Curating an international design policy conference to share the region's design work and research.
We designed the conference as a room where designers, officials and researchers from both sides of the border could talk about how human-centered design shows up in public policy. Each of four tracks had a steering partner already deep in its field: the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs for the creative economy, the Center for Health Design for health, the Design Lab for innovation, and the Institute of the Americas and BCCA for borders.
show public leaders on both sides of the border what co-design returns, so they choose it for the next decision on their desk?
Over two days, more than 130 speakers across four tracks kept putting people who set policy next to people who live with it. Pattie Moore, the founding mother of universal design, and Don Norman gave keynotes; Tim Brown of IDEO and NEA Chair María Rosario Jackson closed.
Beyond Borders paired Mexico’s consul general in San Diego with the U.S. consul general in Tijuana. Beyond Creative brought in design-for-policy leaders from the UK, the Philippines and Taiwan. Beyond Innovation gathered SDG&E, CAL FIRE and the La Jolla tribe’s fire chief on wildfire prevention. Beyond Health asked a plain co-design question: “What would make it work for me?”
The program was a masterpiece for a community-centered nerd.
I co-led the conference across 18 months and supported curation for all four tracks. I also looked after the parts people walk through: a brand that ran from a trolley wrap to wayfinding cubes, and a website and event app I taught myself to build with a two-person team.
If you’re following these topics, here’s where a few of them went next.
