I first came to San Diego in the summer of ’77. I remember being at the old Santa Fe Terminal thinking this seemed like a town living in the shadows of San Francisco and Los Angeles. In the years since, and especially in the last decade, San Diego has transformed itself in an amazing way. Now I see a unique city attracting companies from around the world with a burgeoning creative class. San Diego is accomplishing this by embracing design culture and design thinking. San Diego has a DesignMind (TM).

A DesignMind opens the door to innovation. It’s what stimulates companies to grow and products to evolve. Throughout American history, there are many heroes who had a DesignMind, from early thinkers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and Steve Jobs. Their innovation edge has made American industry and culture agile and vital.

At NewSchool of Architecture & Design, our students are developing their own DesignMind. Their free inquiry, critical thinking and global mindset are critical to their future and the future of our cities. We make this possible not only by operating in a dynamic city, but also by operating in a new model of higher education.

I have been fortunate to live a design life as an architect, designer, educator, and leader. Now, I’m fortunate to be back in a renewed San Diego guiding and chronicling the developing DesignMind of our students, faculty, city and region.

What does the concept of DesignMind mean to you?