The Design Museum’s current exhibition, Design Cities 1851-2008, argues that seven cities have each enjoyed a ‘moment’ when their particular economic, cultural and geo-political stars have aligned to have a transformative effect on the history of design. The exhibition begins and ends in London, via Vienna, Dessau, Paris, Los Angeles, Milan and Tokyo. The 2008 ‘now’ spot has already been claimed for London, so where next? What are the historical shifts, fusions and fractures that will change design in our times, and more pointedly, which are their urban epicentres?

The British Council and the Design Museum held a debate during December 2008 on where the next Design City would be, with the event taking the form of a rapid-fire series of presentations by passionate advocates of four ‘proto’ design cities. Is the next design city somewhere in the booming economies of Brazil, Russia, India or China?

The panel was chaired by Deyan Sudjic, the curator of Design Cities, with advocates including:

• Ruy Ohtake, the acclaimed architect, who argued for Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, with its vibrant design scene and host of landmark buildings and structures,
• Denis Cherdantsev of Designet, a company that promotes Russian design and runs a web portal that supports the national design community, in favour of Moscow, the largest city in Europe and a melting pot of politics, economics and religion, that is also home to the largest number of billionaires in the world,
• Professor M P Ranjan, a designer and a member of the Faculty at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, in favour of Bangalore, the fastest growing metropolis in India, which is also known as the Silicon Valley of India as it has shaped the IT industry with its many software and telecommunications companies, and
• Ou Ning, a prominent editor and graphic designer, who put forward the case for Beijing, the centre of politics and culture in China, that retains its strong traditions and values in the face of globalisation, and will build upon the 2008 Olympics in terms of the advancement of design and technology.