Situated on the Arabian Gulf coast and to the northeast of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is a cosmopolitan city with a diverse socio-economic landscape and is often regarded as the Middle East’s premier commercial and business hub. As the first city in the Middle East to be designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design, Dubai has fostered an international and distinctly local design ethos, a canvas where global design trends and local aesthetics blend seamlessly, resulting in an identity artfully shaped by its heritage and the vibrant mosaic of its international residents.
On the one hand, the city’s population growth, from a modest 1,200 in 1822 to over 3.55 million in 2022, mirrors its metamorphosis into a global epicenter. On the other hand, its economy, reflected through a GDP of over US$177 billion in 2021, a record-breaking 450+ FDI projects in the creative industries sector in 2022, and a total FDI capital investment of US$2 billion, underscores its vitality and cements its position as a global hub for culture and creativity.
With initiatives like the Dubai Design District (d3) and INDEX, the Middle East’s largest interior design, furniture and fit-out trade show, and events, such as Dubai Design Week — an annual event that highlights Dubai’s design community through events, workshops and exhibitions — and Downtown Design, the city has provided a platform for creatives regionally and globally, fostering an environment where design thrives and attracting a diverse group of designers, architects, and artists as a result.
Since joining the UCCN, the number of mega-projects introduced has catapulted the city to new heights of creativity, innovation, and sustainability, with the hosting of Expo 2020 standing as a testament to this ambition. Dubai also set clear goals when joining the network, establishing in 2018 the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), the first higher education institution in the region, aimed at preparing the future workforce in the fields of design, innovation and cross-cutting approaches. The city has also been encouraging talent development through competitions and hands-on workshops, leveraging design to engage with the population.
Video about Dubai
As a Creative City of Design, Dubai also enjoys the following highlights:
- Dubai is emerging as a regional fashion hub supported by a burgeoning retail space and growing sales figures, establishing itself as a premier luxury shopping destination on the global stage. As of 2018, Dubai boasted a substantial gross leasable retail space area totaling 3.8 million square meters.
- In 2021, the design sector contributed 2.15% to Dubai’s GDP.
- Nurturing the vibrancy of Dubai’s cosmopolitan and diverse socio-economic landscape, the government has placed design at the heart of its policies.