By Mark Randall
What’s the strangest request you’ve received from a client? A few months ago, Worldstudio had a client demand that we design a “magazine-quality” 300-page report in Microsoft Word. They wanted to edit the text themselves right up to the moment it went to the printer. Needless to say, it was painful and not the best representation of our capabilities as a design firm. They were happy with the end result, so at least we have that.
You’re a beekeeper, and you’ve written that bees are like designers. How so? One of the more impressive aspects of a beehive is how they work together for the common good. A hive is a complex system that runs without the benefit of leadership. The queen is really no more than an egg-laying slave—she does not govern the hive. The bees have assigned tasks, which evolve over their relatively short lives. There are nurse bees, bees that clean, funerary bees that remove other dead bees, and bees that collect and process pollen and nectar. Selfless common purpose unites the colony.
Bees are amazing designers. Hold up a piece of natural honeycomb to the light, and you will marvel at its complexity, precision and wonderful shapes that rival any building by Frank Gehry. It is the pure design ideal of form follows function.
The beehive sounds rather utopian—thousands of designers living in perfect harmony for the common good.
What challenge do design firms need to address in order to remain relevant? Getting clients to understand our value. Most of my design work is in the non-profit realm, and organizations with limited budgets and a lack of understanding about the power of design are common. We have to educate our clients. Once we do, I find that they get excited about the possibilities of design and see the value.
What are some inspiring design projects you’ve seen from students you’ve funded or taught? Design Ignites Change has offered financial support to a number of great student projects, such as After Suicide from the School of Visual Arts, a web platform that offers support to those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and Blank Plate from Parsons, an interactive workshop for Bronx teens to explore their relationship with food.
Many of our Impact! Design for Social Change students make their projects a reality after the six-week program. Mariana Ribeiro and Fernanda Cohen worked in the marketing department of Brazil’s largest bank. After Impact, they quit their jobs to launch Imagina Na Copa, which used the World Cup this year as a call-to-action for Brazilian youth to change the country for the better. The two-year initiative garnered support and a lot of visibility in Brazil.
What are some employment prospects for social designers—who use creativity to impact positive social change? There are a range of opportunities out there, all of which require research and perseverance to unearth. I see them breaking down broadly into the following categories:
1. You can get a job working for a non-profit organization. Many mid- to large-sized foundations have their own in-house design departments. I am optimistic about a future where these organizations will see the value of having a designer at the table as they develop the initial strategy around their programming.
2. Corporations have money, reach and power. Many are engaged in corporate social responsibility—often referred to as CSR—recognizing that it directly affects their bottom line. Corporations need designers to help strategize and communicate their efforts.
3. Government desperately needs good design. This is an area full of opportunity, as it gives designers a chance to work on projects that impact the lives of millions of people. Right now it is an uphill battle, but I believe it is one worth waging.
4. If you want to start your own design firm, you can create a client base from a mix of the above.
5. Lastly, you can live the life of a social entrepreneur and create your own socially minded non-profit or social enterprise. Design is often not the end result, but the skills of a designer are brought to bear on making the concept reality.
You’re a beekeeper, and you’ve written that bees are like designers. How so? One of the more impressive aspects of a beehive is how they work together for the common good. A hive is a complex system that runs without the benefit of leadership. The queen is really no more than an egg-laying slave—she does not govern the hive. The bees have assigned tasks, which evolve over their relatively short lives. There are nurse bees, bees that clean, funerary bees that remove other dead bees, and bees that collect and process pollen and nectar. Selfless common purpose unites the colony.
Bees are amazing designers. Hold up a piece of natural honeycomb to the light, and you will marvel at its complexity, precision and wonderful shapes that rival any building by Frank Gehry. It is the pure design ideal of form follows function.
The beehive sounds rather utopian—thousands of designers living in perfect harmony for the common good.
What challenge do design firms need to address in order to remain relevant? Getting clients to understand our value. Most of my design work is in the non-profit realm, and organizations with limited budgets and a lack of understanding about the power of design are common. We have to educate our clients. Once we do, I find that they get excited about the possibilities of design and see the value.
What are some inspiring design projects you’ve seen from students you’ve funded or taught? Design Ignites Change has offered financial support to a number of great student projects, such as After Suicide from the School of Visual Arts, a web platform that offers support to those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and Blank Plate from Parsons, an interactive workshop for Bronx teens to explore their relationship with food.
Many of our Impact! Design for Social Change students make their projects a reality after the six-week program. Mariana Ribeiro and Fernanda Cohen worked in the marketing department of Brazil’s largest bank. After Impact, they quit their jobs to launch Imagina Na Copa, which used the World Cup this year as a call-to-action for Brazilian youth to change the country for the better. The two-year initiative garnered support and a lot of visibility in Brazil.
What are some employment prospects for social designers—who use creativity to impact positive social change? There are a range of opportunities out there, all of which require research and perseverance to unearth. I see them breaking down broadly into the following categories:
1. You can get a job working for a non-profit organization. Many mid- to large-sized foundations have their own in-house design departments. I am optimistic about a future where these organizations will see the value of having a designer at the table as they develop the initial strategy around their programming.
2. Corporations have money, reach and power. Many are engaged in corporate social responsibility—often referred to as CSR—recognizing that it directly affects their bottom line. Corporations need designers to help strategize and communicate their efforts.
3. Government desperately needs good design. This is an area full of opportunity, as it gives designers a chance to work on projects that impact the lives of millions of people. Right now it is an uphill battle, but I believe it is one worth waging.
4. If you want to start your own design firm, you can create a client base from a mix of the above.
5. Lastly, you can live the life of a social entrepreneur and create your own socially minded non-profit or social enterprise. Design is often not the end result, but the skills of a designer are brought to bear on making the concept reality.
