Design@Large: Design to Action

Design@Large Winter 2026 centers on a simple but critical question: How does innovation actually get built—and sustained—in the real world?

This winter, Design Lab @ UC San Diego is hosting a six-part Design@Large series called Design to Action: Building Innovation and Impact where we will be examining how meaningful and scalable innovation and impact are designed and developed in real contexts. The focus is on design as the day-to-day work that sets ideas in motion, creates momentum with partners, and leads to systems and outcomes that endure.

The series is organized around three main themes that embody design in action:

• Pave the Path: How people take early ideas, find direction, and spark momentum through catalytic conversations and experiments.
• Build Momentum: How teams broaden participation, build coalitions, prototype with real stakeholders, and learn what works.
• Sustain the Work: How effective practices become embedded in infrastructure and systems that draw on human and technological strengths while keeping dignity, belonging, and equity at the center.

Join us for a hands-on session with Daniela Deutsch and Jonathon Glus. This facilitated workshop invites you to roll up your sleeves and learn from the experts how to turn bold ideas into clear, actionable steps—and actually execute them.

Daniela Deutsch

Daniela Deutsch is an architect, educator, and academic leader whose work bridges architectural practice, urban design, and higher education, with a strong focus on sustainability, mixed-use development, and comprehensive planning.

With more than two decades of experience spanning professional practice and academia, Daniela currently serves as Dean of the School of Architecture and Full Professor at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design, while also acting as a principal at Exitecture Architects. Her career has been shaped by leading architecture programs, teaching across institutions, and designing projects that integrate environmental responsibility with real-world urban and institutional constraints.

At Design@Large: Design to Action, Daniela brings a leadership-driven and practice-informed perspective on how architectural and design education translate into lasting impact — highlighting how design operates within complex systems, accreditation frameworks, and community contexts to shape sustainable and equitable built environments.

Jonathon Glus

Jonathon Glus is a cultural strategist, civic leader, and arts administrator whose work centers on strengthening cities through arts, culture, and creative industries as drivers of equity, economic development, and community identity.

With more than 25 years of experience across city government and nonprofit leadership, Jonathon has led large-scale cultural planning, policy development, and creative placemaking efforts in major U.S. cities. He currently serves as Conrad Prebys Senior Fellow for Art and Design at the Downtown San Diego Partnership and previously directed the City of San Diego’s Department of Cultural Affairs, where he launched Creative City, the city’s first comprehensive cultural plan, and served as city liaison for World Design Capital San Diego–Tijuana 2024.

At Design@Large: Design to Action, Jonathon brings a civic and systems-level perspective on how arts and culture operate as tools for city-building — demonstrating how designers, artists, and creative leaders can shape policy, foster cross-sector collaboration, and embed creativity into the long-term social and economic fabric of communities.

How to get to the Design and Innovation Building on the UC San Diego campus

Click here for information about transportation options to get to the Design and Innovation Building.

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