impact ripples

7/26/2019 Impact Ripples

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IMPACT RIPPLESIssue #1


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IMPACT RIPPLES

Visual Communication Design students in Prof.Natacha Poggios Type I I course co-createImpact Ripples, a publication showcasing storiesof changemakers who use design to c reatelasting impact and positive change that ripplesout across a wide range of fields includingeducation, sustainability, social justice, civicparticipation, business, development, and health.

The editorial content is driven by thesechangemakers narratives, with the stories looking to

work twofold offering the reader the opportunityto learn something new as well as delving intoeach individuals personal narrative, to provideall round inspirational and enticing stories.

Nicole Coumes

Jess Kampo

Briana Swota

Olivia Akerley

Cindy Lau

The Class

Tyler Berry

Tonya Salyerdsw

About In terviews B y


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TABLE OFCONTENTS

Emer Beamer

Megan Bullock

Eric BensonAndrew Shea

Noah Scalin

Elizabeth Werbe

Pamela Williams

Mike Weikert

ChangeMakers Defined


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Excited

... sometimes I felt like I had to pay backhuge, I hAD to make a huge contribution to

alleviate the inequality in the world...

EMER

BEAMER

5 6

What is your creative process?I would say its continual. Its basically the theoretical process of thinking of an idea and thenmaking it happen. To me, being creative with every little problem that comes your way andbeing continually willing to look for another solutio n is important. Usually I like to try towork on the essence of what I am trying to achieve and then come up with a strategy orway to make that happen. But, if some part of what you imagine didnt happen or turnedout to be really difficult or complicated then I check back with what the essence of what Iwant to achieve is and then find solutions or other ways of doing that. So as much as youmight be in production mode, I consider that as being quite creative. I guess for me I wouldsay its a way of life.

Who is /was your biggest influence and why?I guess as it may be true for most people, a lot of who you are is formed when you areyoung and so I think my mother was a very big influence for me.She very much had theI-can-do-it-mindset and also she was an activist at heart, so there was a lot of literature

questioning the status quo in my house when I was growing up. We were brought to alot of demonstrations, we had our own little composting farm in the backyard and we did alot of raising money for charities, putting on little teas in the garden for friends, raising tenpounds for the local charities; that was something normal in our house. I would say a lot ofwhat I think of as normal now came from my mum.

What are some of your biggest challenges in making projects sustainable in terms of theirown growth?Okay, so that was something I learned a lot in my very first project I did. Your relationshipor the projects relationship to the people the project in engaging: how does it engage in thefirst instance and how that relates them to the long term strategy? You basica lly set the basis o fthe relationship right there from the beginning; you frame that and thats often implicit. Ithink [the project] dictates if it gets its momentum and everything to do with our youthdictating what is happening or inviting people into a space to create something better. And

that second person lays thepath down for the futurewhich will be carried out bymany players.

At the same time it hasbeen a lot of hit andmiss. Some of my earliestprojects have been stillrunning for fourteen yearsand what would havehappened if we didnt havethat open engagementlets make-this-happen-

approach? But at thesame time it could havefallen on its face, had nota few individuals nothave kept goinglookingfor more funding, orpartnerships; keep ongoing with no money.

You have referenced a lot of your older projects, what project are you most proud of and why?Im just as excited with what Im doing now, but just as much so with my very first project, which was working with youngpeople from the slums of Nairobi and setting up a design school (Nairobits). I dont know if there is some religious guilt orethic, but sometimes I felt like I have to pay back huge, I have to make a huge contribution to alleviate the inequality in theworld; I couldnt sleep without doing something . Once young people in Nairobi could get jobs again, then I could sleep and Ifelt like it would be okay to enjoy life now.

Im interpreting the word proud loosely but that was more for my personal needs to feel like I contributed. But its nice that theparticular project was so concrete, that if somebody gets a job you know there job would be a whole lot better to get a job versusto not have one. And the cool thing is that the project is still goingthese young people are still taking part and succeeding. T hatis also a good reminder for me that these things take time. You can be slugging away at something and achieving minimal successand thinking this is making such hard work and it is taking so long. But when you get older, say, in my job, but then I tell myself,Emer, it takes that long. In other projects, say ones I started in 2003 or 4, they were the only things I thought about. In fact, theother day I received an email by accident from a group in rural Kenya and they were just starting the same project I had built inUganda then, and in the meantime that project had gone to Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria, and I dont know where else. They [theKenyans] were all excited to be doing exac tly what I was doing then. The long haul is something you have to enjoy after quite awhile you are working on something you can become very critical of your own success. Its about the long haul where you canlook back and say that was all worth it.

Children learning to make prototypes with basicelectronics at the Design-A-Thon

Inte rvie w b y Ni cole Coum es


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Capton for awesomeImage (2010)

It must be so rewarding to be receiving those emails so much later, remi nding youof your impact.Sometimes it is by accident, by subscribing to some newsletter, and then Ill see somethingI initiated. And sometimes it is direct. Like six months ago I had two students in 2004and now they are both teachers; one teaching in Nairobits in Tanzania and they were inAmsterdam and working on something with the Amsterdam Nairobits team. I met themfor coffee and they told me: do you know how many lives youve changed; How did youdo that? And gosh, I had completely forgotten that part of my life; it was totally amazing.

What are three things you keep in mind when creating a new social impact project?Number one is who is around the table; who is sitting there and what they want to makehappen; the founding team. It doesnt matter how bad the situation is, as long as thosearound are motivated by that problem and there are some resources then you can alwaysmake something happen. Then, coming up with a solution that everyone feels part of. Thebigger the power base, the more important it is that everyone owns the solution. Like, if

you were me, if someone says to paint the walls of the building Im in, versus you wantingto paint them yourself, the difference in motivation is huge. Where is the motivation,whose got it and are they around the table? Before I begin any process I want there to besome certainty that any plan we come up with has some sort of funds to make it happen,otherwise its just a loose exercise and you might as well just have a beer. If you are notallowed to implement what you come up with, then whats the point? Particularly if yougo to a lot of trouble to discuss the ideas with others; that takes a lot of organization to getpeople together.

What advice would you give to your younger self?It links to what I said in the beginning; it takes time, it takes longer than you think. Somethinglike youre doing a good job, keeping going. Its funny that people often think that thosewho are doing something new or pioneers of an idea, that they are automatically confidentin the ideas they are doing. Thats not necessarily the case. You may be convinced that it issomething you have to do and it needs to happen but you may not be convinced of yourown abilities. In my experience, quite a few people are unsure that they can pull of theirfunny goal. It helps if you can hear from an older mentor or somebody to say you can do it,its okay to make mistakes.

Over the last week you just held the First Global Childrens Design-A-Thon. What wasyour biggest take-away from this project? Would you restructure the Design-A-Thon

differently for the future, if yes, how so?The take-away and positive feeling that people see that children are a) engaged in socialand environmental questions and b) how much children have to say about that and howinspiring that is for people to see. Thats really nice to see reverberating.

As far as structure, I wouldnt change much. I was very pleased when talking to otherlocations; the timing worked. When you are working usually you are in total panic whethersomething is going to work or not because it usually more work than you thoughtbutactually we all got finished in time to present to the public. I tested the process beforehandand wrote it all out in detail and I kind of train the facilitators via Skype and walked themall through the steps of the program. So I wouldnt change the structure at all; if it workedin all of those places, then it must work. I am hoping to do a lot more Design-A-Thons indifferent contexts and with different themes.

In your opinion, most skills are most essential to instil tochildren while in school?In a sense, it is ver y similar to what they are learning todo, and it does matter on which group of children weare speaking about (children in a Dutch primary school,American, Kenyan). In Ireland for example, childrenare a lot better at paying attention than say some of theDutch children. Kind of the universals, because I thinkwe can agree that the future will be a lot more changeableand unexpected than in the past so having a set of skillswhich would help you deal with continual changing

situations; having a can-do mindset. It is also hugelyimportant to be technologically savvy. You dont needan entire understanding of how this [technology] works,and attitude of knowing how things work and how youcan use it or fix it. Because if something does ever fail,it would be very handy that you can fix what is aroundyou and have it serve your survival needs. And of course,I would always love to see the better part of each childshumanity brought forth, because something that is insideof everyone, but you need something to cultivate, which issomething religion has done in the past. If you dont havethat, then you need to replace it with something else thatcalls forth your better self. Those three things: creativity,technologically savvy, and your better self.

How do you measure the impact of our projects or is that something of less interest to you?It is very important, but at this stage of the Design-a-Thon it is too soon and the project toshort-term. In the past, we were measuring numbers; who takes the course and who getsa job or who passes. And then a lot of attitude change things like: do I feel empowered toprotect myself as a female, a little bit, a lot, and so forth? We would document this over timeof course. I would like to test that for the future with a more instructional way for children.

When starting a new social change project, how early in to constructing a project are youthinking about its inclusivity? What are the biggest challenges of creating a project thatsuccessfully does such?There are two things: it is easy as an outsider to not see the groupings that the culture hasmade for itself which gives you great freedom. So like when we were working with theother young Kenyans in the slums, we couldnt tell the difference. I think that helped themovergrow their own stigma because now they were engaging with people who were notexperiencing that. Although we were not doing anything special, it was just because you

come with a different cultural attitude with you. I think that cultural attitude is a reallypositive thing in groups; that each individual gets to see themselves in a new light. Thechallenge in brining groups of unusual people together is often that people presumes thatanother group is not as smart enough. Like for instance when we were in Asia, we wouldpresent ideas that were produced in Nigeria and they would be like oh Africa, those ideas

will be rubbish, we want something from Hong Kong orJapan or America; it was very hard to convince themthat the projects were quality and the same thing when youare trying to get students to work with teachers. Teachersthink students dont know as much as me because I am theteacher and they dont take their ideas seriously. But onceyou get them into the room they will be creating together,you just have to get them there in the first place.

Like in India, sometimes the rich kids would say they wouldcome but do not show. There are all sorts of boundaries youdont anticipate; the rich ones need to work with poor ones,how do you get around it? You have to make it a nationalschool competition and so they all come because its school;you have to level the playing field. I genuinely believe that

there is an inherit knowledge and capacity in everyone, youjust have to ask and people will show it to you.

people often think that those who are

doing something new or pioneers of an idea, that

they are automatically confident in the ideas

they are doing . Thats not necessarily the case

Nairobits students celebrating after Class8


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What are the 3 things to keep in mind when starting a(social impact) design project?Does your audience need this? Are they involved from thestart, and through the process? Do you have partners? Haveyou picked them wisely? What are their roles? The realworld is made up of collaborations. What is the lifespan ofthis project, once you as a designer let it go into the world?Who will be its caretaker, what will it be in five years?It will be hard, but it will be worth it.

Where do you think your work had/has the most impact?In West Virginia. I was working in India as a teacher anddesigner, trying to solve problems. Someone asked me whyI was trying to solve problems in a place I didnt reallyunderstand all of the cultural nuances of, when I came froma part of the world (Appalachia) that had its own set ofreally complicated problems. Wasnt I more equip with acultural understanding to work on solving problems inmy own metaphorical backyard, in Appalachia ratherthan in India? Absolutely. So I opened up a studio - MESHDesign - in West Virginia in 2009 with a childhoodfriend and now partner, Josh, and started working withnonprofits and small businesses. What do you know betterthan your own backyard? We now have a second studioin New York that I lead, but Im regularly back in WestVirginia working, designing, problem solving, learning.

What advice would you give to your younger self?Work for other people longer, and learn as much as you canfrom them. Watch what they do, listen to what they say,and listen to what they dont say. Observation can providesome of the best insights.I opened my own studio about ayear out of school, with only a little work experience in NewYork and Edinburgh under other people. This was wonderfuland exciting, but the learning curve for me has been muchgreater than if I had spent a few more years learning fromthe comfort of someone elses studio!

Accepting failure is part of

the pathway to success

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MeganBullockGrit Inte rvie w by Jes s Ka mpo

What is your creative process?Ask LOTS of questions. Make lists, take tons of photos. Gather information, read, draw, read, screenshot, write, document.Look for patterns and systems and anomalies. This poster I designed for our People Building Better Cities project basicallysummarized it. Its very rarely linear, it always revisits, its inquisitive and critical, and it asks lots of questions.

Who is/was your biggest influence and why?My father.Who runs his own business, is really involved in his community, f lips old historical buildings, guides the New River,and is always open to something new. Hes ingrained work ethic in me, and really loving what you do, or not doing it. Youmake that choice to get up and do that thing everyday. So love that choice. He is also a constant reminder that somethingpositive can come out of every experience, you should never stop learning and giving yourself new challenges, you canalways change, one success can balance out 10 losses, there are always options, and you can design your own life. Its notnecessarily what you do, but how you do it, and the people you affect along the way.

I grew up in martial arts classes, and I sometimes (often) failed my belt promotion tests. There would be something myteacher (sensai!) would say I had to improve and retest on in a weeks time. Sometimes it was my Japanese, sometimesit was that kata I really didnt focus on. My first reaction was to throw in the towel; if I failed then I didnt want to be apart of this stupid karate thing anymore! My dad would always make me a deal - practice the thing that had held meback, retest, get the next belt promotion, and then I could quit. Well whenever I got the promotion- YEE HAW - Iwas ready to keep going. I failed a lot of tests through the years, but I started going to class almost 5 nights a week, andI eventually became on of the youngest black belts at my school. Accepting failures are a part of the process to successreally allows me to be a designer, to run a design studio.

What project/initiative are you most proud of and why?Most of my favorite work revolves aroundstarting a new conversation and shifting perceptions on a topic throughstorytelling. Sometimes my studio - MESH Design- gets to design whole platforms for these new dialogues, and sometimeswe design what we call conversation tools.

I got to partner with Anna Rubbo, founder o f Global Studio, to put together the traveling exhibition People BuildingBetter Cities. To date, its been to 17 cities around the world, sharing knowledge and starting conversations around moreinclusive, participatory urban design. Weve worked on a Kellogg Foundation-funded project on the local food systemin Detroit; we were given hundreds of pages of complicated charts and graphs and tasked with creating a book that wouldeasily communicate these ideas to community groups in Detroit. We worked with a public library system in West Virginia tocreate a new online branch of their library to remind people that libraries are still relevant, and important. We work with ahospital association in DC, Americas Essential Hospitals, to communicate the people behind public hospitals in the US, andto shift the healthcare conversation away from the idea of safety net hospitals, and toward the idea of public hospitals asessential hospitals. We have had the great opportunity to work with main street programs, healthy-eating and farminginitiatives, and s ocially conscious small businesses - like Mission Savvy Organic-to-Go juices, and J. Q. Dickinson Salt-Works. Most important to me, we are very involved in diversifying the economy in West Virginia and promoting all theamazing stories we run into throughout the Appalachian region.


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What is your favorite book?My journal.

What inspired you to become a change maker?Probably Walt Whitmans preface to Leaves of Grass. Ivebeen writing it over and over again throughout my life. Iwrote it on my wall growing up, woke up to it everymorning, and I try to always keep it nearby.

"This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun and theww stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your incomeand labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,have patience and indulgence towards the people, take offyour hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any manor number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated

persons, and with the young, and with the mothers of read

When youre designing you run into so many barriers along

the way. Its so easy to throw in the towel. But theres always

a solution. If you can get over that barrier and to the next step

when you look back its not as complica ted as it was then

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What's the most important lesson you learned outside the classroom?Design is 30% ideation and creative and 70% behind the scenes making/managing/problem solving. I think I firstheard this concept from a Louise Fili, and Marina Abromovitz talks about it in her documentary. It takes alot ofwork - paperwork, planning, timelines, budgets, buy-ins, conversation facilitating (on the front end) and execution,coordination, copy-editing, quality checking, distribution planning - to execute even the simplest of design projects that

is not traditionally perceived as design.

KEEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. No one ever found real progress or discovered new worlds when they stayedin their own bubble.

What is the meaning behind the company name MESH?A few things. Mesh means to bring different pieces together. I talked a little about designing conversations and shiftingperseptions. As a designer its pretty easy to work with other designers and to work with people who think like you. Itsreally challenging to work with people who dont think like you but you can really learn so much from them. We workwith boards, librarians, health care providers, teachers, and different people. All tehse people think very differently thenwe do. So the idea of bringing things together is really Important to us. Its a mash up of mine and my partners names.My work partner loves play on words.

In one sentence, what up-and-coming designer shouldwe be following and why?I personally look for more inspiration outside the designindustry. I think its really easy for designers to design fordesigners, and not for people. Our industry can get reallywrapped up in itself - so I look for inspiration in thepeople I design for. That said, SNOOK Design in Scotlandis doing some really interesting work.

What is the importance to letter "R" ?Oh you went to my personal website! I havent been onthat for so long. This is my college portfolio. I was assignedthe letter R for a class. I had to draw a letter R everydayfor a semester and think about what letterforms in theenvironment and all the shapes you can use within theletterform. How to simplify, the meaning it creates, andhow to complicate it through rendering families, these leavesin the open air every season of every year of your life,re-examine all you have been told at school, or church,or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; andyour very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richestfluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lipsand face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and inevery motion and joint of your body.


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If you inspire them or

empower them to be apart of

the project, then the project

will be more self-sustaining

Fo rw ar d- Th in ki ng

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Inte rvi ew b y Ol ivia Ack erl ey

What is your creative process?The creative process that I use is that I like to think aboutthings for a long time. Thats my creative process now, Iwould say, versus what it was when I was working at acompany, for instance. On the job, if I was working for acompany my creative process was shortened a lot morethan it is now, most of the time I would be in meetings,talking through what we want to accomplish to make surethat were approaching it the right way, so there were peoplein those meetings that werent designers, and also designers,so it was a good conversation usually and I would takewhat I learned from there and go either read what I neededto learn more about, I would look for visual examples, Iwould start sketching out different things that I was thinkingin my head, it kind of depended on the project. But if itwas a brand new project, there was a lot more sketching,and usually theres a brand and a brand guide that I wasfollowing, so some of the creativity was pulled out becauseit was set in stone, like this is where things have to go. It

was similar to being in school. I was thinking and sketchingand then showing different examples to people and thenwe would talk over the pluses and minuses of each. WhenI got more experienced and higher up, a lot of the timesI didnt really have to sell my idea, they accepted it becauseof my title, so that was nice. But then it was building it, if itwas a digital project with the team and then testing it andthen launching it. If it was a print piece it was going backand forth with a print manager and a printer and to discussthe different options I had that I maybe wasnt aware of. Itsa lot of back and forth. It wasnt pretty; it was messy. It wasaggravating but it was also fun. Nowadays, my projects area lot longer, so I spend a long time thinking about what Iwant to do because I can. Im not assigned to do anything.Im assigning myself projects which is really fun. Part ofthe thinking process is Im reading books by inspirationalauthors, rather than design books. They give me things tothink about and then I start work ing on projects that I thinkare going to have a big impact on people. Thats what Immore interested in. Im not working with clients any longer. Iam my own client and Im trying to do things that inspire

people but also have a positive impact. That takes a lotlonger than just saying, Hey, weve got to put up a websiteor a print piece.

Who is/was your biggest influence and why?I was afraid of this question. My biggest influence? Youknow, I have so many. When I think about the workconnected to the website that I run thats a non-profitthat I run, I think back to the speaker that I that I heardthat inspired me from the beginning, which was MichaelRongart. Hes a chemist, and he was a pretty big inspirationfor me to get started. When I think about the social side ofthings, I think about a friend of mine named John Jennings,who was really inspirational to me, to think about differentcultures, and how what I do impacts people in differentways, and not just people who look like me, but peoplewho look a lot different fr om me, so that sometimes is hardto think about. Hes a really major influence.

What project/initiative are you most proud of Whatproject/initiative are you most proud of and why?Fresh Press. Its my paper studio. Its a research studiowhere Im making paper and paper products out ofagricultural residue, which is the leftovers from the farmingharvest. Im interested in that for a lot of reasons. One is theunsustainability of the paper industry right now and itsnegative impacts on us and the planet as well. Im tryingto find a better way to do that, with different materials. Ihave generated a lot of interest in that, somewhere around$200,000 dollars in funding. Currently Im working with amechanical engineer on making hydrofobic paper, which isessentially water-resistant paper. Were trying to do it in away that doesnt use any chemicals or plastics, so wereusing macro oils. Its in its infancy stage, but it seems tohold a lot of promise. Im proud of it because it started outof nowhere. It was just a hallway conversation with a friendand now I have a whole building to myself and I have twoor three students that I work with that are at the studiohelping me with the work. Its something I didnt think Idever be doing and thats why Im proud of it.

What are the 3 things to keep in mind when starting a

(social impact) design project?One is who youre going to be working with, know them really well. Number two is makesure the people you are going to be working with want to work with you. Maybe thatsthe first step, make sure that they want to work with you, and then get to know themreally well is the second step. Be part of their community. If you inspire them or empowerthem to be apart of the project, then the project will be more self-sustaining. There needsto be trust there. I think the third one is to make sure you know what success means to youin this project. Is it actually producing something beautiful, or is it something where you gettwo families to start working on whatever your goals are. Make sure you know what yourgoals are. It could be as simple as generating some sor t of revenue for a non-profit in thecommunity, theres a lot of different things. Just make sure you know how to measure success.

Where do you think your work had/has the most i mpact?I think its had a lot of impact on studio owners. Theres a large group of studio owners whohave reached out to me over the years based on Re-nourish who have changed the way theydo things in their own studio and have used my site as a guidebook to do that. Its really beenhelpful for them to think about changing their studio in the ways that I presented. My site wasthere for them as something to fall back on. Ive met some people in person and during phoneconversations and theyre doing great things, and theyre doing things that I didnt have on my

site. Theyre expanding what I started, so thats the important part.

ERICBENSON

What advice would you give to your younger self?I really didnt have any career goals. I didnt really have much of a career path and washoping to latch on somewhere and work for a while and see what happened. I think Iwould tell that person Thats okay, you dont need to be super career-focused at that point inyour life. It just happens where you have five, six years where youre just enjoying being wh oyou are and learning things, and then you start to wonder Oh, wow. I learned these things.Now what can I do with them? I would say just do that. That would be my advice for myyounger self. I didnt do anything wrong. I was enjoying life. With that being said, I fee l like

I wasnt aware of the world at that point in my life. I wish I wouldve been more aware ofdifferent things that were going on. I think that wouldve helped me to speed up my careergoals and I wouldve been inspired to do things. I think thats what I would tell young Eric.

In one sentence, what up-and-coming designer should we be following and why?Definitely Dawn Hancock at Fire Belly in Chicago. She not only runs Fire Belly Studios,which is a design studio that does really good work and helps the community, but also sheruns a non-profit that helps families in the community called Reason to Give and you candonate actual items or money even to specific people. For example, if someones daughterneeds a coat, because its too cold and they cant afford it. So thats the sort of thing shedoes. She also has Camp Felt Fire Belly, this upcoming summer where you go and spenda week at Fire Belly and you do an amazing project with her and important people inthe community. She also has Fire Belly University, the list goes on. She does so manygood things. I dont know how she does it. Shes an inspiration and someone that everyoneshould take a look at.


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Multiple people would tell me

that I needed to make sure I had

a network of people. It was good

advice, and part of that advice was

to go to conferences and meet

those people.

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How did you initially become interested in sustainable design?I think I was always interested in the world around me. Iloved being outside as a kid and Id get mad at my dadwhen he wouldnt recycle things. I would do it myself and hewould say that its a waste of time. I was always interestedin it from that perspective. When I heard a lecture at aconference in Vancouver, I totally changed. My wor ld viewjust changes when youre sitting there in that chair. I wasblown away and didnt know what to do. I started to readmore and think about what I was doing and why. It changedmy life. I quit my job six months later which was sort of risky,but I was in my 20s still so it didnt matter. I then went tograduate school and thats when all of this started to happen.Thats how I got interested in it. It was a German chemistnamed Michael Braumgart who was on stage talking abouthis design for a baby bottle nipple and how the plastic itselfwas problematic because it was leaching really bad chemicalsinto the baby. He started crying and said why did I do this?Why would I do that to someone? He realized it was very

poorly designed, so he started to rethink everything he wasdoing. That was pretty inspirational.

Do you have a specific target audience?Now that Im an educator, probably students, and thatsnever easy, its tough. My site is geared more towardspeople who are working and designers, but I get a lot ofEmails from students, and most of them are from the UKand England. Even though Im mainly f ocusing on studentsand my job, my site is more about the practitioners.

What is the best advice you have received in regards toyour career?The best advice was about my network. Im not the mostoutgoing, extroverted person in the world for sure, andsometimes its a little harder for people w ho are a little shyor introverted, but going up and talking to people justabout who they are, what they like to do, and not just

career stuff, but getting to know them from a very honestlevel has led me to meet some pretty amazing people,because I wasnt going in there with an ego or anything,I just went in there and talked to people. Multiple peoplewould tell me that I needed to make sure I had a networkof people. It was good advice, and part of that advice wasto go to conferences and meet those people. If it wasnt forthat advice, I wouldnt have met my business partner. Imet her at a conference. I never would have met somereally inspirational people if I didnt just go there. Andthen its one thing to go there and you cant just standin the corner. So I would go to lunch with people and talkto them after their lectures and what not.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in 2015?My goals for this year are that Im hoping to inspire morepeople to get involved with my paper research, and to getthem involved in a way that they are adding to it anddoing more than what Im doing because I cant do it all.Im pretty overwhelmed and I just cant get everythingdone. I also hope that now that Re-nourish is an official

non-profit that there will be some fundraising that happensso that we can do the things that weve been hoping to dofor years but we havent had the money to do so. I have abook deal, so Im hoping to finish the book. I hope thatwhen this book comes out, probably in 2016, will havesome more weight in the sense that it has more value toit than someone just putting up a website on their own. Ihope that it encourages people to rethink the way that theydesign things and Im continually hoping to inspire morepeople. I want to go somewhere Ive never been before,whether it be a country or state and see some new things.Im sort of bored sitting in corn country all the time.

What do you hope thatpeople will take fromyour work?I hope they dont just readit and say its good, orlook at it and then dontdo anything. I think that

would really like them todo something more thanwhat I did. Im tryingto set a foundation forother people to carry itforward and to do biggerand better things withit. Im not trying to bethe superstar or anythinglike that. I just wantother people to move itforward. Thats what Ireally want to happen.


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What is your creative process?My creative approach is defined by who those people are, what their needs are, and which design outcome is mostappropriate for them. Sometimes I do illustration, photography, web explorations, but it really depends on the challenges andwhat I need to do research. One example, I did a website for somebody a year ago now; I was having a really hard timegetting going with it, so I just took my camera out and I just did photography over the course of a week as I was travelingthrough the places I was going. It was a really interesting way of jogging my process. So that helped me judge who myaudience was because I had to actively frame who the audience is through the camera.

Who is your biggest role model?Ellen Lupton was my biggest influence because she was my graduate school advisor. She was a huge help in a variety ofthings I was doing and how I developed as a designer. Lee Gutkindin Pittsburgh was really great in teaching me how to tellstories and telling an idea as a story, and I think thats something that I still carry with me.

Did you always write?I did a little when I was a kid, and in high school I always looked forward to projects where we could write stories. Evenif it was a crappy story, it was just the fact that I could create an alternate reality. I have this time between studyingundergraduate and graduate school where I didnt know what I should write about, so I didnt write for about 7 or 8 years,aside from legal prints and how to clarify a topic or a procedure. I used to wor k in a library and that was a big part of myjob. When I got back to design, it was really helpful to have a lens more focused to view my writing through. And thatswhen I really got back into it.

What are 3 things to keep in mind when starting a socialdesign project?The people involved. Who are the people? Whatare their needs? A lot of these projects involvelimited resources, and limited time and budget, andunderstanding what the existing resources are. Somethingelse thats becoming more and more important is place,and what role it plays in the challenge. A lot of thethings were dealing with has something to do with livingor working in a particular area. Areas tend to dictate alot of the things that challenge the organization that hasa problem at hand. So be very observant of what that

environment is like, and using that as a bridge in design.

What advice would you give to your younger self?I have this really circuitous path to where I am. I startedstudying Philosophy, Political theory and Writing, and thenmeandered for a while before where I got to a designpractice. I dont know how I would change the way Imdoing things now if I didnt have those different disciplines.But I would definitely tell myself to start studying designearlier, because one of the main things that happenswhen you start at a later stage is having to catch up onthe basics. More importantly, Id tell myself to understandthe importance of thinking beyond how to use a piece ofsoftware, or any other basic thing, which are important,

but not really as important in the scheme of things. Whatsimportant is being willing to sacrifice your pride to pushthrough a value driven goal, something you really careabout. Knowing at an earlier age, that I could have thepermission to do whatever I want and act on an ideal, andnot wait for a company to lead the way. Thats one of thereally great things about design right now: that anybodycan be an

What up and coming designer should we be following?Mark OBrien in California, he teaches as well. He doesprojects where he tries to make a more open way of

sharing resources, ideas and experiences. I really appreciatehis initiative to do his own thing and push his ideas forward.I have a really good friend, Christopher Clark. He worksat Genius, used to be called Rap Genius. Hes an incrediblysmart, talented, funny, interesting guy to keep an eye outfor. Megan Deal, she helped start Pie Lab in Greensboro.Shes a really positive and interesting person with coolprojects. Ansley Whipple, she works at Design IgnitesChange. Gilad Meron, he works in architecture, planning,space. Hes more interested in evidence-based design workand how to bring these insights into the design process.ThatI think is really important and where the design world needsto be going.

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ANDREWSHEAEd it or Inte rvi ew by C indy Lau

Inwood Academy is a large wayfinding project for the Inwood Academy forLeadership, a charter school in Manhattan. A split level building needed to beconnected through signage and needed to reach both english and Spanish speakerswhile visually activating the space.


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Desging for SocialChange Book


Could you elaborate on your journey from a Philosophy/Politics/Writing degree to Design?When I got out of high school and started going to college, I had no sense of what I wantedto do. As a result, I took classes that interested me. I didnt declare a major until later thanI should have. I ended up really liking the ideas and foundation of philosophy and politicaltheory, and I got into writing because I had an aptitude for that. The papers I was writingfor Philosophy and Political Theory classes were hard for even me to read, so I figured itwould be a good idea to learn how to write in a more narrative way.

At that point, I moved from the University of Pittsburgh where I did undergraduate, toBoston where I lived for 6 years. In Boston I started thinking of myself as a wr iter. I didntquite see where that was going so I explored more visual forms. I started w photography.The photos I was taking were from a medium format film camera, and what I liked aboutthat was that I could layer images on top of each other w hile I was shooting. To me, thatwas sort of like creating a different kind of narrative. There were two different exposures,

that had time between them, and all these different things happening between eachexposure. For me, that was a form of storytelling, and I started thinking about other ways Icould do that. I explored that through video film, and I ended up working in a library thathad access to all these old 8 and 16 mm films. I started a film festival while I was there too,that promoted that kind of work. I was also doing things in radio; I was a DJ at MITs radiostation, WMBR.

I had a gallery in Chinatown for over a year. It had performances, sculptures, and things inthat area. It was a way for me to do my own thing, and a way to continue experimentingon my own terms with the public watching me. And so, this is how I got into design: Istarted making the posters for the gallery. T he posters inspired me to think about storytellingand all the things I like. I was throwing photos, illustrations, stills from videos, and somewriting into these little posters. It was my first ever expression of graphic design, and Irealized at that point it was something that I was interested in pursuing. I started applying tograduate schools, and fortunately I was admitted in MICA, where writing and storytellingwas already in the vocabulary of the people there. Ellen Lupton was a huge mentor as Ievolved from my former self, a writer writing philosophy papers, to someone who is writingabout work in a more pointed, meaningful way.

What do you do when you get stuck?I usually run, or play basketball. I like that quote fromWoody Allen, The brain is the most overused organ. Ithink it applies to design and every field. Usually whenIm stuck its because Im overthinking things. I need toget out of my environment which is causing the problemssometimes. I go to the library, whether theyre at Parsonsor Pratt where I teach, or Columbia where my wife works,or coffee shops. When its nice out I even go to parks andhang out there for a couple hours.

Have you ever run the NYC Marathon?No, no Im not that serious. If I really wanted to, I couldprobably do ten miles. I dont like running very much, sothere has to be a good reason for me to do it. But I loverunning in Central Park, cause its like a meditative state.It also gives me so many ideas. If you have something inmind before you go on a run or exercise, it really helps yougenerate ideas about a problem.

What have you learned from your students?I learn so much. Students are so smart. Ive learned howto be more humble, and how to be a good listener. Ivelearned the nuts and bolts of being a good moderator, andallowing conversations to evolve on their own terms. Onething that teaching has reinforced is that we shouldnt havesuch a high sense of hierarchy, in teaching and our careersin general. Students come in, whether trained or untrainedas designers, but they have such a unique perspective.Assuming that people are working diligently and withgood will and good intentions, I am willing to give them asoapbox to talk about their ideas. Its been really great tohave that mindset and see students respond to it, and cometo the table with some really good ideas. This is only myfifth year of teaching, so theres a lot to learn.

One thing that teaching has

reinforced is that we shouldnt have

such a high sense of hierarchy, in

teaching and our careers in general

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NeurofibromatosisAwareness Campaign

a teacher, you know thats what your job is, to interact


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NOAHSCALINCreative

My goal is to

communicate a message

effectively, and getpeople to take action

Caption for awesomeImage (2010)

How would you explain your creative process?So the Skull-A-Day work is a good example; I guess thats the

purest form of making creative work. There was no reasonother than I wanted to make it, and because I actually dontthrive when Ive got unlimited options I intentionally set up ascenario with that where I have to make work every day, ithad to be a skull, right? I picked a form, and I shared it online,so there was a certain requirement. Not only was I committingto doing it every day, but other people were checking it outand keeping me on task. You know, I could have said thatI would do it every day but keep it in a journal. And so forme, that really informed my creative practice because nowI use that technique. I realized that the blank page is superdaunting. When I want to be creative, I want to have a reasonto be creative. I always start from the limitations now; I like tohave someone give them to me, or if Im doing something formyself internally. Right now Im working on a new exhibitionof work, and Im trying to decide what works for me. And soIm doing a lot of research right now, a lot of reading, and Imlooking for the limits that are going to then allow me tobe inspired, and then have fun.

Who would you say is your biggest influence and why?

I guess my parents, actually. Both of my parents are artists,so I grew up around art and art making. I never questionedthat I was an artist, and I never felt like I had to have anyexternal affirmation. I never felt like I had to have societysay youre an official artist, you know? I think a lot ofpeople worry about that, and I dont and never did. To thisday, my parents are both constantly innovating and learn-ing new things and doing new things and they really inspireme to keep growing and never feel like saying oh, Imaccomplished and Im done. At 60 and 70 they continueto do new things. I am literally working on a project rightnow inspired by something my dad did a couple years ago,and thats awesome.

What project or initiative are you most proud of and why?Proud is a really specific term. But in many ways Id say Immost proud of my class Design Rebels, because as much asI love my art and love what I make, you hope that yourwork has all this impact on other people, but when youre

, y y j ,with other people and hopefully give them something. Ivetaught Design Rebels for over a decade, and I know thatpeople went through that class and they thought differentlyabout the world afterwards. I had an opportunity to sharemy passion one-on-one and that was really exciting.

And what is Design Rebels, for those who dont know?Design Rebels was a class I created because I had beenrunning my own socially-conscious design firm for manyyears and when I was asked to teach at VirginiaCommonwealth University, I was just asked to teach somecomputer classes in the design program. And I noticedno one was talking about ethics, and that was what mybusiness was about. I asked if I could come in and teacha class about this stuff, and they said sure. Nobody reallygave me any direction, and nobody was really overseeingthe class so I had a lot of freedom to just sort of make upa class. And that class is basically where the students get

to delve into what the ethical choices are that designershave to make, and then decide where in their lives canthey make choices that are based on their beliefs. So itsnot about me sort of telling them a set of beliefs I have,but about encouraging people to live their lives moreconnected and to making an impact on the world.

What are three things that you usually keep in mind when starting a new socialimpact design project?When Im working with a client First, let me tell you that most of my social impact projectsare not going to be like personal projects. Theyre mostly client-based because I work with a lotof non-profits and small businesses. So the first three things I keep in mind?

Okay, so I have a basic formula that works pretty well. And my formula is: What are youtrying to say? Who are you trying to say it to? And what do you want them to do? If youdont know that, then theres no point to me doing my job. My goal is to communicate amessage effectively, and get people to take action. A lot of times when Im working withgroups of people that mean very well, they are very unclear about what they want as theirgoal. When it comes to audiences, theyre like I dont know, its for everyone and my problemas a designer is that I cant do a good job if theyre not clear about what it is that theyre

trying to say or do. Because thats not what the designers role is. My job isnt to clarify a vaguemessage; my job is to amplify a powerful message and make it even more powerful using myskills as a visual communicator. So if I dont have that in the beginning, a project is not goingto go well. And very often if a project isnt going well, Ill sit a client down and say lets reviewthat data that you gave me at the beginning and make sure its still right. A lot of times that iswhere the problem will lie. So a lot of my job when Im working in that role is what I call design-therapy because I feel like Im sort of helping them work through their message, and whentheyre on the other side of it theyre going to do their job better and I can do my job properly.

But I do, however, want them to be better citizens of the world. Because corporations inAmerica are treated as people, which is not a good thing, and I at least want them to begood ethical people. So Ive had a chance now to talk to some very powerful people who

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Inte rvi ew b y Tyl er Ber ry


13/21

...vigilance is the price of

staying on track with your

goals and interests. The

trick is to do what youre

passionate about

run corporations and who are executives of big powerful companies, and Ive been able togive them a message about behaving differently in the world. And I know it has an effecton those people, although maybe not everyone I talk to. Because there are a few every timethat come up to me and say wow, Im going apply this; Im going to bring this back to myfamily and do this at work. Which means that Im having an impact in a way that I nevercould have when I was trying to be an activist, talking to people who thought and believedthe same things as me, or people who are non-profits who are doing good but have avery small audience. And so its really weird, you know? Its almost the opposite of what Ithought it would be about. And thats sort of the interesting journey that you go through inlife; you think youre doing one thing and youre all about that and then you find out that itsreally all over here.

If you could give any advice to your younger self, what would it be?Well, in college, I was fairly confident that I was doing the right thing. And luckily, again Ithink because of my upbringing, I didnt question it. So I think if anything I would just tellmyself Youre right, just keep going. Dont question it, and maybe I did question it somebecause right out of school I was stressed out about a career, stay on the path, youre doingit right, dont give up. And I didnt give up, so thats what Im saying. There were timeswhere it was stressful, so maybe just relax, it will all work out.

What up and coming designer should we followand why?I have to admit Im probably not the most aware of newdesigners. I dont read a lot of trade publications anymore; Isort of phased out of that a bit, so Im looking a lot more atart lately. An artist that uses design whom I think is reallyinteresting is Candy Chang. She did a really cool projectcalled Before I Die, and she used her design skills tointeract with her community in a really cool way, so thatshow I know about her work. So yeah, check her out.

How do you manage to stay on top of everything with

such a busy schedule?Its interesting because its gotten even busier lately. Irespond to email as quickly as I can, and I clear my inboxout, and if Im not responding then Im putting things awayor Im deleting things. Im trying to keep a clear space tothink. And I try to organize my time around a schedule. SoIll say in the morning, Im going to respond to this email,and then Im going to get some work done for clients andthen Im going to work on my own art in the evening. SoI think its about having a strict structure. I work 9-5 andthats it, and I dont work on the weekends; I dont workat night. Lately Ive been teaching on Fridays, so a lot oftimes on Fridays Ill try not to talk to clients at all and justdo my own stuff. I have to-do lists that are very organized.I think its about being organized; a lot of people let thingsslide, and it gets overwhelming and suddenly there are tenthousand messages in your inbox and you dont know whatto prioritize. By being organized you can better prioritize

and then its just about knocking things out. Once or twice a year I like to re-list mypriorities to make sure Im still on track with what my focus is. Ill look at that, and thatwill inform what I do afterwards. I have to be in control of my priorities and my goals,and I cant expect other people to always be on board with that or looking out forme. Eternal vigilance is the price of staying on track with your goals and interests. Thetrick is to do what youre passionate about. Its really easy to get off track and focus onmoney or deadlines, and suddenly youre spending all your time not doing things thatadd up to anything important to you.


Global citizens Martin Luther King Jr.; raise awarenessiti i l h l b l t k l bl


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Billionaire philanthropy efficient environmentalgiving support. Celebrate, initiative vaccinevulnerable population NGO Gandhidemocratizing Financialsystem womens rightssocial challenges. Impact, fairness effectivenessmetrics; social impact. Global citizens thinkerswho make change happen freedom Bonosharing economy informal economies focuson impact. Aga Khan; involvement Andrew

Carnegie fundraise significant. Kickstartermeasures partner respond, sustainable

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future, international crong economy; philanthropysustainable future, international cross-agency future,international cross-agency coordination cause. Solutions,rights-based approach Medecins du Monde, deep

positive social change, global network measures vulnerablecitizens Jane Addams?Gender rights donation human rights network developing.Nonviolent resistance, transform; inclusive capitalismadvocate provide worldwide carbon emissions reductionsmobilize forward-thinking. Social challenges beneficiaries,

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movement. Vulnerable population support humanitarianrelief; grantees; challenges of our times pride John Lennon.Democracy, social worker affiliate crisis managementcommunity necessities.

Change accelerate local solutions peaceful changemovements UNICEF empower fight against oppression.Free expression, nutrition; Andrew Carnegie campaign,

System womens rights social challenges?mpact, fairness effectiveness metrics; social impact. Globalcitizens thinkers who make change happen freedom Bonosharing economy informal economies focus on impact.Aga Khan; involvement AndrewEmployment sharing economy; philanthropy sustainablefuture, international cross-agency coordination cause.Solutions, rights-based approach Medecins du Monde,deep engagement human-rights Medecins du Monde,deep engagement human impact. Aga Khan; involvement

Employment sharing economy; philanthropy sustainable

future, international cro impact. involvement Andrew?

Change accelerate local solutions peaceful changemovements UNICEF empower fight against oppression.Free expression, nutrition; Andrew Carnegie campaign,

FINANCIAL SYSTEM

WOMEN S RIGH TS SOCIAL

CHALLENGES. IMPACT,

FAIRNESS EFFECTIVENESSMETRICS; SOCIAL IMPACT


ELIZABETH WERBEChange Maker /

Collaborator

25

Inte rvie w by The Clas s


15/21

Caption for awesomeImage (2010), Right

Caption for awesomeImage (2010), Left

System womens rights social challenges?Impact, fairness effectiveness metrics; social impact. Globalcitizens thinkers who make change happen freedom Bonosharing economy informal economies focus on impact. AgaKhan; involvement Andrew Employment sharing economy;philanthropy sustainable future, international cross-agencycoordination cause. Solutions, rights-based approach asMedecins du Monde, deep engagement human-rights theMedecins du Monde, deep engagement human impact.Aga Khan; involvement

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future, international

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Bill and Melinda Gates; youth economic security enable fellowsOxfam Aga Khan fight against malnutrition gun control?Disruption, Ford Foundation; replicable; women andchildren socio-economic divide generosity effectivenessinspiration. Convener, cornerstone, partner, tackle combatHIV/AIDS social. Inclusive, countries micro-finance metrics,affordable health care turmoil. Results board of directorssafeguards meaningful work care. Eradicate, medicine, effectevolution honor dignity, respect economic independenceefficient, progressive sanitation. Our ambitions; activismcommitted; Global South social movement. Vulnerable

population support humanitarian relief; grantees; challengesof our times pride John Lennon. Democracy, social worker

affiliate crisis management community necessities. Changeaccelerate local solutions peaceful change movements aUNICEF empower fight against oppression. Free expression,nutrition; Andrew Carnegie campaign, catalytic effect, achieveCesar Chavez connect education Nelson Mandela citizenry.Employment sharing economy; philanthropy sustainablefuture, international cross-agency

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ctiveness inspiration. Convener, cornerstone, partner, tackle combat HIV/AIDS social. Inclusive, countries micro-finance metrics,affordable health care turmoil. Results board of directors safeguards meaningful work care. Eradicate, medicine, effect

evolution honor dignity, respect economic independence efficient, progressive sanitation. Our ambitions; activism committed;Global South social movement. Vulnerable population support humanitarian relief; grantees; challenges of our times pride John

26 27


16/21

Pamela Williams is co-founder of Williams and House, a strategiccommunications firm in Avon, CT. Pams practice is primarily focusedaround the world of design. She has worked with hundreds of designers,entrepreneurs, founders and educators to help make change happenthrough social initiatives for clients as well as through organizations like

AIGA and Design Ignites Change.

PAMELAWILLIAMS

Stationary, Creative director:Pam Williams, Design: Fred Schaub

Nicole Coumes

What is your creative process?It depends on the project. Usually, when we begin an initiative we want to have a clearsense of what result we want to achieve and that helps define the problem that needsto be solved.From there, ideas begin to emerge. We brainstorm, talk about the ideas, reword them,reframe them, redesign them. We share them with people and get feedback. Whether itswords or images, or ideas that youre presenting, there is a process where you are kindof constantly testing how something plays out giving someone something tangible to re-spond to. Behind the scenes, you are doing a really deep immersion into that subject as well

even more ideas emerge. Thats when it gets hard. Thats the part when you are workingand you start thinking. Where do I go now? What path do I take? How do I narrow itdown? Then, you go back to the objectives.

But sometimes, the creative process works completely backwards. A good idea simply emerg-es and you work backwards to frame it to business objectives. But I think that happens whenyou really know your client, have relevant experience and an intuitive sense of what youwant to accomplish. No matter what the process, no great project starts without a greatidea, and no idea is great unless it meets the desired goal.

29

Who is/was your biggest influence and why?My primary influences come from outside of design. I admire the selflessness of AudreyHepburn; the guts of Amelia Earhart; the magic touch of Maira Kalman;and thepoignant words of Alice Munro . Im deeply impressed by those w ho have a really visionfor who they are and w hat they want to do, and admire those that are able to sustain thatsingle-minded focus.

What project/initiative are you most proud of and why?As a strategic communications practice, we get involved in all aspects of marketing,planning, and communication. We work with clients and also take on special projects thatinterest us. We work in service for change, but we are not the change. We support

folks who are working on the front lines and we help them make the change happenwere mostly invisible to that process.

We are people in the process that you need working behind the scenes if you want tocreate change. The best way to think of us is enablers, in the very best sense of that word.We are part of a ripple effect that is much larger.

The work I love the most is the work where there is a deep personal connection. There wasa woman named Barbara Bradley, who at the time I met her was 80 years old. She wasa really fine artist, illustrator, and educator. People said she drew like an angel, and shedid. She was to receive the Distinguished Educator of the Arts award from the Society ofIllustrators. So, the college she worked at asked us to help honor her. Over the next coupleof weeks, I talked on the phone with Barbara regularly and got to know her. We weremaking plans on how to honor her, but first we wanted to reconnect her with her students.She had taught generations of students and we wanted to let them know about the award.No one kept track of her past studentsgenerations of them!so we f ound what we couldand started calling people and building a database of names. We brought in a lot of peopleto make phone calls and track people down, and in the meantime we built a website. Here,Barbaras colleagues and former students could congratulate her for her award as well asview her artwork.This site brought many past students to the site where they would leave her letters and letBarbara know about where they were in their careers. But most importantly, these formerstudents were thanking her for everything that she did for them. Every time we got a newpost on the site, Id send her an email and shed write me back straight away with a storyabout that person; remembering the way they drew or something unique about them.About a year after receiving the award, Barbaras life was taken following a tragicautomobile accident. Two things that happened following were kind of amazing.First, I started talking with her daughter. Her said that there was no doubt that thelast year had been the best year of her moms life because she was so happy that shehad the opportunity to reconnect with hundreds of students. How beautiful is that? Andthen she had this beautiful story published. It was a mini-memoir of her work, and thefinal installment of the series, she said As directing the Illustration Department took more

Grateful Inter view by Tony a Sal yerds

time, the proportions reversed and that was fine, too. In lateryears, I often felt guilty and sometimes regretful, thinking thatI had owed it to my ability to do more productive with my artth I h d b B t h I h A d Ill t t

locally. This is a designerwhos walking the talk. Thoseare the kinds of designers

h t t t


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The Beauty of Letterpress by Neenah (Right) was

conceived as an online gallery and community for

modern letterpress. Williams and House launched the

site with a sustained fundraising campaign offering

limited edition letterpress prints. The proceeds helped

fund a move for The Hamilton Wood Type Museum and its

massive collection of over 1.5 million pieces of wood type

30 31

than I had been. But, when I saw how many Academy Illustratoralumni (so many of whom are now my friends and many co-teachers), became successful, making their livings doing whatthey loved to do, I came to believe that teaching was perhapswhat I was really born to do.

So this wonderful honor was also a pathway to affirming thevocation of this amazing educator. It wasnt my idea to do thisto honor her, but I know these ripples would not have happenedif we were not involved. We should celebrate people while theyare alive. The projects that are the most impactful are often hemost meaningful and are definitely the most personal. To thisday, I smile every time I think of Barbara.

What are the 3 things to keep in mind when starting a (socialimpact) design project?Be authentic. Be clear about your mission. What is it that you

want to do? Why do you want to do it? What do you desirefrom the outcome? If its your own project, share your ideawith others;welcome their feedback good and bad. Invitepeople to challenge you. This will not only open you to newways of thinking and problem solving, its the best way to builda support network when you do launch your project.

Where do you think your work had/has the most impact?Our work has the most meaningful impact on the changemakers we work with who are grateful for help to spread theword for their causes. It always matters most when its personal.For instance, with Barbara Bradley, our work enabled her tosee, at the age of 81, how she had tangibly touched the lives ofgenerations of artists, hundreds of people. Imagine if each of uscould see the impact we have on others and know that the thingswe are doing to make a difference. Wouldnt that be something?

What advice would you give to your younger self?Dont be afraid to tear it up and start over. Ask more questions.Heart first.

In one sentence, what up-and-coming designer should we befollowing and why?Dont follow one designer! Today you can follow the world,so find a few folks you really admire. Better yet, connect withthem because you can. Im impressed by designers like ChristianSparrow. Seasparrow is his design firm, and he and his wifefounded Sunbird, a glorious, organic food truck in Wellfleet onthe Cape. The Sunbird brand is all about staying curious, beinginspired, being real, and being alive. Nice, right? And nowthey are transforming this brand into a community supportedrestaurant. Designers have the opportunity to affect change

who interest me most.Any advice to give to a

current design student?Design is a by-product of goodthinking. Good thinking comesfrom being an engaged,well-rounded person. Getout into the world. Be asponge. Soak up everythingyou can in the arts, thehumanities, the sciences.Read everything from Peoplemagazine to Plato. The moreyou know, the easier- andmore fun it is- to connect thedots; In work, and in life.

Outside of the arts, tell meabout some of your passionsin life?I just keeps adding hyphens.One day Ill figure out howthey all add up. But, someof my passions includefarming and gardening, toolingaround in our 71 VintageWhaler, reading, baking,volunteering, walking the listis pretty long. Lately Ive beenwriting Morning Notes. Firstthing when I get up in themorning, I take out a pen andhandwrite a note to someonewho comes to mind; take aphoto of it and text it to them.Nothing fancy, really, just awhite, 5x7 pad-kind of like anote youd find on the kitchen

counter. Devoting this timemakes me feel centered and isa quite, humble way to startto my day. And its what Imabout, the personal touch.

Invite people to challenge you. This

will not only open you to new ways of

thinking and problem solving, its the

best way to build a support network

when you do laun ch y our proj ect

What is your creative process?The way I approach creative problems is human centered, collaborative and design driven. The reason I think they all areintertwined is that they are all important in terms of understanding a problem and being able to develop an appropriate What project or initiative are you most proud of and why?


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intertwined is that they are all important in terms of understanding a problem and being able to develop an appropriateintervention or solution. When I say human centered, with all of the work I am doing now, it is focusing on specificsocial problems or challenges, it is necessary to have the people who are being effected as part of the problem, and tounderstanding and defining the problem. When I say collaborative, when working in social design, its really not aboutthe designer coming in and saying hey, I m gonna come up with these solutions, here you go, its more the idea that thedesigner is playing a role and the opportunities identified and the ideas are generated with a lot of different perspectivesand disciplines involved, so thats what I mean by collaborative. And then design driven, when I mean your working in thiscollaborative and disciplinary state, one thing that we as designers bring, is this ability to make things, to do things, to takeaction. So sort of this idea that making tools to support positive social change is really a key part of the process.

Who is your biggest influence and why?For me, this is a friend, and college now, but he was very influential to me when I made the switch from being in thecorporate side of design to teaching more in this public space and in social design. His name is John Belingburg. So he hasdone a lot of work now in social design, hes done a project called Project. But back in the 90s he had done this thingcalled virtual telematics which was this parody or commentary on corporate design and branding, and for me at that timeI was becoming a little disgruntled with the industry and it really opened my eyes to and changed the way that I thoughtwhat roles design could play. And so that was a real catalyst for me,I started to get the itch to make a change in my

work and career. So I would say that John was the biggest influence back at that point.

Was John then the reason you decided to focus your attention on social design specifically, considering youraccomplishments in your previous work?Yes and no, he was sort of a big catalyst in getting me to think about what I wanted to do as a designer. When I made theleap from the profession, I went back to graduate school at MICA and took a sabbatical from the profession. And during thattime, I was teaching and that is when I realized that design really could tribute from society in a different way. It was lessabout serving clients and more about working collaboratively to contribute to positive social change. So for me that realawakening happened when I left Atlanta and came to Baltimore and became immersed in this different context in gradschool and teaching and seeing what this next and younger generation was valuing and prioritizing.

MIKEWEIKERT

p j y p yFor me this is interesting because it is bigger than just an actual project. I would say theinitiative of what is now, what I am doing at MICA which is the center for social designis what I am most proud of because its been this 6 or 7 year journey of examining thatrole of the designer and design in change, and over these past 6 or 7 years I have startedwith these curricular initiatives and developed this center for design practice which is allabout project based learning, and then from that I developed this one year graduateprogram and then from that our newest is the center for social design where all of theseentities have been brought together and we actually have a space and we have a missionand goals and objectives within the institution. So its an actual thriving center with staffand faculty and people and initiatives. So for me thats probably what Im most proud of thatthese little ideas that started as projects or thoughts have now manifested into s ome tangiblecenter within the school.

What are three things to keep in mind when starting a social impact design project?For me the first thing to realize is that your not going to solve the problem, and numbertwo is that its going to be a lot harder than you think and number three is that you have

to be open to where the process takes you. You need to come into these projects and focusmore on understanding and defining the problem and less on what Im going to do about itand letting that process leading you to what the artifacts or outcome is and thats a reallyimportant thing to considerably start doing when starting a specific project.

What advice would you give to your younger self?Foe me when I was a designer back when I entered the profession in the early 90s is wasstill this time when we sort of had these design celebrities and their individual styles arewere very important and valuable and I was sort of driven by getting in the right studioand getting design awards and all of that and I stopped thinking about what my role orresponsibilities as a designer could be and I stopped thinking about what it is that reallymakes me happy. SO my advice to my younger self would be dont lose site of why you

became a designer and do not be afraid to take risks. Ittook me almost 20 years in the industry before I actuallydid that myself and before I really started questioning whatI was doing and then had the confidence to really takethat risk and step away from all of this and tr y somethingnew and now looking back I cant imagine not doing that.So now I always tell my students and younger self to trustyour instincts and dont be afraid to take risks because forus design is not just a job but a way of life.

In one sentence, what up and coming designer should webe following and why?Im going to recommend someone I personally know whoused to be a student of mine a few years ago. His name isRyan LeCluyse. He has always been interested in the ideaof design and social change but he was a very talented

designer so he got the good jobs at Google and Facebookbut he new it wasnt where his heart was so he recentlyleft Google and found a job at a f ellowship at a nonprofitcalled mama hope. He will be traveling around Kenya andUganda and Tanzania to talk to communities membersthat this non-profit partners with and really try and sheda little light on those personal stories. So heres a guywho gets a job at a covenant place that designers want towork and leaves that to pursue this very selfless work.

Mo ti va te d

32 33

Inte rvi ew by B ria na S wota

Caption for awesomeImage (2010)

Can you explain the relationship between a designerand their community, what responsibilities do a designerhold within this relationship?

The Center for designpractice that you haveestablished has already

was that with all of theseseparate initiatives thatwe have been building

deepen our work with ouroutside partners that reallyfocus on outside change.


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pI think it is important for a designer to realize the valueof building a relationship or building trust and buildingan understanding with the communities in which theyare working and the issues that affect individuals withinthe community and being driven by understanding theproblem and the causes of the problem and workingdirectly with the people affected by the problem. That isa responsibility that the designer has to make sure theydont lose site of because once a barriers in place with adesigner and the community in which they are working,its easy for us to say, ok we have enough information letsjust go ahead and make something now and take action.And really, you cant do that. You really have to stay trueto the process and keep that communication, that trust andunderstanding thats woven throughout the entire durationof a project or relationship.

Can you explain the importance of collaboration with yoursocial design work?It is at the core of my work and my process, I dont believein the notion that the designers come in and solve theproblems and make the solutions. Im really more interestedin that process . I dont think that the ideas of collaborationcan be extracted from the design. So I think its critical andthe core of doing any of this type of work.

So how do you choose what types of social projects youdecide to pursue fully or where does the i nspiration foryour projects come from?People can define, or make any sort of project fit withtheir social space, so for us, based on the sort of work wehave done and where we are in Baltimore and whatopportunities that have typically been provided for us, ourwork has sort of fallen into these areas of health , educationand climate. We by no means are constrained by thoseareas or topics, but historically speaking it seems like a lotof our work fits into those. But thinking bigger or more

macro of the criteria or how we choose it had more to dowith the idea of people, like w hen we were talking aboutthe human centered or collaboration. For us, what makesa social design opportunity social is the direct access to thepeople or user and that there are people affected by theproblem and that those people and understanding theirneeds and behaviors is core to the work. So even if wehave a really awesome opportunity to work on somethingin that space, if the company is not going to give up accessto the people, then it probably isnt something we want todo. For example, if someone says we want to do a projectaround childhood obesity, and then all of the work takesplace in the studio, the classroom or around the boardroomtable, were not necessarily interested in that now. We reallyfeel as though we have to have access to the people andthe users, so that really becomes an important criteria to us.

ymade such a huge impact;do have any plans ofexpanding this programin any way to be able toreach more people?Yes, so let me first giveyou some history. Thecenter for design practiceis really one of the firstofficial entities that Icreated within MICA andthat was back in 2008,and from that evolvedthe post graduate fellowsprogram and then thisSeptember is when we

officially launched thecenter for social designin MICA and the idea

35

gthe past few years arereally all apart of a largervision and really shouldall be housed in the samespace and be promotedthrough the same lens. SOnow what we are doingbecause of that, we havebeen in our new spacesince September, stilldoing all of those thingsthat I have just described,but how were planningon expanding is now weare working on somethingcalled the Impact Initiative

which are these longerterm, multiyear projectsthat are really designed to

gSo a lot of the work wedo is really constrainedby the academic calendarand social change doesnot really align to thosecalendars. So in this center,we want to really beinvolved in the initiativeslong term to be able toreally make and measureimpact. So we will bringstudents in and out but wewant to be able to expandand create these deeperlonger termed things. Butwe really have that vision

in place and are workingtowards this larger impactinitiative.

Anti-war people,Magnetics


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36

Describe Yourself in One Word

EMER BEAMER EXCITED

MEGAN BULLOCK GRIT MIKE WEIKERT MOTIVATED

ERIC BENSONFORWARD-THINKER

ANDREW SHEA EDITOR

ELIZABETH WERBE XXX

NOAH SCALIN CREATIVE

PAMELA WILLIAMSGRATEFUL


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BE INSPIRED PRACTICE WHAT YOU LOVELOOK FOR POSITIVES IN THE MOST NEGATIVE SITUATIONS

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE KEEP A SKETCHBOOK

SHARE YOUR IDEAS DESIGN PURPOSEFULLY THE ONLY TRUE LIMITS

ARE SELF-IMPOSED TAKE RISKS AND CHALLENGE YOURSELF

EXPLORE EVERY INCH OF THE WORLD

ASK QUESTIONS DEVELOP CONNECTIONS MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF

TAKE AS MANY COFFEE BREAKS AS NEEDED

SMILE

impact ripples

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