Winterhouse First Symposium on Design Education and Social Change: Participant Case Studies

Submitted by: Terry Irwin
School: Schumacher College, Plymouth University, UK
Level: MSc
Program: Applied Holistic Science
Instructors: Terry Irwin, Gideon Kossoff, Seaton Baxter
Course Project: Island: Imagining a Sustainable Society
Date: 2006

Description: Island was taught as a transdisciplinary, team-based project over the course of 4 weeks within the Masters program for Holistic Science at Schumacher College, a center for environmental studies in Devon, England. Two transdisciplinary teams were formed from a cohort of 12 masters students with backgrounds in: biology, environmental studies, forestry, social work, economics, business, art, filmmaking and diplomacy. The studio-based design project challenged each team to envision the development of a sustainable society over the course of 450 hypothetical years. The two teams were ‘placed’ on two different uninhabited islands with with a limited number of hypothetical supplies, a partner or friend of choice (to ensure a varied gene pool for future generations) and unlimited access to 21st century knowledge. Two scale models of islands approximately 6’ square (based upon actual island in the Azores) were provided as focal points for discussion, planning and conceptualization and a set of environmental parameters based upon the actual islands was provided (native flora, fauna, climate conditions, rivers, estuaries, soil composition, topology etc.)

The teams were asked to envision the development of a society on the island over the course of 450 hypothetical years and through daily presentations show how they would address issues such as ‘carrying capacity of the island’, development of an agriculture system, preservation of wild areas, development of educational/healthcare infrastructure, modes of economic exchange and art/culture/religious beliefs. Managing/mapping population size and genealogy was also required. A schedule with milestones was provided, with each project day representing a specified number of years in each society’s development. Specified objectives for the project included:

1. Enable students to view the challenges and issues a developing society faces within the context of long horizons of time; to develop the ability to think in terms of decades, lifetimes and generations when conceiving designs and solutions to problems.
2. To develop an understanding of design as an emergent property of humans satisfying their needs (in both sustainable and unsustainable ways) and the effects this has on both society as a whole and the environment.
3. Develop the ability to collaborate successfully in multi-disciplinary teams and to conceive multiple design solutions through visualization and prototyping techniques (as non-designers, students had little experience with these techniques).
4. Apply principles of Holistic Science (emergence, chaos/complexity theories, Gaia theory, self-organization, permaculture principles, cooperation etc.) to proposed design solutions.

A final presentation by each team included design solutions for sustainable dwellings, farming, management of livestock, formulation of systems of education and governance, development of language, forms of art and handcrafts and apparel. Each society developed a method of ‘phenomenological journaling’ and storytelling as a way of communicating the qualitative nature of their society as well as its ‘culture’ including worldview, beliefs and ‘taboos’. Learning objectives for this project were centered on process, not final design solutions and the ability of students to gain an appreciation of the complexity and interdependent nature of ‘wicked’ problems and the need to think in longer horizons of time with respect to design solutions and lifestyle choices. The project essentially asked, “if you could start from scratch, what would you do differently?”. A project manual was created for the assignment which also recorded the results of each teams’ efforts. School: Pratt Institute
Level: Recent Graduates from the Institute
Program: Instructors: Debera Johnson
Project: Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation
Date: Started 2002

Description: The Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation is a vibrant and energetic entity whose primary goal is to link ambition to sustainability to enterprise. It is a highly collaborative space that taps an extensive network of creative people to work on for profit and not for profit projects that combine environmental and social responsibility with successful outcomes. In addition the Incubator helps recent Pratt alumni start-up socially responsible businesses. Start-ups become part of an entrepreneurial community that supports their development from business plan to angel funding. The Incubator engages mentors from all areas of business, engineering and design. Based at Pratt Institute, a premier college of art, design and architecture and located in NYC, the Incubator has the capacity to manage and deliver innovative socially responsible businesses and implement products and services by assembling the right project with the right team.

The Incubator offers the following services:
— Free start-up support and space for social entrepreneurs
— Strategic design consulting services to for profit and non profit organizations
— Workshops and seminars in sustainability and entrepreneurship
— Free access to the CSDS Resource Center
— Free access to the Incubator's Mentors

Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation was founded in 2002 and has supported the launch over 14 businesses and consulted on sustainable design projects for the UN, The Earth Institute, UNESCO, Sustainable South Bronx and many others non- profit and for profit organizations. More information about the incubator here. 


Submitted by: Debera Johnson
School: Pratt Institute, Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation
Level: Undergraduate and Graduate Interns, Alumni and others
Program: UN Millennium Village Project — Healthcare/Earth Institute
Project Director: Debera Johnson
Project: Community Heathcare Worker Toolkit (for UN Millennium Villages)
Date: Spring 2009
Client: Earth Institute

Project: Train and support a new strata of local Community Healthcare Workers in 72 villages in Africa and Asia. The Incubator brought together a group of over 40 designers and artists to translate 2000 pages of clinical information into a 200 page toolkit that helps CHWs recognize serious heath issues and educate the community about hygiene and nutrition. The CHWs are from the community they serve, have the equivalent of a high school education and are being trained and equipped to perform 70% of necessary services through household visits — shown to be the most effective means for reducing infant mortality and supporting women's health. The project has been introduced in Uganda and Tanzania. It was designed to be customized to the local traditions and mythologies and is now in it's fourth iteration. The design set the stage for significantly increasing the number of healthcare providers, ultimately projected to bring life saving services to over 500,000 people in the next two years.

 

Condoms and Beer: From the Man Shield Campaign

Submitted by: Jon Kolko
School: Savannah College of Art and Design
Level: BFA, Industrial + Interaction Design, Senior Project
Program: IACT435 Senior Interaction Design Studio
Instructors: Jon Kolko
Class Project: Final Interaction Design Project, Self-Defined & Self-Paced
Date: Spring 2007
Designer: Lynde Kintner

Description: The Man Shield is a simple and powerful campaign to couple condoms with beer, distributed at bars, and tied to information about STDs and humor. The acquisition of condoms is a challenge to most individuals. The organization and planning required are only half of the problem. The other half deals with the cultural pressures that one encounters when purchasing condoms, which make the experience altogether unpleasant. The expiration and temperamental packaging coupled with the sporadic occurrence of casual sex produce a major obstacle between the user and a condom. By piggybacking a condom on another product — a product the user was already going to purchase — makes this transaction fully parallel to the user's lifestyle.

Most individuals will not seek out information on STDs, especially if they are engaging in risky behavior, because it is a frightening topic to confront. Furthermore, most individuals do not have an appropriate catalyst to utilize to spark discussion in a social setting. By allowing humor to navigate the delivery of culturally relevant reasoning, the catalyst is not only created, but the topic now becomes less scary and cumbersome. Alcohol can be used as a vehicle for delivery. Most interview participants noted alcohol's negative effect on their judgment. Findings also pointed out the power of alcohol to lead to interpersonal bravery and detailed discussions that might never have occurred if alcohol had not been an influence. Therefore, by presenting the topic of sexuality and sexual behavior in tandem with the alcohol that individuals are consuming, this has a direct impact on conversation and its subject matter.

Most participants understood the benefits of a condom; however, very little used the product in accordance with the knowledge they held regarding its necessity and the prevalence of STDs. We have learned these ideas in a static classroom setting, which naturally separates the student from the subject being taught. Furthermore, we understand more about the context and long term affects of STDs than the context and manner in which they are distinctly transmitted from one person to another. Finally, the jovial atmosphere of any bar or club makes it easy to forget that real risks exist. Because the product exists in such close proximity to the domain of casual sexual acts, it resounds long enough in the user's mind to have an effect on behavior. Ultimately, the combination of frank, factual information, with humorous cultural reasoning targets both the logical and illogical aspects of an individual that govern the choices that they make regarding personal sexual behavior. You can read more about this project at at here.

 

Reporting on Design and Social Change

Submitted by: Julie Lasky
School: School of Visual Arts
Level: MFA
Program: Design Criticism (D-Crit)
Class: Reporting on Design and Social Change
Instructor: Julie Lasky
Class Projects: Interviewing and profile writing
Date: Fall semester (8-week class)

Description: The North Carolina journalism professor Anthony Curtis describes investigative reporters as “those who uncover facts and write articles that expose waste, wrongdoing, mismanagement, fraud, conflict of interest and abuse of authority, and promote change and reform.” Such pursuits have been absent in much design journalism and particularly in a realm that occupies this class: social innovation. Ironically, given their emphasis on promoting change and reform, media stories about design in the service of the environment, health, education, and economic development often lack journalistic rigor, especially in the blogosphere. In this eight-week course, we work on skills for researching and producing hard-hitting features, with an emphasis on profile writing.

This class is not about investigative reporting per se, but offers tools and inspiration for probing the journalistic subject. Classic writings by Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson, and Jessica Mitford, are assigned. Authors of exemplary books (Elizabeth Royte, Alissa Quart) and groundbreaking journalism (Danielle Rich on William McDonough, Jeff Chu on Design within Reach) have visited the class to discuss their strategies and experiences in getting the story. Other sessions are devoted to journalistic techniques and ethics.

 

Research associate Ross Atkins examines tactile paving in London, 2010, as part of project for Commission for Architecture and Built Environment


Research associates Gregor Timlin (left) and Nic Rysenbry assess key features of tableware designs in project on design for dementia with Bupa care homes

Submitted by: Jeremy Myerson
School: Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art
Level: Post-MA
Program: Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Program
Instructors: Jeremy Myerson and Rama Gheerawo
Class Project: Various
Date: Annual. Start: 1 October. Finish: 30 September

Description: Over a ten-year period, the Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art has teamed up more than 100 RCA design graduates with research partners in industry government and the non-profit sector to address the key social challenges in ageing, health and work through design research. The Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Program, as the scheme is called, employs the graduates for one calendar year on a supervised education program and facilitates real-world projects with external partners. These have included Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Orange, Ford, Toyota, IDEO, Nokia, Philips, Hewlett-Packard, the Design Council and the British Heart Foundation. Within the College, the Departments of Architecture, Communication Art and Design, Design Interactions, Design Products, Industrial Design Engineering and Vehicle Design have become regular collaborators. An early emphasis on design for age and disability on the program soon broadened to embrace research projects dedicated to improving patient safety and working life and developing innovative ideas for business as digital technology opened up new opportunities. As an applied research program, it deliberately sits midway between academia and business. Masters graduates unconstrained by PhD demands are paid as part-time RCA staff researchers undertaking projects directly with industry. Companies and charities pay to collaborate with a graduate under the aegis of the centre, which manages both selected design graduates and external partners.

Each project is divided into four distinct phases in line with the three terms of the RCA academic year and the summer break: the Discover phase (autumn term), Define (spring term), Develop (summer term) and Deliver (summer break). The Discover phase (October-December) follows an induction period with professional skills training in such areas as project management, presentation, user research, writing and filmmaking. This is a period for exploration. Researchers investigate the context of the project and learn to conduct market analysis, reviewing the literature, and building a working relationship with the research partner. Define (January-March) is a time to focus — preliminary user studies help to define a point of view and decide which areas or ideas to prioritize. Early design concepts are generated through prototyping. The third phase of the program, Develop (April-June), consolidates design directions in partnership with the research partner. Scenarios and prototypes are created. Relevant processes and technologies are investigated. Ideas are validated with experts and in user trials. Modifications are made and final communication outputs are determined as the project enters the final straight. The Deliver phase (July-September) completes the project by giving the partner the results and outcomes of the study in a form that is of the most practical and applicable use to the organization – whether exemplar designs, prototypes, films, guidelines or publications. The final results of the Research Associates projects are publicly disseminated via an annual show and symposium at the RCA each September, held as part of the London Design Festival.

 

Yale Global Social Entrepreneurship class. SEWA organic farm, Ahmedabad, India 2010

Submitted by: Tony Sheldon
School: Yale School of Management
Level: Graduate Program in Management (MBA)
Program: Program in Social Enterprise
Classes: Global Social Entrepreneurship; Managing Social Enterprises in Developing Countries; Microfinance and Economic Development
Instructor: Tony Sheldon, Executive Director, Program on Social Enterprise; Lecturer in Economic Development
Class Projects: Consulting projects with social enterprises.
Date: Fall and spring semesters

Description:The Yale Program on Social Enterprise (PSE) supports scholars, students, alumni, and practitioners interested in exploring the ways in which business skills and disciplines can be harnessed to most effectively and efficiently achieve social objectives. PSE facilitates work on nonprofit and public sector social entrepreneurship as well as initiatives in private sector social enterprise. PSE’s activities span courses, research, conferences, and publications. In addition to these formal activities, PSE serves as a focal point for social enterprise-related activities at SOM, facilitating, advising, and drawing connections among students, faculty, the Yale community, and the broader network in the US and internationally of interested practitioners and institutions. PSE’s most recent publication is “Making the Connection: Partnerships in Development Finance and Sustainable Energy,” which grew out a year-long research project and a conference hosted by Yale in April 2010. The report is available here. PSE, in collaboration with Winterhouse Institute, also recently published an online case study on SELCO, a solar energy company working with over 100,000 households in southern and western India, see here.

The “Global Social Entrepreneurship” course is designed to introduce students to practical issues faced by mission-driven social entrepreneurs, linking teams of Yale students with social enterprises (SEs) in India. Student/SE teams work together to address specific management challenges faced by the SEs, culminating with the development of a set of recommendations (operational, financial or otherwise) to meet the identified challenges. All students in the class travel to India to work with their partners, either during the summer before or during the winter just after the fall class.

“Managing Social Enterprises in Developing Countries” selects a different country each year for pro bono consulting projects with social enterprises and non-profit organizations. GSE has worked with organizations in South Africa, Madagascar, Colombia, Thailand, Brazil, and (in 2011) Peru. Student teams manage their projects remotely throughout the spring semester, traveling to the country to work directly with their clients for one week during the spring recess.

“Microfinance and Economic Development” explores the successes and limitations of microfinance as an economic development strategy, with a focus on the role of microfinance in international poverty alleviation efforts. The course examines the evolution of the field, from both theoretical and practical perspectives, including current debates about the pros and cons of the increasing trend toward commercialization of the field.

 

Erik Peterson introduces the proof-of-concept for Qeej Hero in AD502 Transcultural Aesthetics and Contemporary Design

Submitted by: Elizabeth Tunstall
School: University of Illinois at Chicago
Level: MFA
Program: Transdisciplinary: Art and Design
Class: AD502 Contemporary Theory
Seminar: Transcultural Aesthetics and Contemporary Design
Instructors: Dori Tunstall
Class Project: Tranculturally-Based Art and Design
Date: Spring 2009

Description: In contemporary global design praxis, what do the concepts of globalization, beauty, culture, authenticity, art, design, or craft mean? At the intersections of global cultures, what informs the designer’s aesthetic approaches to thinking and making? How is one’s cultural identity implicated in the objects, communications, and experiences one designs? Interrogating notions of purity, authenticity, and tradition, the course was framed by Cuban theorist Fernando Ortiz’s concept of transculturation, which is defined as ‘the reciprocal but uneven selective borrowings from one culture to another.’ It explored the making of transculturally-based aesthetic decisions in contemporary design praxis and the social-political implications of those decisions in U.S. Native America, Mexico, Southern Africa (Zimbabwe) and Aboriginal Australia. Through guest lectures by contemporary designers, such as Saki Mafundikwa and Luis Arnal, and readings across anthropology, art history, design, and philosophy, class co-participants selected a country of their choice for deeper investigation. The first half of the course focused on the creation of a transculturation journal of aesthetic possibilities and their social and political implications based on the co-participant’s selected country/region/culture. This was accomplished through one-page weekly responses to the readings as applied to additional research the participant conducted in his or her cultural area. The second half of the course focused on the creative conceptualization and proof-of-concept of cultural community based projects. Exceptional outcomes of the course include:

— Erik Peterson’s project, “Qeej Hero,” which continues in the development a Guitar Hero-like video game culturally based on the traditional qeej instrument of the Hmong community in the U.S. and was presented at AIGA Make|Think in 2009.
— Xie Zhen’s project, “Chinese Design Identity: A Glimpse into Culture-based Design,” about which she published in the article, "How to Interpret Chinese Design" by Xie Zhen and Zhu Shuai in Observation: Volume 168, August 2009.

This course will be taught as part of Swinburne University’s new Masters of Design (Design Anthropology) program, which