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03.12.13: Philip Nobel
Oops: Understanding FailureA review of To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure, by Henry Petroski.
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10.27.11: Courtney Drake & Deirdre Cerminaro with William Drenttel
Design and the Social Sector: An Annotated BibliographyThis bibiography surveys the literature of social design — the spectrum from design process and thinking to the zones of social innovation.
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10.12.11: Julie Lasky
Media Design MattersArt Center offers a new graduate track in social design that combines communications and technologies strategies with field work.
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10.10.11: Ramsey Ford
Expert Thinking About Global AidSuggestions for a crash course in development economics for social designers
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08.08.11: Barbara Flanagan
Sleeping with the FishesReview of "Waltzing with Brando," an account of the actor's effort to inhabit and protect a Tahitian atoll.
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04.06.11: Ramsey Ford
Design Impact Fellowship ProgramAnnouncement of Design Impact Fellowship Program in India.
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03.30.11: John Thackara
Does Bilbao Need Another Guggenheim?Ideas for remaking Basque country that go far beyond fancy architecture.
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01.13.11: Julie Lasky
Bushpunk and the Future of AfricaWhy Maker Faire Africa is a model for economic development
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10.04.10: Phil Patton
The Meek Shall Inherit the MarketPhil Patton writes in praise of frugal engineering, and not just for developing markets.
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08.09.10: Meena Kadri
Tinkers, Hackers, Farmers, CraftersInterview with Emeka Okafor, founder of Maker Faire Africa.
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07.29.10: Maria Popova
The Language of Design ImperialismEssay on the flawed language used to describe humanitarian design efforts and what it indicates.
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07.16.10: The Editors
Humanitarian Design vs. Design Imperialism: Debate SummaryBruce Nussbaum started a firestorm with the question "Is humanitarian design the new imperialism?" — and the conversation has spread through the blogosphere. Here, a digest of essays and related posts on this subject.
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07.15.10: Robert Fabricant
In Defense of Design ImperialismWeighing in on a controversy, frog design's Robert Fabricant supports global design interventions.
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05.12.10: Kate Andrews
Dori GíslasonInterview with design educator Halldór Gíslason about his work in Mozambique.
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11.30.09: Aspen Editors
Aspen Design Summit Report: UNICEF Menstruation ChallengeAt the Aspen Design Summit November 11–14, 2009, sponsored by AIGA and Winterhouse Institute, the UNICEF Menstruation Challenge Project proposed an “eco-system” whereby sanitary pads became a linchpin for local economic growth, for educational programs about health and hygiene and for research into materials that could be adapted to other countries.
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10.22.09: Ernest Beck
Medellín, ColombiaReport on the city officials who turned around a notorious drugs-and-murder capital, winning the 2009 Curry Stone Design Prize for Transformative Public Works.
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09.09.09: William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
The Doers ClubDesign prodigy William Kamkwamba recalls building a windmill to generate electricity for his village in Malawi, Africa.
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