On Defining “Social Impact by Design”

Definitions are serious work and are difficult. But they help define the boundaries that can guide discussions. So what of “Social Impact by Design?” The term itself has two parts: “Social Impact” and “Design.” So let’s consider first what we mean by social impact? Immediately, we think to basic needs – food, shelter, health, education – that are currently unmet in some segment of the population. We tend to also think of impoverished segments of society, but I would argue that it might not necessarily be so. Sustainability, and for the case of argument, water conversation, is definitely an issue that would fall under social impact. But a solution that tries and addresses this problem might target the upper and middle class segments of the population – for example, to not use hot water for one day out of the week. If everyone in the upper and middle class were to carry through, one can definitely say that a big step towards water conservation has taken place. Definitely, there is social impact as it addresses a basic need.

Now let us consider the “Design” part of the phrase. What constitutes design? I think for a solution to be considered “by design,” it must be intentional and done with care. The process must be rooted in immersive ethnographic research with a concern and respect for the values of the population one is designing for. Choices must be made with purpose and be a truthful response to the problem(s). Solutions must not talk down to or pity the population being designed for.

Putting together the two parts of the definition then, “Social Impact by Design” is a solution that addresses a basic need of our humanity. Any solution must not be prescriptive and must respect the values and culture of the group being designed for and emerge out of immersive ethnographic research. But there are questions that remain. Is it considered impact if nothing changes? What constitutes change? What constitutes action? How does one measure that “impact” has been made?

-Bryan

Cusp Conference Video: John Fetterman

John Fetterman, the mayor of Braddock, PA, spoke at Cusp Conference about Braddock and intervention vs laissez-faire. I think his way of thinking about his goals in Braddock is interesting. He is very humble and wants to keep his aspirations “realistic”.

I do believe that what Fetterman is doing in Braddock is really having a social impact, though, as we’ve spoken about in class before.

Video here: http://tinyurl.com/28km68j

—posted by Jenny

The Story of Electronics

Make ’em Safe

Make ’em Last

Take ’em Back

The Story of Stuff Project just released a new video, “The Story of Electronics” which talks about the life cycle of consumer electronic goods.

I like that they not only talk about the environmental harm of manufacturing and waste processes, they also look at the negative effects on the workers and the people who to deal with the waste.  They also mention the importance of environmental laws and regulations, and how they need to be protected and strengthened.  I love the idea of the “Green Moore’s Law” that measures the reduction of toxic chemicals.  However, I think the video over-simplifies the problem by just blaming the heads of big companies.

 

-Grace

 

 

Thoughts on Responsible Design

As we are well into our project phase, I wanted to share something I read that I found pretty inspiring, as I’m striving to become a more ethical, responsible designer. It was a book introduction by Steven Heller called “Past Principles: A History of Good, Ethical Graphic Design.” Heller gives a very brief overview of the history of “good,” socially responsible graphic design, including what we can learn from the past, and what we should think about moving forward. While the type of design he’s talking about is limited to graphic design (not systems or services), his principles are pretty universal. I found this quote particularly thought-provoking:

“Shouldn’t one standard of design responsibility be to acknowledge when to do the right thing as opposed to the self-indulgent thing? The question to ask before engaging in work that presumes to be responsible is “will my work significantly benefit, indeed enlighten, its audience”? If the answer is “I don’t know” or “Maybe, but it sure makes a great portfolio piece,” then one’s priorities are askew. The designer’s first responsibilities are to the cause, the issue, and the audience.”

This statement, especially the last two sentences, really hit me. I think partly because it has become so trendy for companies and designers to work in the social impact realm. And partly because I know that I can be just as self-indulgent as anyone else.

Obviously, we need to be aware of why we’re doing it in the first place. But maybe we also need to be willing to call out design that doesn’t seem to be motivated by a deep engagement with the issue or audience. (Is there a term like “greenwashing” that could be applied to design for social impact?). I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that in our class. I also think it gets harder to do outside of the university environment.

I know that our projects are limited in time and scope and we probably won’t be able to fully fulfill our responsibility to the cause or the audience. But we will do what we can. Personally, I can imagine that I’ll refer back to Heller’s exhortation in my future career. It’s a simple principle to work by.

If you’re interested, the book is called Conscientious Objectives: Designing for an Ethical Message, by John Cranmer and Yolanda Zappaterra and it’s available in the Hunt library. The book contains examples of campaigns and projects from 10 designers. Some are certainly better than others; the book design itself is very dated (hello 1990s!) but I still found it inspiring.

—Posted by Jenny

Gaming can make a Better World

Jane McGonigal, game designer for Institute for the Future, gives a talk on how games can save the world.

Check out 2 of her games:

Urgent Evoke : Crash course in saving the world (comic book style)

World Without Oil

Posted by Melissa

Conflict Kitchen featured in Change Observer

Watch the video.

Conflict Kitchen recently received enough funding to transition to its new phase; formerly serving up Iranian food and cultural information, the Kitchen has transitioned to Afghani food. While I am pleased to see the Kitchen in a new phase, I hope that during their Afghani cycle they consider new ways of reaching out to the community. Could I follow them on Twitter? How do I find out when their cultural events are taking place? Now called Bolani Pazi (changed from Kubideh Kitchen), the Kitchen is currently featured in Winterhouse’s Change Observer.

Read more here.

– posted by Kelly

Revisiting the definition of SIBD

Now that we’ve made some headway in our projects and have some experience in working/designing in this realm, we’re revisiting and honing our class-wide definition of the qualities and characteristics that define social impact by design.

Design Qualities
Sustainable — environmental, social, economic, cultural, humanitarian
Elemental/basic human needs
Food, clothing, shelter, health (physiological – survival)
Empowerment
Self-worth
Human contact

Process
Participatory – engaging community, stakeholders
Follow-up
Multiple Perspectives
Immersion
Dedicated & sufficient time

Attitude
Care, true empathy for situation
Articulating motivation of design(er)
Commitment
Big picture outlook
Humility
Openness
Objectivity, neutrality
Respect for others’ values

– Posted by Smitha

Programs and Interactive Play

Two projects caught my eye while I was searching for inspiration for my nutrition project. The Food Bank for New York City is not a design project (at least not in the traditional sense) but they took a systems approach in building their educational program to reach children, teens and adults. The second project is KOMPAN‘s ICON project that combines game play and interactivity in the outdoors. They designed and developed playgrounds that children can interact with everyday. In September, KOMPAN won a 5 year contract that allows American public agencies and non-profits to buy their playgrounds at low competitive prices.

The Food Bank project shows how the government can implement their programs to reach a large number of people directly. KOMPAN gives us an example of what design thinking can do to make an impact. Bridging the two (government and design), would make a large social impact on our nation.

Food Bank for New York City

Throughout the five boroughs, low-income neighborhoods are characterized by a lack of affordable, nutritious grocery stores, chronically stretched budgets and the prevalence of low-cost junk food. Among other problems, these circumstances contribute to high concentrations of diet-related conditions such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The Food Bank’sCookShop Program combat food poverty by helping New Yorkers in need move toward healthy lifestyles and supporting our network of food assistance programs to build capacity and improve existing services. They have programs for young children, teens and adults along with a “Change One Thing” campaign –make one healthy choice per day.

KOMPAN: Interactive Playgrounds (Danish company)

KOMPAN responds to the issue that a growing number of children, from 10 years on, are not active enough to meet the requirements for physical activity. In 2008 KOMPAN launched 4 interactive products in a series called ICON. The name ICON could also be understood as ‘I – Connect’, connecting in a physical, digital, and emotion manner. Physically as the user moves around the product and comes in contact with the gaming ‘buttons’. Digitally as the buttons are electronically connected to one another in a gaming system. Emotionally as the user feels ‘connected’ to the product – that ICON is appropriate, meaningful and engaging.

Watch the video here. (uses a foreign video player so I can’t embed it)

See the KOMPAN company website.

Posted by Melissa

Articles for Creating Social Impact

8 Lessons for Creating Social Impact
In, “8 Lessons for Creating Social Impact” Robert Fabricant suggests 8 tips for taking part in social innovation projects. Fabricant emphasizes the value of gaining perspectives beyond the design community for approaching social issues and encourages participation in social innovation and business conferences. His recommendations stem from his experience on Project Masiluleke which explored how mobile technology could help reduce the percentage of the South African population suffering from HIV.

Live from PopTech: Bringing Design to Social Innovators
In “Life from PopTech: Bringing Design to Social Innovators,” Fabricant discusses his role in bringing design thinking to the PopTech Fellows Program. PopTech, a social innovation group, also took part in Project Masiluleke. Fabricant emphasizes the value of considering behavior in the design process both for identifying potential solutions as well as testing prototypes.

– posted by Alyssa

Food pyramid lunch box

A simple and easy way to organize your lunch to meet the nutritional goals.

Posted by Melissa