Design & Social Change

PERSONAL
Whether or not to accept pro bono design work has never been a question for me. Some designers, particularly those in urban areas, mahy have difficulty choosing which organizations are on the receiving end of their free design services with such a wide variety of nonprofits and charitable causes to choose from. The decision for me was an easy one growing up in a small town - Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church and other organizations that played a significant role in my upbringing. The handful of folks that attend the 175 year old church that sits at a crook in the road in Stumptown, West Virginia are a group of hard-working, generous, close-knit people that know me as well as my own family, but would respond with equal concern to the needs of a stranger. As soon as I had the opportunity to give back to these friends who had given so much to me, I eagerly embraced the task. This is only a small start in designing "...For Good", but if every designer found a cause or group pof people that they felt a deep connection to, we - as an industry - would be well on our way to "supporting those who want to make a difference" as AIGA calls for in Design For A Brighter Future.

INDUSTRIAL
In Brighter Future, Richard Grefe hints at the added bonus for the design industry as a result of Design For Good - an increased awareness of the balue-added benefits of design. Ideally, this discovery would pave the way for the ideas Richard Buchanan outlines in Design and Organizational Change. Truly understanding the difference that design can make will spur organizations to plan for design in their future endeavors, working it into both their timeline and budgets. By embracing design earlier and earlier in their process, businesses would essentially open the door for designers to be increasingly bold and to break out of the realm of the visual into a position to make changes inthe way a business operates. Buchanan writes, "Indeed, design could offer a new way to understand and practice managment, leading to more human-centered organizations." Nowhere is this understanding, and the practice of design attitude more needed than in our own United States government.

NATIONAL
Redesigning America's Future, which outlines 10 proposals for making better use of design in our federal government, was completely new cotent for me and something that I honestly hadn't even thought much about until this point. But what better example of the need for problem-solving with empathy and human-centered solutions than in the government? The document includes a fantastic quote from Jimmy Carter that is every bit as relevant today as when he spoke it, "Good design can help us meet our commitment to improve the efficiency of government... and reaffirm our concern for the human side of government." By beginning on the personal level - choosing a deserving cause to lend our services to, our industry will see a boost, that hopefully will lead to a spot for our contributions on the national stage. And just maybe, designers should think about working towards the pinnacle of using our talents for good... the U.S. presidency. Let's hope for a future election that places a true "designer" in the White House - regardless of age, race, gender, or party affiliation.