UC San Diego

Design Lab
Community

Design Lab Community is a team of the UC San Diego design
lab. We build relationships with industry, civic, and education
partners to cultivate community-driven innovation ecosystems
across UCSD, San Diego, and beyond.

Process & Principles

Human-Centered design is about building relationships. We believe change moves at the pace of trust. We build trust through our humble, curious, inclusive and transdisciplinary approach to human-centered design.

We facilitate real-world learning and applications, develop partnerships for research and infrastructure, and build networks across the San Diego community.

Initiation & Action

We begin early and begin repeatedly, via a culture of attempts and building upon past work.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity

We create radical inclusivity by bringing people along, cultivating diversity and mutual respect across vocation, race, gender, generation, interest, discipline and perspective.

Resources & Access

We generate access intentionally by building or recognizing the resource-riches of any environment.

Infrastructure & Ecosystems

We cultivate an ecosystem by strategically building, sharing and repurposing tools, infrastructure

Iteration, Yes & Reciprocity

We iterate on best practices responsively, through continued feedback, reflection and articulation

Latest News

We are excited to partner with Sandag to create speculative designs for ….

The Design Lab is pleased to announce the launch of its new website

Work

Our projects range from small to large--from long term infrastructures to creative events. In whatever case, we bring innovation and transformation to human and organizational ecosystems.

Our projects connect, catalyze, and co-create.

Connect

We can do more together than apart. Connecting voices from across the region builds a critical foundation of trust and open communication that allows for deep and authentic engagement with communities. In addition to conducting interactive sessions with initiative-specific community groups, the Design Lab helps pull together sector and cross-sector groups of innovators, influencers, practitioners, and policymakers

Catalyze

Community-driven design often serves as a catalyst for strategic visioning, decision-making, organizational transformation and program and policy development.

Co-Create

Community-driven design is ultimately focused on solution implementation and impact that is co-created with the pertinent community or communities. We often achieve this by conducting “design sprints” and more in-depth “design challenges” around specific priorities of regional community leaders, policymakers, planners, and constituents.