DesigNYC open for business

Are you a nonprofit or a community, civic organization in NYC? If you are you can apply to the newly formed group DesigNYC to work with (probono) designers who specialize in architecture, commnications, interiors, systems, and much more. This group is interested in contributing to the city they love and to organizations in need of their services and expertise. If this describes you then submit a proposal, the deadline is Nov. 30th.

Mentoring the Urban Forest

I just attended a kick-off meeting for the AIGA DC Urban Forest Project. Myself and 5 other designers will be mentoring students from Luke C. Moore H.S. and in the process design banners for The Urban Forest Project. It’s a very cool initiative by AIGA and Worldstudio where banners are designed and hung around the city promoting sustainability. When the banners are taken down they are repurposed into tote bags and sold, with the proceeds going to various charities. It has already been done in cities like NY, and now its coming to DC! I do not know who my mentee will be yet, but I am excited and looking forward to getting to know him or her.

Funding Initiatives

Worldstudio, a design firm that works in the social change space, is now offering workshops. If you’re interested in funding a social responsible initiative for non-client based solutions Worldstudio can help guide the way. Read about on their blog for more info.

Sustainable Social Design

I have come to realize that design for social change also involves thinking about the environment. Its become apparent to me that I must consider the lifespan and environmental impact of the things I create in order to really bring about change. Luckily, I’ve recently discovered Re-nourish, an online resource for designers that breaks down a complicated issue into easy tools I can use. I can calculate the waste of a specific product and even find a “greener” printer. And case studies let me see what other designers are doing. It’s a great tool to have in my bookmarks.

Tenants Rights Flash Cards

Do you live in NY? Do you know your rights as a tenant? The nonprofit organization Tenants & Neighbors, with the help of designer Candy Chang, recently created a deck of flash cards that distills the complicated legal jargon of the law into easy to understand nuggets. Its exciting to see how well thought out and executed design can influence knowledge and information.

Request for Proposal

Now that I’ve been trying to get design work on my own I’ve begun to respond to RFPs. It can be frustrating process, similar to applying for colleges I think. I would be very curious to hear from the receiving end of a RFP. Meaning I’d like to understand about what the organizations think and feel about the proposals they get and about the vetting process. I know some designers feel very strongly against them. As I send mine off I wonder who actually gets the contract, and why where they chosen. Design + View blog writes that RFPs are no way to find a design agency to work with. It puts the cart before the horse and emphasizes the wrong things like competition, instead of relationships and communication. Makes sense to me.

Policy Nonprofit

I recently created a logo the nonprofit Bridging Voices. It’s a very interesting organization. They are working toward creating a dialogue between the policy decision makers and the people effected by policy. The logo had to be visually related to its sister organization Lifting Voices, as well communicate the dialogue/connection of Bridging Voices.

Design by Committee

A lot of design done for non profits involves working with a group of people and not just 1 or 2 decision makers. It can be quite a challenge when everyone wants to have their opinion counted and there is no real process or hierarchy. AIGA has a interesting article about design by committee. The talk around most designers, and even committee members is that when there are too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak, the design suffers. But this article has some good insight on how to manage this oftentimes complex situation. To read an argument from the opposing perspective check out Andy Rutledge.

Is it Crowded in Here?

Last post I mentioned how the nonprofit sector is considered overcrowded and under funded by some. Now is seems that a similar debate in happening about social design. On Change Observer, David Stairs and Valarie Casey exchanged words over the state of design and social issues. Is it too hip? Are too many people doing it for the wrong reasons? Does this change what design is? Read it and let me know what you think.

Social Change Conference

Last week I went the 2009 Social Change Conference organized by Walden University here in DC. It was my first conference about social issues and I have to say it was educational and inspiring.  There were two speakers and a panel discussion. I really enjoyed hearing the president of Echoing Green, Cheryl Dorsey. One thing she talked about was that the nonprofit sector is overcrowded and under sourced, and she urges people to join efforts with an already established organization that is working on a problem that you’re interested in, instead of starting a new one.

A constant comment I heard from multiple people there was that now there is less and less distinction between the different sectors of non profit and for profit. Organizations are working with whomever is committed to the issue and are a lot less siloed in their outlook and point of view. Also discussed was measuring social impact and the ROI. It is possible, but it can’t be done by comparing numbers on a spreadsheet. Every organization will have to create their own proxies for impact. An example given was an organization that discusses tolerance in schools. One of the ways they measure impact is by the number of kids that get invited to birthday parties.