The World Design Capital® (WDC) project is a biennial international competition created to identify and recognise cities that have effectively used design to revive the city and improve its quality of life.

Under the direction of Icsid and the IDA, the WDC will promote the importance of good design strengthening and empowering cities to use industrial design and graphic design to position their competitive advantages from a social, cultural and economic point of view.

World Design Capital Torino 2008
As the first municipality to hold the title, the City of Torino officially accepted the designation as the 2008 Pilot Project for the WDC competition.

Find out more about World Design Capital Torino 2008.

World Design Capital Seoul 2010
During the Icsid Congress in San Francisco in October 2007, the City of Seoul was officially announced as the winner of the WDC 2010 designation. A program of events will be developed leading up to the year.

The Competition

The World Design Capital designation is not reserved to national capitals. All cities are encouraged to participate in the call for entry for the 2010 designation, which will be launched later this year.

There are many benefits for cities to become a World Design Capital. The list includes:

The application process will require each city to highlight the importance of design and collaborate with local, national and international partners to promote local design activities to a global audience for a period of one year.

Visit the World Design Capital website to find out more about the competition and download an application package.