Design for Social Entrepreneurship

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Design for Social

EntrepreneurshipFall ‘08

These final projects, which have been two weeks of research and four weeks of designing, are explorations into the power of design to address domestic social needs. All students have been participating with local nonprofits in Providence throughout the semester to uncover how a product, service, system, space or strategy can improve the services of the organization or the benefactors directly.

The projects uncover the dialogue lingering among many of us in our world of uncertain times: what is the power of design and what is the role of the industrial designer as a contributor to our society? From development strategies, bike-sharing programs, volunteer orientation booklets, to business strategies for homeless entrepreneurs and more, you will find a wide range of contributions, which we can then ask- is this design or what role does design play in these solutions?

The presentations will be followed by a discussion about the questions posed in this class. What are the opportunities of design for social impact? What might be some of the methods to best engage in a new community or culture to design for/with them? What is the role and relevancy of the industrial designer in addressing some of the leading issues of our day?

12:00-12:15 Introduction

Education12:15-12:45 Liam Van Vleet12:45-1:15 Krisa Ryan Youth/Children1:15-1:45 Elena Riccio1:45-2:15 Fiona Rupert 2:15-2:25 Break

Women’s Issues2:30-3:00 Hayden Reilly Homelessness3:00-3:30 Nathan Bastien Transportation3:30-4:00 Nathan Phipps 4:00-4:15 Break

4:15-5:15 Discussion

What is the role and relevancy of industrial design in today’s society?

The Art and Nature StudioLiam Van Vleet

The youth attending CityArts come from Providence’s inner-city communities where they lack access to the beauty of our natural world.

The Art and Nature Studio aims to bring nature to Providence youth, beginning an essential bond between our environment and the arts. The studio, an engaging space

housing specimens from all walks of life, utilizes hands-on interaction, investigation and participation to provide outlets for a range of learning styles, talents and interests. It is an opportunity for the kids to learn from their natural world, to develop an understanding of our living planet, and to become life-long advocates for the environment.

Project PeppersKrisa Ryan

The volunteer training process for Project Open Door has been unorganized and impromptu, without a planned calendar, explanation of the layout of the program, guidelines, responsibilities, and a social approach to teaching high school students. Due to these inadequacies, a proper training process needs to be implemented to make the

transition as a volunteer a smooth and enticing one. This mission of the Peppers initiative is to improve Project Open Door’s after school program through a coherent three-part volunteer engagement process.

The Rhode ShowElena Riccio

A main problem for the Rhode Show is the fact that they are not as fi nancially sustainable as some of the other cottage industries within AS220.

The goal of this project is to develop a better promotion strategy to attract people to donate, come to shows, and buy the CDS. Having better promotion strategies means more opportunities for everyone participating in these great organizations.

International InstituteFiona Rupert

The International Institutes main goal is to give Refugees the tools they need to live a happy and self-suffi cient life here in Providence, but they are yet to put into motion any long term plans for a children’s program. While the I.I., does currently offer a short-term babysitting facility it currently has no budget for a daycare program, and does not have the means to create one.

The mission of this Proposal for Change is to create and implement a volunteer strategy that encourages local members of the community to become actively involved with the refugee children. It will be the goal of this program to help the children integrate into their new surroundings in a healthy and productive way.

RI Women’s CenterHayden Reilly

Satisfaction and good morale within the workforce is interdependent with feeling successful. Success for the workers in the Women’s Center of Rhode Island is connected to the self suffi ciency and attitude of the residents they serve.

The mission of this project is to create an experience that aids

the success of the residents of the Women’s Center of RI, refl ect this success to the workers, and in turn lead to a higher quality of service and perpetuate a tradition of achievement, dialogue and empowerment.

401

Local 401Nathan Bastien

The objective of Local401 is to develop and test human centered product design strategies in local communities. The process focuses on developing partnerships and participating in engaged research, where it is crucial to meet, work with, and learn from, local overlooked communities. The solutions utilize a variety of local material scrap,

and manufacturing cut-off, creating an affordable and sustainable product. Production jobs and job training will be made available to homeless individuals in the community. Local 401 aims to connect local communities with local resources to develop local solutions.

Pink RidesNathan Phipps

As a part of RISD’s Bike-Town, Pink Rides is a bike sharing program which extends the joys of cycling to those who do not own bikes in order to promote active living, sustainable transportation and interpersonal connectedness.

Questions, Thoughts and Words to Ponder...>>

Is it our place to solve other people’s problems?

How do you come to know and design for a community new to you?

Or is it about the problems we cause?

What is the role and relevancy of the industrial designer in today’s society?

What are the core values of Industrial Design?

How can we preserve the core and stimulate progress?

What is ID’s Hedgehog principle? 1. What are we most passionate about? 2. What are we the best in the world at? 3. What drives our economic engine?

Is Design for Social Impact a: a. Privilege b. Responsibility c. Duty d. Pleasure e. Necessity

Are we the “save the world generation”? “What if in the future, the importance of Industrial Design takes a backseat to “product ecosystems?” -Core77

Questions

Can we slow down our consumer engine while still driving the economy?

Do we make change, or do we make tools for change?Can we design and do?

How does Design for Social Impact affect “green” design?

Is it possible to realize collaborative projects where on-going relationship-building and deep listening are prerequisites to the project’s success?--OPE

Thank you for joining the DeSE studio in our project critiques. Now please join us for our discussion. The following pages are questions, thoughts and words to spark conversation. Feel free to be inspired by the text here or jump in with any other thoughts or questions you might have from today’s presentations or your personal experiences.

“The true solutions to these problems may very well not be our products, but our minds.” -WH

Thoughts“I will continue to fight for environmental and social justice. If this path leads me to use design as my weapon, so be it.” -LvV

“Giving the community not only something for today, but something for tomorrow.” -FR

“The how is the most crucial.” -HR“It seems that people are more likely to help with something that is already running than take initiative.” NP

“Once I felt like a part of it, I started to understand more.” - HR

“People care about people.” [in comparison to environment]-dContinuum

“Dignity and Justice for All”- Human Rigths Day

“Running all over the place, talking to people and making connections is more what design should be.” -LvV

Words

economy

energy

community

wants vs. needs

problem solving

products vs. strategy

holistic understanding

systems desgin

revolution vs. radical incremental

HumanitarianSocial ImpactSocial EntrepreneurshipBottom of the PyramidOther 90%OverlookedUnderservedUnderprivileged

developing country

over-developed country

art vs. design

thinking vs. making

patience

American

Design for America

Applied Empathy

distribution channels

“I never wanted to give the impression that I know what they need.” - NB