Public Design
Public Design UNIT's ideas lab, where we develop various initiatives to explore how design can transform the public realm in Latin America from different perspectives.
Public Design
Public Design UNIT's ideas lab, where we develop various initiatives to explore how design can transform the public realm in Latin America from different perspectives.
The Public Design Map in Latin America is the first panoramic view at the public design practice in the region.
In Latin America, many public innovation initiatives are interrupted by institutional or administrative changes. As a result, valuable lessons and knowledge are lost. This project looks to document, make visible, and connect the work of those who practice public design in the region, so that their contributions endure, are recognized, and can inspire new transformations.
THE MAP
Explore the geography of public design
THE MAP
Explore the geography of public design
The Map brings together survey responses from practitioners across Latin America, documenting where public design is being practised, which projects are being developed, and what kinds of organisations are involved. The current dataset includes 311 projects reported across 20 countries.
127practitioners surveyed
20countries
311projects documented
271institutions involved
4arenas of practiceWhat is public design
The intentional use of design approaches and tools–such as human-centered research, co-creation, service design, and systems thinking–to address problems and processes in the public sector. In this project, public design:
Public Design in Latin America manifests in multiple ways: in projects promoted by international organizations, innovation teams that operate within the public or private sector, consolidated service units, and many other shapes that continue to emerge in the region.
| Rethinks | Integrates | Seeks | Recognizes the political | Adapts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structures, policies, and public services from inclusive and collaborative perspectives. | Citizens, civil servants, and organizations into the definition of problems and solutions. | Systemic impact with decisions and services that respond to real contexts | Design can transform power structures and ways of governing. | To changing environments with limited resources and diverse regulatory frameworks. |
Rethinks
Structures, policies, and public services from inclusive and collaborative perspectives.
Integrates
Citizens, civil servants, and organizations into the definition of problems and solutions.
Seeks
Systemic impact with decisions and services that respond to real contexts
Recognizes the political
Design can transform power structures and ways of governing.
Adapts
To changing environments with limited resources and diverse regulatory frameworks.
The second installment in our Public Design series brings together the key findings from the Map.
This report explores the people who practice public design, their backgrounds, motivations, and the projects they drive, offering a panoramic view of the field.
The findings reveal that public design in Latin America is far from an emerging practice. The region currently boasts an active and innovative ecosystem; however, until now, the field has remained fragmented, consisting of isolated cases and experiences that rarely engage with one another.
LEAD BY
Public Design UNIT is a global service innovation and strategic design studio. We work with governments, multilateral organisations, regulated industries, and institutions committed to generating public value — designing and building programs, services, and experiences that people value, trust, and enjoy.
LEAD BY
Public Design UNIT is a global service innovation and strategic design studio. We work with governments, multilateral organisations, regulated industries, and institutions committed to generating public value — designing and building programs, services, and experiences that people value, trust, and enjoy.
Public Design Collective, is a collective of researchers studying public design in Latin America.
Public Design Collective, is a collective of researchers studying public design in Latin America.
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
The College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University and the Royal College of Art, through Design Futures.
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
The College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University and the Royal College of Art, through Design Futures.
RESEARCH TEAM
The team behind the Map
RESEARCH TEAM
The team behind the Map
The Public Design Map brings together researchers, designers and practitioners working across public design, creative economies, service design and institutional innovation in Latin America.
The Public Design Map brings together researchers, designers and practitioners working across public design, creative economies, service design and institutional innovation in Latin America.
Dr. Nicolás Rebolledo
Project Director. Founder and Partner at UNIT. Senior Tutor in Service Design at Royal College of Art. Practice Fellow, Imperial Business School.
Dr. Sofía Bosch
Principal Investigator. Founder and Lead Collaborator of the Public Design Collective. Teaching Researcher in Design at Northeastern University.
Valentina López
Researcher. Senior Consultant in Cultural Policy and Creative Economies at UNIT.
Tina Rosado
Researcher. Northeastern University. Collaborator en Public Design Collective.
Mariana Villamizar
Frontend Engineer. Northeastern University. Collaborator at Public Design Collective.
Zabel Revuelta
Researcher. Senior Consultant in Services Design at Unit.
Luca Gaspari
Research Assistant. Northeastern University.
Vicente Puig
Director of Art. Director of Art at UNIT.
Vicente Acuña
Designer at UNIT.
Diana Villa
Independent Advisor.
CBF LATAM
Designing the public in Latin America
CBF LATAM
Designing the public in Latin America
The transformation of the public sphere is already happening. The challenge is to give it direction: to strengthen democracies across the region and respond to complex problems that can only be tackled by connecting different sectors, disciplines and perspectives.
The transformation of the public sphere is already happening. The challenge is to give it direction: to strengthen democracies across the region and respond to complex problems that can only be tackled by connecting different sectors, disciplines and perspectives.
That is why we are bringing the Creative Bureaucracy Festival to Latin America: the world’s largest festival for public sector innovation, which for nearly a decade has brought together in Berlin the people transforming government from within.
Designing the Public in Latin America will be its first Latin American edition, taking place in Santiago de Chile in 2027. If you’d like to be part of it, join the conversation.
That is why we are bringing the Creative Bureaucracy Festival to Latin America: the world’s largest festival for public sector innovation, which for nearly a decade has brought together in Berlin the people transforming government from within.
Designing the Public in Latin America will be its first Latin American edition, taking place in Santiago de Chile in 2027. If you’d like to be part of it, join the conversation.
