IN 2018, MEXICO CITY BECOMES THE WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL WITH A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE DESIGN AS CENTRAL THEME.

Last week, World Design Capital Ciudad de México, Mexico city government and Design Week Mexico, presented “Espacio CDMX Arquitectura & Diseño”, a recovery project in the 2nd section of Chapultepec park where was the workshop “trenecito”. The main goal of this place is to promote projects of architecture, town plannings and responsible designs; which serves as creative headquarters casual and information center of World Design Capital CDMX 2018.

But, what is World Design Capital? World Design organization promotes design as a disciplinary which helps improving quality of life. In form of professional association, companies, educational institutes which purpose is to encourage design as a tool to improve life condition of cities and communities.

The main goal of the organization is to improve the disciplinary of design to international level through variety of initiatives to support the effectiveness of design in an attempt to understand people needs, improve quality of life, such as helping to increase the economy and social development of cities. One of these is World Design Capital, started in 2008 in Turin, Italy; then Seoul, South Korea in 2010; Helsinki; Finland in 2012; Cape Town; South Africa in 2014; Taipei, Taiwan in 2016.

In 2015, Mexico city gained the nomination given by the World Design Organization to be the World Capital of Design. Central theme was design socially responsible counting with 6 areas:

  1. Inhabitant
  2. Mobility/movement
  3. City identity
  4. Environment
  5. Public space
  6. Creative economy

We talked with Graciela Kasep, programme and cultural affairs director of World design Ciudad de México.

According to you, what will be the impact for Mexico city as country’s capital and design’s capital in 2018?

About social design, we are talking about specific theoretic current inside design, one of these values is the possibility to copy action in distinct contexts. The idea is to think about public space, in Mexico City regarding different subjects, like water that is something of all cities, as well local as international; we are leading to generate strategies from design to all creativity that we can bring to any place.

At educational level, the challenge is to incorporate this line of research. For this, I think more than anything there is a challenge in communication: get the right message, and for this we need distinct platform targeting peoples in the epicentre of this.

Another challenge, is to change the idea that we have of design. Most people think that design is an expensive, esthetic and functional object and this is what we don’t want people still thinking, but  design mean more and the nomination (of WDC) have a fully urban approach, that why Mexico city was chosen, the reason is the whole program is done in conjunction with the World Design Organization.

Activities of next year start on March the 5th and 6th with the inaugural forum in Palacio de Bellas Artes exploring the theme: The Future of cities continue with International Design exhibition in collaboration with International Friend Culture exhibition (from April the 21st to May the 6th) and close on October. With the most important month for design in the country, when succeed Design Week México and Abierto Mexicano de Diseño.



  • TRANSLATION: Jennifer Grosvalet

Fecha de Publicación:
December 18th, 2017