Design Observer

Archive
Books + Store
Job Board
Email Archive
Comments
About
Contact
Log In
Register

Upcoming Conferences

Cumulus Conference
May 24, 2012
Cumulus, a Helsinki-based association of more than 140 universities and colleges of art, design and media, sponsors conferences for creative professionals and leaders in education and media. Its next conference, Helsinki 2012 - World Design Capital 2012, will be held in Helsinki - Espoo, Finland, in May 2012.

All Conferences & Events >>

Academic Programs

Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability
Academic course hosted by the Stanford Institute of Design involving graduate students from all seven schools at Stanford University. Multidisciplinary student teams work to create innovations that lie at the intersection of business, technology and human values. The class is project-based, and all projects are done in close partnership with a variety of local and international organizations.

BaSiC Initiative
"The BaSiC Initiative is a collaboration of faculty and students from the University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture. We support community partnerships through: housing solutions for Native Americans, housing and community services for migrant farm workers, schools and health clinics in central Mexico, etc. Each program draws upon the unique relationship of communities to their environment, finding solutions that embrace appropriate technologies while reinforcing local values to spur self-initiated development."

Austin Center for Design
Austin Center for Design exists to transform society through design and design education. This transformation occurs through the development of design knowledge directed towards all forms of social and humanitarian problems. The Center offers an innovative curriculum that repositions creative design education in the context of designing for the public sector.

More Academic Programs >>

Competitions

Re:Vision
Initiative to create the prototype for an innovative, sustainable urban community. At the heart of the process is a series of contests generating visionary ideas for what can and should be done in the design of urban space.

INDEX Design Challenge : Design for Education
The INDEX: Design Challenge asks design and business students, as well as cross-disciplinary student teams, to develop design solutions for better education and education environments in developing regions. The challenge centers around three sub-themes: Improved Education Facilities; Sanitation and Hygiene; and Gender Parity in Education. As well, the contest features an open challenge. Participants from all design disciplines are invited to enter the challenge.

More Competitions >>

Fellowships & Prizes

INDEX:awards
The INDEX:Award is the main driver of INDEX:'s mission to generate more Design to Improve Life of higher quality all over the world. The award receives nominations from all over the globe – and from these nominations, the INDEX: international jury selects the best as finalists, and the very best as winners of the biennial award, amounting to a total sum of 500,000 euros. Each of the five winners represents one of the INDEX:Award categories – Body, Home, Work, Play and Community – that together span the spectrum of human activity and are relevant and understandable to people all over the world.

The John P. McNulty Prize
The John P. McNulty Prize seeks to inspire young people from around the world to make a real difference in their communities by recognizing the very best in high-impact leadership. The Prize recognizes the best of the exceptional leadership projects undertaken by the Fellows of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. The winner of the Prize will receive a $100,000 award to further his or her leadership project.

PopTech Social Innovation Fellows
The PopTech Social Innovation Fellows program is designed to equip world-changing innovators with the tools, insights, visibility and social network that can help them scale their impacts to new heights. Each year, PopTech selects 10-20 high potential change agents from around the world who are working on highly disruptive innovations in areas like healthcare, energy, development, climate, education, and civic engagement, among many others.

More Fellowships & Prizes >>

Organizations

IxDA
Member-supported community dedicated to the professional practice of interaction design. Sponsors annual conference.

Centre for Social Innovation
"The Centre for Social Innovation is a dynamic space in downtown Toronto, Canada. Our mission is to spark and support new ideas that are tackling the social, environmental, economic and cultural challenges we face today."

Intelligent Mobility International
Seeks to help the estimated 300 million disabled people in the developing world. Programs include IMI Wheels, which produces innovative mobility devices suitable for the terrain in developing countries, and IMI Seeds, which promotes economic independence for those with disabilities.

More Organizations >>

Programs & Initiatives

Kickstarter
"Kickstarter is a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors and explorers."

The Governors' Institute on Community Design
Modeled on the Mayors' Institute on City Design, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Governors' Institute on Community Design was created in 2005 as an advisory resource for state leaders to guide development in their states. Runs targeted one- or two-day workshops.

The Mayors' Institute on City Design
National Endowment for the Arts-sponsored program that helps mayors to be the leading urban designers of their cities. Every year, the institute holds half a dozen two-and-a-half-day sessions attended by mayors and development professionals.

More Programs & Initiatives >>

Publications & Websites

1% User's Guide
This document, compiled by Public Architecture's 1% program, introduces the concepts and principles of pro-bono design to architecture and design firms.

Unbeige
Channel of the website Media Bistro devoted to news about design.

Creative for a Cause
A resource for educators in visual communications. Emphasizes ways to teach students to incorporate social and ethical perspectives into their work. Provides case studies, relevant publications and funding sources.

More Publications & Websites >>

Social Networks

Design 21
UNESCO and the Japan-based company Felissimo are behind this network, which connects designers, businesses and nonprofits for the greater good and hosts competitions to create socially minded products and graphics.

BOP Source
"Social network that closes the digital divide, bringing together the 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid (the 'BOP') with the companies and NGOs that want to hire them and design products and services for them."

Open Architecture Network
An online, open-source community founded by Architecture for Humanity. Offers a place where designers can share ideas and projects and host or participate in competitions

More Social Networks >>