BACKSTORY

When the HOW Design Conference came to San Diego in 1998, they asked local designers to share a glimpse of the city with attendees. Our contribution was a modest, pocket-sized booklet of photos that collected the visual vernacular in 10 of our favorite neighborhoods. Offering an off-the-tourist- map view to our fellow designers, signs, murals, and random bits of interest provided inspiration as we explored the urban landscapes where we lived, worked, and ate lunch.

It was all made possible thanks to a then-new technology that allowed us to capture and share images like never before. Digital cameras weren’t just another app on your phone like they are today, but we had one—a 2-megapixel beast that kept the photos constrained to near postage-stamp size. Clearly a big leap from the cost and complexity of film, processing, and scanning, but still a long way from Instagram. Which is why we’re updating the project for today.

Because now that it’s easier to share these slices of our community, we think it’s worth another round. And we encourage you to explore your own neighborhoods too. Let’s find the magic in the nearby nooks and crannies to create a new visual resource for designers all over San Diego.

DOWNLOAD the original 10 Neighborhoods booklet.

VIEW our 2020 neighborhood photos.

EXPLORE the neighborhoods with our self-guided tour.

SHARE your own neighborhood photos on Instagram with #10NeighborhoodsContinued.