.
S4 (17:16):
It's very interesting. Tell us a little bit about what
happened last year, the programming, the highlights, maybe of the
cross-border collaboration. Anything that we can still see or experience it,
if anyone is hearing about it for the first time,
is there anything that one can see, visit or still now?
S2 (17:37):
So what was so unique about our designation was it
was the first time that two cities were designated every
other world design capital eight times before there was a
single city. So that was unique. And then it was
a whole region. And what that meant for us was
how can we activate a whole region? So we had
(17:57):
600 events and activations throughout the year, which means that
many community groups, community members, organizations hosted events and became involved,
and they'll continue to do so. We have so much
excitement and enthusiasm about this platform that many people want
(18:20):
to continue next year. So there are going to be
new events that will live on beyond 2024. Just to
give you an example, you know, the the International Jazz
Festival that was launched this last year. They had three,
three days of jazz, one in North County, one in
downtown San Diego, and one on Avenida Revolucion. And you know,
(18:43):
that is going to continue next year. Love it. So
there's lots of events like that. And then with the
World Design Capital we hosted over, we hosted seven plus
events that were global events. Some of those events will
also happen next year. So the Tijuana Design Festival, which
(19:04):
this year was the world design experience, um, is going
to happen in in late April of next year. And
what was so special about that event was that the
Tijuana creative community, their young and, you know, they are, um,
just the vibrancy there. Um, you know, when when we
(19:26):
hosted that event, we brought so many people from San
Diego that had never been to Tijuana. These are leaders
in our community. You. Yes, yes I know, and we
made it easy for them. We had a shuttle. We
drove them over. We said, look, you have to come
over here and see what's happening. The art, the culture,
the food. Here it is thriving, you know, and the energy.
(19:50):
You just have to feel the energy in Tijuana. And
it was just an incredible, incredible experience with these open
studios that you could hop around and see young creatives, um,
you know, designing ceramics, designing, you know, creating art, um,
and getting to meet the artists, which, you know, for us,
(20:11):
telling that story not just of, hey, there are these
art studios, but no actually meeting the people behind the studios.
And the art was important for us. And and that
was a hugely successful event that will continue the world
design experience in San Diego, which was powered by the
(20:33):
Design Forward Alliance, will also happen again next year. Seven
this year we held seven days of design experiences across
San Diego. 100 events. Wow. And many of them were
at the pavilion that we we that was designed by
(20:53):
Helio and also Daniel Ruanova. The one in Balboa Park.
The one in Balboa Park. The orange structure that you
couldn't miss. You can't miss even from space. Yeah. We
held over 70 events there throughout the year. And then
I think one of our most impactful events was the
World Design Policy Conference, where we brought thought leaders from
(21:16):
around the globe, connected them to thought leaders here in
our region to have really powerful conversations across four different
thematic areas the border, the creative economy, health, and then innovation.
These are areas again you mentioned like what's what's unique
(21:37):
about our region. Those are themes that really were driven
by what is unique about our region. Right. And we
had over 700 attendees attend that. And it was the
first time ever, you know, for a conference. That was
the first time ever bringing that that conference together. We
will continue to host that biennially. I love it as
(22:00):
a way to really advance our region forward through thought leadership.
Love it.
S5 (22:06):
Wonderful. Um, you know, the fact that you have this
continuity because a lot of people say, well, you're done
with the conference. So now what happens? Right? So you're
you're getting it, you know? No. Here it's all about continuity. Um,
now as you related to people in Tijuana, uh, because
this was an effort from both sides of the border,
(22:27):
as we talked about, the city of Tijuana was heavily involved.
A business people in Tijuana, artists in Tijuana were involved.
What were your major challenges getting involved with that and
making trying to make it work with the other side
of the border. And how was that? How were you
able to solve that?
S2 (22:45):
You know, I think the biggest challenge with working with
any community, especially from someone who's relatively new to this region,
is building trust. Yeah. And trust building takes a long time.
So because I was new, I knew that I should
(23:05):
not come in and say, hey, I want to do
this thing for Tijuana. I, you know, it's not about me.
It was really about galvanizing and and and and catalyzing
the community to believe in our goals and to become involved.
And so, you know, getting the right people in Tijuana
(23:27):
to participate, to be our ambassadors, to be are the
leaders of their own change and their you know what?
And create their own programs was really important. And it
took time. But we we ended up with incredible support
from Tijuana. In fact, our community program, we had more
(23:51):
projects in Tijuana than in San Diego. Mhm. I can
see that. Yeah, yeah. Um, because I think that there
was this opportunity that the community.
S5 (24:02):
Was eager.
S2 (24:03):
Was eager. Right. They haven't had this global platform before
to be able to showcase Tijuana in a way that, um, that,
that they've been hungry for. Yeah.
S5 (24:16):
So I mean, from what you're saying, it is that
there was a lot of learning, you know, both sides
of the border interacting. Would you say that the the event,
the World Design Capital event reached pretty much all the
audiences that you that you intended.
S2 (24:33):
Well, we had two goals. Um, one was to educate
the general public more people about design, like you said.
You know, people have all these ideas. Everybody has an
idea of what they think design is, right? Yes. And
we really wanted to hone in on humanity centered design,
the type of design that changes our social systems. And
(24:55):
and so we wanted to reach more and more people
in our local, regional area. And then we wanted to
reach a global audience. We wanted to let our region shine,
to showcase the artists and creatives and business leaders. You know,
our life science sector is just so incredible. And I
(25:16):
think that people in life science know that we are
a hub for designing life saving cures. But globally, I think, um,
the story hasn't been told as well across the globe.
And we were able to do that. And and I
mentioned earlier, you know, we had close to 400 international
(25:39):
news articles about world Design capital, um, 1.17 billion media impressions.
That's billion with a B. Um, that's impressive. And and
for a one year program, that's pretty incredible. Um, so
I think that, um, that many people who who didn't
(26:02):
know about San Diego-tijuana definitely, uh, know about us. They
came and they visited, they came to our events and
they said, we'll be back. Ah.
S5 (26:13):
So you had a good portion of, uh, you know,
population outside of the area that came to San Diego
and Tijuana just for this event.
S2 (26:21):
Absolutely. The the designation is, is given by the World
Design Organization, which is a global organization and their membership,
they reach, you know, a global membership. They are all
invited to the world Design capital events. So many of
our events, particularly in the fall, um, were attended by
(26:46):
an international audience.
S4 (26:48):
That's that's great. Um, so what after this year, what
would you say is the lasting economic, social, cultural, civic
or environmental impact that this world design capital opportunity brought
to our region? Some examples.
S2 (27:07):
Yeah. So we're actually doing an impact study that actually
will measure all of that. And we hope to have
that by the fall of 2025. But um, you know,
we we don't know the true economic impact yet in
terms of real numbers. But I think that what the
lasting impact that this this year has had is that
(27:31):
all of the relationships that we've built, um, you know,
we have incredible people who are doing great work, uh,
in this region. Sometimes they're not talking to each other. Right? Yes.
Most times.
S5 (27:48):
We should we should do a lot more talking to
each other.
S2 (27:50):
You know, um, around the Tijuana River Valley and pollution,
for example, when we opened up our submission portal to get, um,
solicitations for community programs and community projects to be a
part of World Design Capital, what we noticed was, oh,
there are all these different organizations that are working on
(28:12):
the Tijuana River Valley. Why don't we bring them all together? Yes.
And and that's what they did. They created a collective
to focus on the Tijuana River valley, and they brought
an Arab, which is a larger consulting firm, to actually
provide in-kind services to create an index now where they
(28:33):
can measure pollution and they can measure the change over time.
You know that that is what the power of world
design Capital was, is that we connected people who are
already doing great things to actually then move the needle
on some of our most pressing problems. And, and that's
going to have economic impact. That's going to have social impact.
(28:57):
That's going to have environmental impact. Right. Sometimes it'll take
decades to actually, you know, see. But I mean, the
in the short term, we brought many people here that
otherwise wouldn't have come. We had 350,000 attendees at all
of our various.
S5 (29:17):
Events.
S2 (29:18):
Venues exactly throughout the year. Um, so, you know, we
definitely had economic impact. Whether or not I can tell
you how much. Stay tuned. Thank you.
S3 (29:30):
Let's take a quick break from the conversation. You're listening
to Border Masters. We will be right back.
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S3 (30:56):
Boardmasters is back! Let's get to Gustavo and Monique.
S5 (31:00):
Um, tell us a little bit. And I know this
was important, that the design lab at the University of California,
San Diego, which you lead, was involved in this whole
project and you and your team there along with other players.
But tell us a little bit about the design lab, um,
and what your role is there and sort of what's
(31:22):
what's what's happening there?
S2 (31:24):
The design lab was started, um, ten years now it's
our 10th anniversary. Uh, it was started with an idea
from Chancellor Khosla. Actually, he is from Carnegie Mellon. And,
you know, they have he's an engineer, but they also
have really a really great design program there. And he
(31:45):
saw that there was a gap at UC San Diego.
And so he recruited Don Norman back from industry. Don
was the he has had many different roles, but he
was a professor at UC San Diego and also the
founding chair of the cognitive science department. And then he
went off and spent, you know, some time in industry,
(32:06):
being vice president of Apple. And so Chancellor Khosla recruited
him back, and they started the design lab. Um, and,
and the design lab was always intended to intended to
be a resource for the campus. So it's not a
department or a center or an institute. It's more like
(32:29):
a consortium of faculty from across campus. We have faculty
from every single school across campus who are part of
the design lab. And so what that does is that
brings in their students and their researchers so that we
really do have a truly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary space. And
(32:52):
when you think about our big hairy problems in our society, um,
they it's going to require multidisciplinary thinking and transdisciplinary thinking, right?
We're not going to solve these big problems by staying
in our silos. We need the humanists who really, you know,
(33:12):
think deeply about the problem, to work with the technologists
who come up with the technology to try to address
some of these problems, right. We need the artists to
be able to communicate and translate the science to a broader,
broader audience so that they care. They care about these issues. Right.
(33:35):
So we need all of that. And and the design
lab is all of that. We try to bring together
all of these different perspectives so that we are better.
We are and our science is better and our art
is better. Um, and it's a it's a very dynamic place.
On any given day, you'll see something that will inspire you. Um,
(33:57):
I'm inspired every day by the faculty, by the students. Um,
there's just so much passion there. Uh, that and and
there's a there. I think it's it's different than other
units on campus because because we we are constantly thinking
about improvement. Design is about an iterative process. You're never
quite done. Right. that it's it's your, you know, you
(34:20):
prototype something, you iterate and you have that iterative mindset
so that it's it's about constant improvement and constant thinking
about how we can shape a better future.
S4 (34:32):
Yeah, that's the magic of working in a university, right?
It's always there's always something to learn. And like you mentioned,
we read the Design Lab was it's celebrating its 10th anniversary. However,
I feel that we just inaugurated this new shiny building
at UC San Diego. Can you share more about this
(34:52):
new home after a decade of design?
S2 (34:55):
Yes, we moved into this new building during Covid, so
actually nobody moved in for a while. Um, and it's
it's taken life. I think this last year or so, um,
it is the design and innovation building, and it's right
next to the trolley stop, which makes it very convenient
(35:15):
for bringing in our in our community members and community leaders.
It's four stories, and there's a story about every single
floor in that building. On the first floor is the
basement where they run these innovation sprints and bring in
students and create student teams to solve real world problems.
(35:40):
And these are interdisciplinary teams. And sometimes students don't really
even know anything about innovation or design. And so we
they walk them through this innovation cycle so that they,
they start to understand it. On the second floor is
the makerspace. So when you have a good idea and
(36:01):
you actually need to go make something, a product, a design,
you have the the tools to do so. It's a
machine shop. You know, we've got heavy machinery. So if
you are a novice you can go in and there's
a machine that you can work on. But if you're
an expert, there's also a machine that you can work on,
you know, to, to make metal and and really, you know,
(36:24):
our wonderful makerspace director, David Lessler, always says, you know,
if you can if you can dream it, we can
make it here in the makerspace. And then on the
third floor is the design lab where we asked the question,
does the society really need this design? Because oftentimes designers,
(36:44):
they think, I've got this great idea and I'm going
to make this, you know, come up with this cool
design of a product or a service or an experience,
yet they haven't vetted it with the people who are
actually going to use it. Right. And so we really
take that human centered approach to our design and, and
(37:05):
ask whether or not it's something that we actually need
in society. And so we've got, um, engineers who are
working on thinking about the health system and whether or
not it works for us, right? And, you know, they
think about it differently. Even these. We have an MD
who says, you know, my goal is to get you
(37:27):
to not go to the hospital even though I work
in a hospital. I don't want you to come in here.
How can we make health care accessible? How can we
make you healthier so you don't need to use the hospital? So. Exactly.
You know, um, you know, we're thinking about the system
and and mitigating the problems before they become problems. Um,
(37:47):
and then on the fourth floor is our entrepreneurship center.
So if you've got a great idea that you want
to start a business, a startup, or you've got a
product that you would like to share with a company
and get it out into the world. The Entrepreneurship Center
will help you launch your idea out into the world
in different ways.
S4 (38:08):
Um, it's so, so exciting. It's a beautiful building and
it's accessible and open to all. So Also, everybody should
visit it. My, we can be here forever. We have
so many questions. But now our producer is saying you
need to wrap up. So definitely we will have you back. Um,
one question that is always very important for us is, um,
(38:30):
when you hear the term border masters, what comes to
what comes to mind for you?
S2 (38:39):
You know, I really thought about it. If we mastered
the border, what would that mean? Right? And for me,
the one of the goals that we had with World
Design Capital in this last year is how can we
make the border crossing seamless? Um, you know, we're we're
probably not going to get rid of the border. You know,
(39:00):
borders are important in certain ways, but they don't have
to be difficult or depressing. And, you know, I've talked
a lot of with different stakeholders and say, hey, can
we Can we make it look nicer? You know. Can
we have some art? Plant some trees. You know, if
we do have to have a border, can we make
(39:21):
it seamless? Can we create? Can we extend the trolley,
just one more exit into Tijuana so that people can
cross the border very quickly? Right. These are conversations that
we had all throughout the year. Um, so so we
have we the border is going to be there. How
can we actually make it more seamless and and work
(39:42):
for us? Um, and that's what I think about when I,
I thought about border masters.
S5 (39:48):
Okay. And, and I guess this is a segue. Uh,
do you consider yourself a border master?
S2 (39:56):
No. Certainly not. Um. I have spent more time in
Tijuana than I ever have in my life. I mean,
I grew up in Southern California, and as a teenager
would cross the border with so much easier Yea, right.
In the.
S4 (40:12):
1911?
S2 (40:13):
Yes, exactly. Um, and so that that wasn't unusual for me, but, um,
you know, using the century lane, you know, does make
it so much easier. The medical pass lane, the business,
which is also a business lane. Um, it was certainly, um,
made it my work easier this year, being able to
(40:35):
cross very seamlessly. Um, I think that it's it's a journey.
You don't master it. It's it's going to evolve. It's
going to change. The people are going to change. We
worked with two different mayoral offices in Tijuana this last year. Right.
And so with every new administration, the experience changes. And
so I think it's it's something that you it's a
(40:59):
continual work in progress that, you know, the relationship that
I will have with Tijuana will evolve and change over time.
S4 (41:07):
I love it. It's a journey. Um, before this episode ends,
is there anything you would like to share with our audience?
S2 (41:17):
Wow. Um, I just think that what we learned this
year was the incredible power of community. I think that
this community is very special. Activating the community and providing
the opportunity for the community to become engaged is something
(41:41):
that we should do more, because it was the most
rewarding year, the most incredible year to an inspirational year
to learn so much about our community.
S4 (41:54):
Well, thank you so much for for also learning, taking
the time to learn. And we really appreciate that. And
where can we learn more about the world design capital.
The design lab and your impressive work.
S2 (42:11):
I would say come visit us in the design lab. Um, we, uh,
host open office hours. Um, certainly, you know, drop in.
Like you said, the building is actually open to the public.
We welcome people coming in and seeing what we do. Uh,
we've got some hoteling space. You could actually work there, uh,
(42:32):
for the day. Uh, so come in and check us out.
And with World Design Capital, it's still ongoing. Um, we're
not done yet. Uh, we can. They should check out
our website at WWDC 2020 for one of the programs
we are still working on right now is our spotlight
video series, and we have a number of spotlights on
(42:54):
creatives and artists and and designers in our region that
are 3 to 5 minute videos that are incredible. Um,
they're so incredibly inspirational. You should check those out.
S5 (43:08):
Well, thank you very much, May.
S4 (43:10):
Thank you so much, Mike.
S2 (43:11):
Thank you.
S4 (43:12):
Gracias.
S2 (43:15):
Hi. I'm Mike Nguyen, director of the design lab at
UC San Diego and also board chair of the World
Design Capital. And you're listening to Border Masters.
S4 (43:23):
Gustavo, I really love this this episode. Um, I love
about my that she really made an effort to understand
the the situation in Tijuana, the community in Tijuana, the
the cross border region, the challenges. And as she shared
(43:45):
with us, even thought of giving one of her speeches
in Tijuana in Spanish.
S5 (43:53):
Yes, yes. No. I think it's incredible what she tried
to accomplish, because, I mean, she's got this great background,
as she was saying, you know, I, you know, spent
some time in North Carolina understanding the the migrant population
There that helped her. But at the same time, I mean,
she was thrust into this program, right? This world design
capital event, a series of events that, you know, she
(44:18):
had to adapt to a to a cross-border situation with
the neighbors here in Tijuana. And, and I think she
did a phenomenal job. And she, she has a very,
I would say, very precise way of describing things as
you ask these questions. And she's very to the point, uh,
(44:39):
and she's she's very opinionated, which is great for this
for a podcast like this one.
S4 (44:44):
Yeah. And I think also let us this sink in
San Diego. Tijuana is a global designation, world design capital.
That's a lot like it's not. Oh, San Diego was
named the Global Design Capital or Tijuana was named. It's
(45:04):
a region. And like she said, for the first time
in eight years, years that our region has that designation
of world design Capital.
S5 (45:17):
It's it's huge. It's huge. Because I remember that the
region was vying with Moscow to become that world design capital. And,
you know, when when it was shown as Tijuana, San Diego,
people were saying, well, what is this? How is that
going to work? And the, the, the powers that be
(45:38):
behind the world design capital thought it was a great idea.
And finally we we came up, you know, taking and
winning the the bid for that event. So we were
you know, I think my reflects that in, in her own,
you know, diversity and her own way of looking at things.
S4 (45:57):
Yeah. And and I think that, um, now, now hearing
all about what this sign encompasses. That it's a way
of like a process. A way of thinking, a whole framework.
It makes it super interesting. I want to know more.
S5 (46:15):
Well, you know, again, I think I've changed the way
that I've, that I'm thinking about design. And she was saying,
you know this, we have to make it. It's it's
a humanity. It's the humanity. It's not the the building,
it's not the logo. It's not the, the, you know,
the typical design that we're we're thinking about exactly the
humanity of it. It's the systems part of it.
S4 (46:37):
Humanity centered design with a social impact.
S5 (46:42):
Uh, and thank you all for listening to our podcast,
Border Masters. To tune in for more episodes, please go
to Olas Media.com or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
And remember, if you have comments, questions, guests, or topic suggestions,
you can contact us at info at Border Masters Podcast.com.
My name is Gustavo de la Fuente and together with
(47:04):
my colleague Monique Casillas, we appreciate you tuning in.
S3 (47:10):
This episode of Border Masters creado por un Dream Team
JC Poch Nuestro production consultant that supports su experiencia y
creatividad Lina Alvarez, nuestra executive producer, siempre el mundo. Ulises Breton,
nuestro creative director, bringing the vision to life Alan Gonzalez,
el audio engineer, sonar increible Agradecimiento especial a founder and
(47:33):
president por ser la inspiration detras de todo esto producido
entre las San Diego, California y la Tijuana, Baja California
o la media is part of the ABC media Group.
Quieres mas? Check out Olas Media para mas episodes of
the show. Gracias por escuchamos parte de Gustavo y Monique.
Nos vemos la proxima vez.
S1 (48:00):
O Los media.
Olas. Media.
S2 (00:03):
We feel very strongly that using design methods and design
processes and design thinking actually allows us to accelerate change
from our perspective. It's that there isn't this understanding of
design redesigning the entire system. And so using a design framework,
(00:25):
we think about the entire system from how can we
prevent homelessness? How can we deal with mental health? It's
thinking about the entire system in order to actually move
the system forward, as opposed to a whack a mole approach.
S3 (00:43):
Olas Media presents Border Masters, the podcast where the US-Mexico
border takes center stage.
S4 (00:50):
Gustavo is from Nogales. He has amazing credentials, so he's
super knowledgeable of everything border. But we come from very
different borders.
S5 (01:01):
Monique is very good on the emotional intelligence. It's the
personality that she has that allows people just to feel relaxed.
It's part of letting the world know why has it
been so successful to have that border and what has
inspired them about the border?
S3 (01:23):
Now, here are your hosts, Gustavo and Monique.
S4 (01:28):
Welcome to Border Masters, the podcast of border Leaders. I
am Monique Casillas, co-host of Border Masters, and I am
here with my co-host Gustavo de la Fuente. Today I'm
super excited to have an incredible guest, Mai Nguyen, board
chair of the World Design Capital San Diego, Tijuana 2024
(01:51):
and UC San Diego Professor of Urban Studies and Planning.
Thank you so much for joining us. I think we
still glow because of the success of the world. Design
capital San Diego Tijuana 2024. A once in a lifetime,
year long event. An opportunity to shape the future of
(02:12):
our region through the power of design for the most part.
Last year, a team of from both parts of the
border was unified to showcase our region as a global
hub for design, innovation, arts and culture, fostering lasting economic, social, cultural,
(02:33):
civic and environmental impact. This community developed a program that
took place across the San Diego Tijuana region, featuring hundreds
of interactive design experiences for all, from multidisciplinary performances to
innovative art exhibitions to thought provoking conferences and beyond. This
(02:55):
is the first time I formally meeting my. But as
a former UC San Diego employee, I have heard her
speak multiple times, always inspired by her fabulous sparkling shoes
and multi-colored beautiful dresses. You're famous because of that. Mai,
I have to say, I had no.
S2 (03:17):
Idea. I had no idea.
S4 (03:18):
I have a story, and I'm going to to tell
you a little bit about it. And of course, the
amazing work you're doing through the UC San Diego Design lab. Gustavo,
I know that you also met my previously, right?
S5 (03:31):
Yes, I did, yes, I did. And you know, when
I met my probably around the 2021 time frame, I
was executive director of the Smart Border Coalition. Then she
invited me to a dinner and brainstorming session with a
diverse group of businesspeople, entrepreneurs, academics. And I remember talking
a little bit about the cross border experience, the crossing experience, really, um,
(03:55):
and potential innovations we could have at the border. And
I subsequently took my oldest son to see the design
lab and my kind of led the way. She she
kind of led the tour there, and we saw so
many different things going on in that design center, you know,
meeting rooms and people and people with all kinds of backgrounds,
(04:15):
whether it was, you know, computer scientists or political scientists
or what have you, health professionals. So it was it
was a wonderful experience. And I'm definitely not going to
forget that. My.
S4 (04:29):
So thank you so much for being here. And my.
Now your turn. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
S2 (04:36):
Sure. Well, it's a pleasure being here and hearing about
how my outfits get talked about. You know, I moved
from North Carolina about three and a half years ago
to UC San Diego, but I was raised in Orange
County and Riverside County. I went to high school at
(04:58):
Hemet High, so lived in a place called Aguanga, a
pretty rural area. There weren't many neighbors out there. We
I grew up on a farm, so farmed with my
family all throughout my teenage years and even through college.
And I think that living on a farm, living in
(05:18):
a rural area made me want to be an urban planner.
I moved as far away. Wow, rural area from that
because I was just so curious about cities. You know,
once I discovered cities, I thought, wow, this is just
a fascinating laboratory to study human behavior. And, and and
(05:40):
I just became really interested in where people live, how
they live, how they interact with one another. And that's
become my life mission is to study communities, to study
human behavior and human interactions and to make cities better.
You know, people often say, you know what? What what
(06:02):
does an urban planner do? Because they don't really understand
urban planning. And I, I often say, you know, it's
it's almost like we're doctors for cities. We go in,
we diagnose the problem, we try to understand them, and
we try to make them better. I love.
S4 (06:17):
It.
S5 (06:17):
My. So before we get into this conversation about the
world design capital and what that meant for this enormous region,
tell us a little bit about what was what was
your idea or your experience about the San Diego Tijuana
region before you started with this grand project?
S2 (06:35):
Sure. Um, I have studied immigration all throughout my career. Um,
a lot of it was immigration in North Carolina. Um,
and that's a different and it's Latino immigration, uh, usually
in North Carolina. Immigrants from Latin and Central America might
(06:56):
come to New York or LA, and they find it
difficult to live there. It's hard to get jobs, it's
hard to integrate. And so they make a second move
to North Carolina. And so North Carolina in the 1990s
had the largest second migration of of Latinos in the country.
And so that population grew very fast. But what also
(07:19):
happened was a backlash that the local state governments felt
that they it was growing too fast and that they
needed to have anti-immigration policies. And so they actually used
North Carolina as a testing bed for the federal government,
for homeland security to test new anti-immigration programs and policies.
(07:41):
And I was an activist scholar who actually helped immigrants
to try to fight against these, Usually these policies that
definitely violated their human and civil rights. And so that
became my life's mission when I was in North Carolina.
So I come to this region understanding the complexity of immigration,
(08:07):
understanding the complexity of migration. I myself am a refugee.
So I also come from it from a personal perspective
and experience. And so there's there it's just a very
complex issue that, that a lot of people don't understand.
(08:27):
And so for me, going into world design capital, one
of the ways in which one of the goals that
we had was to rewrite border narratives, to rewrite the
perception that San Diego and Tijuana are divided, that you know,
that there are all of these quote unquote criminals coming
(08:50):
over to America, right? We wanted to show the day
to day lives and the day to day interactions and
and how, um, most people who live in this region
actually live very symbiotically. Yeah. Right. And our organizations work
(09:12):
across the border seamlessly that the economy is so interconnected.
And I think that we were really able to accomplish
that this year, and to be able to actually communicate
that to a global audience, not just to ourselves, but
nationally and globally. We had, you know, we have this
(09:34):
whole marketing communications platform where by the end of 2024,
we had 1.17 billion impressions, billion with a B.
S4 (09:44):
Oh my goodness.
S5 (09:45):
That's that's amazing.
S2 (09:47):
Yeah. And these are positive stories, right? Not negative stories.
Positive stories about our region.
S4 (09:52):
And I love that you say that because, as you know,
you're you're one of our our, um, first guests to
our program. And when Gustavo and I were talking about
launching Border Masters. Exactly. This was our aim. And we
hope it is part of this aim to rewrite the
narrative of the border. Right. Uh, with people like you.
(10:16):
So for the people that are listening and they don't know,
maybe they were under a rock. What is the world
design capital? And can you please share why it was
so important to bring the world design capital to our region?
S2 (10:32):
Um, you know, I came in when this train was
already moving. There were a lot of people, civic leaders,
designers who really felt that it was important. And and
a moment in our regional history that we could bring
this international designation, global designation to this region. So I
(10:58):
don't want people to think that I was, you know,
the brainchild of this, but this was a lot of
of people before me who who actually came up with
this idea and why it was important is that we
have so much talent here in San Diego and Tijuana,
are have incredible design, creative talent, and we don't tell
(11:19):
our story well enough. And so when, um, you know, uh,
companies or opportunities for creative, the creative economy come to California,
they oftentimes sometimes they bypass San Diego and go to LA, right? Um,
so there was this opportunity to say to showcase what
(11:41):
we do well, here and the talent here. That was
one one reason why the why the world design capital
is important. But the other reason is that we actually
did want to use the transformative power of design to
tackle some of these very pressing issues in our community,
such as, you know, the border and crossing the border,
(12:02):
such as homelessness, such as climate change. We feel very
strongly that using design methods and design processes and design
thinking actually allows us to accelerate change within these areas
that we've that are intractable. Right. We've we've been spending
(12:24):
way more money on homelessness and the problem keeps on
getting worse. Yes. Right. Yes. And and from our perspective, it's,
it's that there isn't this understanding of design redesigning the
entire system. It's almost like we are putting money at
the problems that are right in front of front of us.
(12:45):
And it's whac a mole. We keep on, you know,
hitting one area, and then a problem pops up elsewhere.
And so using a design framework, we think about the
entire system from how can we prevent homelessness. How can
we preserve housing that people are in so that they
don't become homeless? How can we deal with mental health?
(13:06):
It's thinking about the entire system and understanding how they
work together in order to actually move the system forward,
as opposed to a whack a mole approach.
S5 (13:21):
I think going back to basics once again and this
concept of design, my what it sometimes it's a complex
abstract word. And you know, sometimes you think of it
as a logo or a building or a concept. Can you,
can you elaborate a little bit on what that what
(13:42):
that means for you? What does design mean? And for
our listeners, I think would be a good, uh, good.
S2 (13:49):
Uh, sure. Sure. You know, I actually disagree that it's
a complex, um, and abstract word because when you experience
good design, it's invisible. You don't question it. Yeah. Right.
When things work really well and are well designed, it's
when it's bad. When it's bad design.
S5 (14:10):
I guess I'm thinking of Apple Computer. In terms of
a good design, like a very, you know, seamless and
a very simple but yet elegant.
S2 (14:21):
So that, you know, I think when people think about design,
they usually think about products and they think about tangible things. And, um,
this world design capital was different. And why we won
the designation was because we were focusing on humanity centered design. Wow. Um,
the type of design that actually has real social impact
(14:45):
and it can be a product, but it can be
a product that maybe helps disabled folk, you know, people,
as opposed to just focusing on, you know, market share and,
and profit, profit making because we feel that if if
we are serving the people who are the most needy,
(15:06):
then everybody benefits. Right. When you have inclusive design, for example,
when sidewalks are wider for strollers, then they're also wider
for wheelchairs. So and then they're wider for pedestrians. So
everybody benefits.
S4 (15:24):
Yeah that's correct. And you already touched a little bit
about on this. But why do you think Ah San
Diego-tijuana region is so unique as a global hub for design, innovation,
arts and culture? Are there like specific examples that you
That you can give us of that uniqueness that only
(15:44):
happens in this region.
S2 (15:47):
Sure. I think that the inspiration, um, you talk to
a lot of creatives that the, the lifestyle brands that
come out, the skateboarding, the surfing, the, you know, um,
even painting. Right. You can't to give you an example,
you know, James Hubbell passed away this year, and he's
(16:09):
an artist and a designer and an architect. And and
if you go to his studios, which are in Julian,
you can't not see our region embodied in his work, right?
The colors, the vibrancy, the material. He uses natural material
(16:30):
from the region. Um, and then and then the people,
the people that are embodied in, in the work. And
so I think being a border region and being a
border region that where many people cross on a daily
basis that is so integrated, we can't not be influenced
(16:50):
by that. You know, I even though I study immigration
and I study Hispanics, Latinos, you know, in North Carolina,
it's very different. It's very different than this region. Um,
and there is this, um, humanity here where we understand
each other, that there is this, uh, real desire to
(17:13):
understand each other across the border here.
S4 (17:16):
It's very interesting. Tell us a little bit about what
happened last year, the programming, the highlights, maybe of the
cross-border collaboration. Anything that we can still see or experience it,
if anyone is hearing about it for the first time,
is there anything that one can see, visit or still now?
S2 (17:37):
So what was so unique about our designation was it
was the first time that two cities were designated every
other world design capital eight times before there was a
single city. So that was unique. And then it was
a whole region. And what that meant for us was
how can we activate a whole region? So we had
(17:57):
600 events and activations throughout the year, which means that
many community groups, community members, organizations hosted events and became involved,
and they'll continue to do so. We have so much
excitement and enthusiasm about this platform that many people want
(18:20):
to continue next year. So there are going to be
new events that will live on beyond 2024. Just to
give you an example, you know, the the International Jazz
Festival that was launched this last year. They had three,
three days of jazz, one in North County, one in
downtown San Diego, and one on Avenida Revolucion. And you know,
(18:43):
that is going to continue next year. Love it. So
there's lots of events like that. And then with the
World Design Capital we hosted over, we hosted seven plus
events that were global events. Some of those events will
also happen next year. So the Tijuana Design Festival, which
(19:04):
this year was the world design experience, um, is going
to happen in in late April of next year. And
what was so special about that event was that the
Tijuana creative community, their young and, you know, they are, um,
just the vibrancy there. Um, you know, when when we
(19:26):
hosted that event, we brought so many people from San
Diego that had never been to Tijuana. These are leaders
in our community. You. Yes, yes I know, and we
made it easy for them. We had a shuttle. We
drove them over. We said, look, you have to come
over here and see what's happening. The art, the culture,
the food. Here it is thriving, you know, and the energy.
(19:50):
You just have to feel the energy in Tijuana. And
it was just an incredible, incredible experience with these open
studios that you could hop around and see young creatives, um,
you know, designing ceramics, designing, you know, creating art, um,
and getting to meet the artists, which, you know, for us,
(20:11):
telling that story not just of, hey, there are these
art studios, but no actually meeting the people behind the studios.
And the art was important for us. And and that
was a hugely successful event that will continue the world
design experience in San Diego, which was powered by the
(20:33):
Design Forward Alliance, will also happen again next year. Seven
this year we held seven days of design experiences across
San Diego. 100 events. Wow. And many of them were
at the pavilion that we we that was designed by
(20:53):
Helio and also Daniel Ruanova. The one in Balboa Park.
The one in Balboa Park. The orange structure that you
couldn't miss. You can't miss even from space. Yeah. We
held over 70 events there throughout the year. And then
I think one of our most impactful events was the
World Design Policy Conference, where we brought thought leaders from
(21:16):
around the globe, connected them to thought leaders here in
our region to have really powerful conversations across four different
thematic areas the border, the creative economy, health, and then innovation.
These are areas again you mentioned like what's what's unique
(21:37):
about our region. Those are themes that really were driven
by what is unique about our region. Right. And we
had over 700 attendees attend that. And it was the
first time ever, you know, for a conference. That was
the first time ever bringing that that conference together. We
will continue to host that biennially. I love it as
(22:00):
a way to really advance our region forward through thought leadership.
Love it.
S5 (22:06):
Wonderful. Um, you know, the fact that you have this
continuity because a lot of people say, well, you're done
with the conference. So now what happens? Right? So you're
you're getting it, you know? No. Here it's all about continuity. Um,
now as you related to people in Tijuana, uh, because
this was an effort from both sides of the border,
(22:27):
as we talked about, the city of Tijuana was heavily involved.
A business people in Tijuana, artists in Tijuana were involved.
What were your major challenges getting involved with that and
making trying to make it work with the other side
of the border. And how was that? How were you
able to solve that?
S2 (22:45):
You know, I think the biggest challenge with working with
any community, especially from someone who's relatively new to this region,
is building trust. Yeah. And trust building takes a long time.
So because I was new, I knew that I should
(23:05):
not come in and say, hey, I want to do
this thing for Tijuana. I, you know, it's not about me.
It was really about galvanizing and and and and catalyzing
the community to believe in our goals and to become involved.
And so, you know, getting the right people in Tijuana
(23:27):
to participate, to be our ambassadors, to be are the
leaders of their own change and their you know what?
And create their own programs was really important. And it
took time. But we we ended up with incredible support
from Tijuana. In fact, our community program, we had more
(23:51):
projects in Tijuana than in San Diego. Mhm. I can
see that. Yeah, yeah. Um, because I think that there
was this opportunity that the community.
S5 (24:02):
Was eager.
S2 (24:03):
Was eager. Right. They haven't had this global platform before
to be able to showcase Tijuana in a way that, um, that,
that they've been hungry for. Yeah.
S5 (24:16):
So I mean, from what you're saying, it is that
there was a lot of learning, you know, both sides
of the border interacting. Would you say that the the event,
the World Design Capital event reached pretty much all the
audiences that you that you intended.
S2 (24:33):
Well, we had two goals. Um, one was to educate
the general public more people about design, like you said.
You know, people have all these ideas. Everybody has an
idea of what they think design is, right? Yes. And
we really wanted to hone in on humanity centered design,
the type of design that changes our social systems. And
(24:55):
and so we wanted to reach more and more people
in our local, regional area. And then we wanted to
reach a global audience. We wanted to let our region shine,
to showcase the artists and creatives and business leaders. You know,
our life science sector is just so incredible. And I
(25:16):
think that people in life science know that we are
a hub for designing life saving cures. But globally, I think, um,
the story hasn't been told as well across the globe.
And we were able to do that. And and I
mentioned earlier, you know, we had close to 400 international
(25:39):
news articles about world Design capital, um, 1.17 billion media impressions.
That's billion with a B. Um, that's impressive. And and
for a one year program, that's pretty incredible. Um, so
I think that, um, that many people who who didn't
(26:02):
know about San Diego-tijuana definitely, uh, know about us. They
came and they visited, they came to our events and
they said, we'll be back. Ah.
S5 (26:13):
So you had a good portion of, uh, you know,
population outside of the area that came to San Diego
and Tijuana just for this event.
S2 (26:21):
Absolutely. The the designation is, is given by the World
Design Organization, which is a global organization and their membership,
they reach, you know, a global membership. They are all
invited to the world Design capital events. So many of
our events, particularly in the fall, um, were attended by
(26:46):
an international audience.
S4 (26:48):
That's that's great. Um, so what after this year, what
would you say is the lasting economic, social, cultural, civic
or environmental impact that this world design capital opportunity brought
to our region? Some examples.
S2 (27:07):
Yeah. So we're actually doing an impact study that actually
will measure all of that. And we hope to have
that by the fall of 2025. But um, you know,
we we don't know the true economic impact yet in
terms of real numbers. But I think that what the
lasting impact that this this year has had is that
(27:31):
all of the relationships that we've built, um, you know,
we have incredible people who are doing great work, uh,
in this region. Sometimes they're not talking to each other. Right? Yes.
Most times.
S5 (27:48):
We should we should do a lot more talking to
each other.
S2 (27:50):
You know, um, around the Tijuana River Valley and pollution,
for example, when we opened up our submission portal to get, um,
solicitations for community programs and community projects to be a
part of World Design Capital, what we noticed was, oh,
there are all these different organizations that are working on
(28:12):
the Tijuana River Valley. Why don't we bring them all together? Yes.
And and that's what they did. They created a collective
to focus on the Tijuana River valley, and they brought
an Arab, which is a larger consulting firm, to actually
provide in-kind services to create an index now where they
(28:33):
can measure pollution and they can measure the change over time.
You know that that is what the power of world
design Capital was, is that we connected people who are
already doing great things to actually then move the needle
on some of our most pressing problems. And, and that's
going to have economic impact. That's going to have social impact.
(28:57):
That's going to have environmental impact. Right. Sometimes it'll take
decades to actually, you know, see. But I mean, the
in the short term, we brought many people here that
otherwise wouldn't have come. We had 350,000 attendees at all
of our various.
S5 (29:17):
Events.
S2 (29:18):
Venues exactly throughout the year. Um, so, you know, we
definitely had economic impact. Whether or not I can tell
you how much. Stay tuned. Thank you.
S3 (29:30):
Let's take a quick break from the conversation. You're listening
to Border Masters. We will be right back.
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S3 (30:56):
Boardmasters is back! Let's get to Gustavo and Monique.
S5 (31:00):
Um, tell us a little bit. And I know this
was important, that the design lab at the University of California,
San Diego, which you lead, was involved in this whole
project and you and your team there along with other players.
But tell us a little bit about the design lab, um,
and what your role is there and sort of what's
(31:22):
what's what's happening there?
S2 (31:24):
The design lab was started, um, ten years now it's
our 10th anniversary. Uh, it was started with an idea
from Chancellor Khosla. Actually, he is from Carnegie Mellon. And,
you know, they have he's an engineer, but they also
have really a really great design program there. And he
(31:45):
saw that there was a gap at UC San Diego.
And so he recruited Don Norman back from industry. Don
was the he has had many different roles, but he
was a professor at UC San Diego and also the
founding chair of the cognitive science department. And then he
went off and spent, you know, some time in industry,
(32:06):
being vice president of Apple. And so Chancellor Khosla recruited
him back, and they started the design lab. Um, and,
and the design lab was always intended to intended to
be a resource for the campus. So it's not a
department or a center or an institute. It's more like
(32:29):
a consortium of faculty from across campus. We have faculty
from every single school across campus who are part of
the design lab. And so what that does is that
brings in their students and their researchers so that we
really do have a truly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary space. And
(32:52):
when you think about our big hairy problems in our society, um,
they it's going to require multidisciplinary thinking and transdisciplinary thinking, right?
We're not going to solve these big problems by staying
in our silos. We need the humanists who really, you know,
(33:12):
think deeply about the problem, to work with the technologists
who come up with the technology to try to address
some of these problems, right. We need the artists to
be able to communicate and translate the science to a broader,
broader audience so that they care. They care about these issues. Right.
(33:35):
So we need all of that. And and the design
lab is all of that. We try to bring together
all of these different perspectives so that we are better.
We are and our science is better and our art
is better. Um, and it's a it's a very dynamic place.
On any given day, you'll see something that will inspire you. Um,
(33:57):
I'm inspired every day by the faculty, by the students. Um,
there's just so much passion there. Uh, that and and
there's a there. I think it's it's different than other
units on campus because because we we are constantly thinking
about improvement. Design is about an iterative process. You're never
quite done. Right. that it's it's your, you know, you
(34:20):
prototype something, you iterate and you have that iterative mindset
so that it's it's about constant improvement and constant thinking
about how we can shape a better future.
S4 (34:32):
Yeah, that's the magic of working in a university, right?
It's always there's always something to learn. And like you mentioned,
we read the Design Lab was it's celebrating its 10th anniversary. However,
I feel that we just inaugurated this new shiny building
at UC San Diego. Can you share more about this
(34:52):
new home after a decade of design?
S2 (34:55):
Yes, we moved into this new building during Covid, so
actually nobody moved in for a while. Um, and it's
it's taken life. I think this last year or so, um,
it is the design and innovation building, and it's right
next to the trolley stop, which makes it very convenient
(35:15):
for bringing in our in our community members and community leaders.
It's four stories, and there's a story about every single
floor in that building. On the first floor is the
basement where they run these innovation sprints and bring in
students and create student teams to solve real world problems.
(35:40):
And these are interdisciplinary teams. And sometimes students don't really
even know anything about innovation or design. And so we
they walk them through this innovation cycle so that they,
they start to understand it. On the second floor is
the makerspace. So when you have a good idea and
(36:01):
you actually need to go make something, a product, a design,
you have the the tools to do so. It's a
machine shop. You know, we've got heavy machinery. So if
you are a novice you can go in and there's
a machine that you can work on. But if you're
an expert, there's also a machine that you can work on,
you know, to, to make metal and and really, you know,
(36:24):
our wonderful makerspace director, David Lessler, always says, you know,
if you can if you can dream it, we can
make it here in the makerspace. And then on the
third floor is the design lab where we asked the question,
does the society really need this design? Because oftentimes designers,
(36:44):
they think, I've got this great idea and I'm going
to make this, you know, come up with this cool
design of a product or a service or an experience,
yet they haven't vetted it with the people who are
actually going to use it. Right. And so we really
take that human centered approach to our design and, and
(37:05):
ask whether or not it's something that we actually need
in society. And so we've got, um, engineers who are
working on thinking about the health system and whether or
not it works for us, right? And, you know, they
think about it differently. Even these. We have an MD
who says, you know, my goal is to get you
(37:27):
to not go to the hospital even though I work
in a hospital. I don't want you to come in here.
How can we make health care accessible? How can we
make you healthier so you don't need to use the hospital? So. Exactly.
You know, um, you know, we're thinking about the system
and and mitigating the problems before they become problems. Um,
(37:47):
and then on the fourth floor is our entrepreneurship center.
So if you've got a great idea that you want
to start a business, a startup, or you've got a
product that you would like to share with a company
and get it out into the world. The Entrepreneurship Center
will help you launch your idea out into the world
in different ways.
S4 (38:08):
Um, it's so, so exciting. It's a beautiful building and
it's accessible and open to all. So Also, everybody should
visit it. My, we can be here forever. We have
so many questions. But now our producer is saying you
need to wrap up. So definitely we will have you back. Um,
one question that is always very important for us is, um,
(38:30):
when you hear the term border masters, what comes to
what comes to mind for you?
S2 (38:39):
You know, I really thought about it. If we mastered
the border, what would that mean? Right? And for me,
the one of the goals that we had with World
Design Capital in this last year is how can we
make the border crossing seamless? Um, you know, we're we're
probably not going to get rid of the border. You know,
(39:00):
borders are important in certain ways, but they don't have
to be difficult or depressing. And, you know, I've talked
a lot of with different stakeholders and say, hey, can
we Can we make it look nicer? You know. Can
we have some art? Plant some trees. You know, if
we do have to have a border, can we make
(39:21):
it seamless? Can we create? Can we extend the trolley,
just one more exit into Tijuana so that people can
cross the border very quickly? Right. These are conversations that
we had all throughout the year. Um, so so we
have we the border is going to be there. How
can we actually make it more seamless and and work
(39:42):
for us? Um, and that's what I think about when I,
I thought about border masters.
S5 (39:48):
Okay. And, and I guess this is a segue. Uh,
do you consider yourself a border master?
S2 (39:56):
No. Certainly not. Um. I have spent more time in
Tijuana than I ever have in my life. I mean,
I grew up in Southern California, and as a teenager
would cross the border with so much easier Yea, right.
In the.
S4 (40:12):
1911?
S2 (40:13):
Yes, exactly. Um, and so that that wasn't unusual for me, but, um,
you know, using the century lane, you know, does make
it so much easier. The medical pass lane, the business,
which is also a business lane. Um, it was certainly, um,
made it my work easier this year, being able to
(40:35):
cross very seamlessly. Um, I think that it's it's a journey.
You don't master it. It's it's going to evolve. It's
going to change. The people are going to change. We
worked with two different mayoral offices in Tijuana this last year. Right.
And so with every new administration, the experience changes. And
so I think it's it's something that you it's a
(40:59):
continual work in progress that, you know, the relationship that
I will have with Tijuana will evolve and change over time.
S4 (41:07):
I love it. It's a journey. Um, before this episode ends,
is there anything you would like to share with our audience?
S2 (41:17):
Wow. Um, I just think that what we learned this
year was the incredible power of community. I think that
this community is very special. Activating the community and providing
the opportunity for the community to become engaged is something
(41:41):
that we should do more, because it was the most
rewarding year, the most incredible year to an inspirational year
to learn so much about our community.
S4 (41:54):
Well, thank you so much for for also learning, taking
the time to learn. And we really appreciate that. And
where can we learn more about the world design capital.
The design lab and your impressive work.
S2 (42:11):
I would say come visit us in the design lab. Um, we, uh,
host open office hours. Um, certainly, you know, drop in.
Like you said, the building is actually open to the public.
We welcome people coming in and seeing what we do. Uh,
we've got some hoteling space. You could actually work there, uh,
(42:32):
for the day. Uh, so come in and check us out.
And with World Design Capital, it's still ongoing. Um, we're
not done yet. Uh, we can. They should check out
our website at WWDC 2020 for one of the programs
we are still working on right now is our spotlight
video series, and we have a number of spotlights on
(42:54):
creatives and artists and and designers in our region that
are 3 to 5 minute videos that are incredible. Um,
they're so incredibly inspirational. You should check those out.
S5 (43:08):
Well, thank you very much, May.
S4 (43:10):
Thank you so much, Mike.
S2 (43:11):
Thank you.
S4 (43:12):
Gracias.
S2 (43:15):
Hi. I'm Mike Nguyen, director of the design lab at
UC San Diego and also board chair of the World
Design Capital. And you're listening to Border Masters.
S4 (43:23):
Gustavo, I really love this this episode. Um, I love
about my that she really made an effort to understand
the the situation in Tijuana, the community in Tijuana, the
the cross border region, the challenges. And as she shared
(43:45):
with us, even thought of giving one of her speeches
in Tijuana in Spanish.
S5 (43:53):
Yes, yes. No. I think it's incredible what she tried
to accomplish, because, I mean, she's got this great background,
as she was saying, you know, I, you know, spent
some time in North Carolina understanding the the migrant population
There that helped her. But at the same time, I mean,
she was thrust into this program, right? This world design
capital event, a series of events that, you know, she
(44:18):
had to adapt to a to a cross-border situation with
the neighbors here in Tijuana. And, and I think she
did a phenomenal job. And she, she has a very,
I would say, very precise way of describing things as
you ask these questions. And she's very to the point, uh,
(44:39):
and she's she's very opinionated, which is great for this
for a podcast like this one.
S4 (44:44):
Yeah. And I think also let us this sink in
San Diego. Tijuana is a global designation, world design capital.
That's a lot like it's not. Oh, San Diego was
named the Global Design Capital or Tijuana was named. It's
(45:04):
a region. And like she said, for the first time
in eight years, years that our region has that designation
of world design Capital.
S5 (45:17):
It's it's huge. It's huge. Because I remember that the
region was vying with Moscow to become that world design capital. And,
you know, when when it was shown as Tijuana, San Diego,
people were saying, well, what is this? How is that
going to work? And the, the, the powers that be
(45:38):
behind the world design capital thought it was a great idea.
And finally we we came up, you know, taking and
winning the the bid for that event. So we were
you know, I think my reflects that in, in her own,
you know, diversity and her own way of looking at things.
S4 (45:57):
Yeah. And and I think that, um, now, now hearing
all about what this sign encompasses. That it's a way
of like a process. A way of thinking, a whole framework.
It makes it super interesting. I want to know more.
S5 (46:15):
Well, you know, again, I think I've changed the way
that I've, that I'm thinking about design. And she was saying,
you know this, we have to make it. It's it's
a humanity. It's the humanity. It's not the the building,
it's not the logo. It's not the, the, you know,
the typical design that we're we're thinking about exactly the
humanity of it. It's the systems part of it.
S4 (46:37):
Humanity centered design with a social impact.
S5 (46:42):
Uh, and thank you all for listening to our podcast,
Border Masters. To tune in for more episodes, please go
to Olas Media.com or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
And remember, if you have comments, questions, guests, or topic suggestions,
you can contact us at info at Border Masters Podcast.com.
My name is Gustavo de la Fuente and together with
(47:04):
my colleague Monique Casillas, we appreciate you tuning in.
S3 (47:10):
This episode of Border Masters creado por un Dream Team
JC Poch Nuestro production consultant that supports su experiencia y
creatividad Lina Alvarez, nuestra executive producer, siempre el mundo. Ulises Breton,
nuestro creative director, bringing the vision to life Alan Gonzalez,
el audio engineer, sonar increible Agradecimiento especial a founder and
(47:33):
president por ser la inspiration detras de todo esto producido
entre las San Diego, California y la Tijuana, Baja California
o la media is part of the ABC media Group.
Quieres mas? Check out Olas Media para mas episodes of
the show. Gracias por escuchamos parte de Gustavo y Monique.
Nos vemos la proxima vez.
S1 (48:00):
O Los media.
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