Designing for Change

I've always felt empowered by what design has the ability to do, and I think it's gaining momentum in our society as a catalyst for improvement to the human condition. Some of the best and brightest have used design to campaign for change . I read in CREATE magazine (Fall 2006, Article by Marc Friedland) a quote from the World Economic Forum that design was named "the zeitgeist of social change". It is no doubt a very potent and powerful tool, especially in the right hands. What I have almost always noticed among the agency juggernauts is that there is a sense of responsibility to improve the world and solve problems through design. It's this kind of progressive thinking that has kept me excited about being a designer — there's infinitely more to it than making "artsy" brochures, business cards, etc... a level of enlightenment is continually awarded through understanding design, and the socio-economic role it plays.

I've collated some resources that debate issues and talk about design as a vehicle for change:

World Changing
http://www.worldchanging.com/

Gluenetwork Bridge (collaborative design effort for world issues — join now free!)
http://bridge.thegluenetwork.com/

Design for Peace
http://www.designforpeace.com/

Designing for Change @ MIT
http://web.mit.edu/dfc/www/

MASSIVE CHANGE (part of Bruce Mau Design)
http://www.massivechange.com/

CABE UK
http://www.cabe.org.uk/

Sydney EcoDesign
http://www.changedesign.org/

Urban EcoloDesign @ WSU (Washington State University)
http://www.campusecology.wsu.edu/page_012.htm

Ecology in Design
http://studentgroups.gsd.harvard.edu/ecology/

Design for Humanity
http://www.designforhumanity.org/