Singapore, Shanghai, Istanbul, Geelong.

There are 31 cities around the world with the UNESCO City of Design designation and, as of recently, Victoria's second biggest city is one of them.

It is the only such city in Australia, and while it may seem a surprising choice to some, Geelong actually has a long and rich history of design.

Geelong has produced many Australian icons ranging from the Hills Hoist to the Ford ute and modern refrigerator.

Deakin University's Dr Russell Kennedy encouraged Geelong to chase the UNESCO listing.

He co-authored a paper with Dr Meghan Kelly titled Building A Case For An International Design Centre In Geelong.

"I was looking at Geelong's history and the dynamics of Geelong in terms of manufacturing and design and I thought they were really well placed to apply for the designation," he said.

"It's a long history of innovation and invention really, and the Indigenous design history is also quite strong with aquaculture."

Attractive place for creative types

Professor Kennedy said Geelong had also reinvented itself as a future centre of design through the work going on at Deakin University.

"We have the Carbon Nexus Centre at Waurn Ponds; that's already having a big impact in the world of design," he said.

There's also the Centre for Advanced Engineering Training and the Australian Future Fibres Research Innovation Centre.

Mark Beasley says many creative types moved to Geelong during the gold rush. ( ABC News: Nicole Mills )

Geelong Heritage Centre collection manager Mark Beasley said the city had attracted many creative types right from its early beginnings.

He said Geelong's population tripled during the gold rush, when many traders and craftsmen came to live near the main port servicing the Ballarat goldfields.

Geelong later became the world's largest wool exporter and a hub of agricultural design.

"Those sorts of people were in Geelong right from its beginnings, all those people who work with their hands and have that creative and inventive mindset," Mr Beasley said.

"It's kind of like they don't have any boundaries around their thinking; if something pops up or if I can take my skills and develop something new, I'm willing to try that."

The fridge

The first commercial refrigerator was designed in Geelong by newspaper editor James Harrison in 1851.

According to Culture Victoria, he came up with the idea while cleaning the movable type on the Geelong Advertiser's printing presses.

He realised the sulphuric ether he used for cleaning could have other uses.

In 1857 he created the world's first large-scale refrigeration machine.

The Harrison-Siebe Ice-Making Machine, London, 1857-58. ( Supplied: Museums Victoria )

The ute

The Ford ute was designed by Lew Bandt and built in Geelong in 1934.

The idea was sparked by a letter from a farmer's wife who asked for a vehicle families could use to go to church on Sunday and take their pigs to market on Monday.

The ute was released during the Great Depression, when banks were willing to provide loans to farmers for work vehicles only.

While Ford closed its manufacturing plant in Geelong in recent years, it has committed to the Geelong-based Hi-Tech Design, Innovation and Research Centre.

The ute became a must-have vehicle for people on the land. ( State Library of Victoria: Percy Sims )

The Hills Hoist

The first all-metal rotary clothesline, which you probably know as a Hills Hoist, was patented by Geelong blacksmith Gilbert Toyne in 1911.

His business plan was interrupted when he served in World War I, but he returned and refined the idea to include a wind-up mechanism.

The reason we know it as the Hills Hoist rather than the Toyne Hoist, is simply because the Hills company had better success in promoting and marketing the idea.

They capitalised on the post-war population boom and soon almost every home had a wind-up metal clothesline in their garden.

The Hills Hoist became an Australian icon and was found in backyards across the country. ( Supplied: State Library of New South Wales )

Decimal currency

Most of Australia's decimal currency coins were designed by Geelong goldsmith and jeweller Stuart Devlin.

The Royal Australian Mint describes him as one of the most creative and influential goldsmiths and silversmiths of his time.

He went on to design coins for another 36 countries, including the United Kingdom and Singapore.

He also designed medals and coins for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Stuart Devlin designed coins for more than 30 countries. ( Supplied: Royal Australian Mint )

Clothing brands

Department store Target began when two men, George Lindsay and Alex McKenzie, opened a drapery store in Geelong in 1926.

It sold mainly dress fabrics, manchester and furnishings.

Target's headquarters are still located in Geelong but the company recently announced it would move its head office to Melbourne's outer west later this year.

Surf brands including Ripcurl and Quiksilver also started in Torquay, which is on the outskirts of the City of Greater Geelong.

They started making wetsuits and surfboards but have since transformed into global fashion retailers.

A relatively new addition to the clothing design landscape in Geelong is Cotton On, which was created in the city and still has its international headquarters there.

It now has 1,400 stores in 19 countries.

Target's headquarters will soon move from Geelong to Melbourne. ( ABC News: Nic MacBean )

Editor's note: The original version of this article stated the triple fin surfboard was designed in Torquay. This was an error and has since been removed.