The Home of Interdisciplinary Design

Focused on providing research, education, and community interaction to advance best practices in human-centered design and to address complex problems facing society.

Education

We offer education in human-centered design, including an undergraduate Design Minor and the Design Graduate Specialization).

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Research

Our research focuses on building a substantive body of theory and evidence-based insights to establish a scientific basis for design.

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Studios

The Design Lab provides opportunities for new Design Practitioners, Faculty, Research Staff, PhD Students, and Undergraduate Students to collaborate.

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Explore the Design & Innovation Building

The Basement

Start-up incubators, design and innovation programs, leadership opportunities, and entrepreneurial workshops.

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MakerSpace

Support students in making in every form, from research to artwork, personal projects to entrepreneurship.

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Entrepreneurship Center

Accelerating the development of entrepreneurial talent and impact-driven companies.

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What's New @ The Design Lab

Unlocking Your Potential: The Benefits of Paid Learning Opportunities at UC San Diego Design Lab

August 1, 2023
Jobs, UCSD Initiatives

Paid learning opportunities can provide many benefits, from deepening your understanding of the subject matter to offering insights into potential career paths and providing the revenue needed to fund your college experience.

Super Low-cost Smartphone Attachment Brings Blood Pressure Monitoring to Your Fingertips

May 29, 2023
Academics, Design Community, Design Initiatives, Healthcare, Healthcare, News

Super Low-cost Smartphone Attachment Brings Blood Pressure Monitoring to Your Fingertips Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a simple, low-cost clip that uses a smartphone's camera and flash to monitor blood pressure at the user’s fingertip.…

An Introduction to Bill Fulton, The Design Lab’s Visiting Policy Designer

May 2, 2023
Academics, Design Community, Design Initiatives, Design-driven Transformation, News

An Introduction to Bill Fulton, The Design Lab’s Visiting Policy Designer How might we help San Diego leverage policy and design to impact the common good. Policy and design are two important societal decision-making drivers that usually don’t go together.…

World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana Campus Convening on Dec 9th

November 16, 2022
Design Community

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to submit your project and join our first World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 Campus Convening on December 9, 2022, held at the UCSD Design Lab in the Design and Innovation building between 2.00-5.00pm...

Frontier Design Prize Announces Winners at World Design Cities Conference

November 1, 2022
Design Community

Shanghai, September 15, 2022 | The Frontier Design Prize announced the winners of its inaugural edition during the opening ceremony of the World Design Cities Conference (WDCC). Mr. QU Xing, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. GONG Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai, Ms. XU Xiaolan, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology (China), along with leading designers, scholars and industry leaders, attended the award ceremony. The Frontier Design Prize (FDP) is a visionary, innovative, world-class design award established with the aims of encouraging design innovation, enhancing the impact of design in driving industrial transformation, and promoting the role of design in shaping a better world. A central program of WDCC, it is undertaken by Design Innovation Institute Shanghai (DIIS) with guidance from the Shanghai Municipal Government.