Turning design education in an opportunity to do good and showcase the power of humanitarian design, Parsons’ industrial design 2003 thesis exhibition asked students to design for “A Good Life.” Through collaborations with non-profits and NGOs, the students produced an array of thoughtful designs that addressed global issues from water transportation to HIV/AIDS, local economies, and education. Eddie Shao-Hsien Chiu’s 2006 Mobee (above), is an educational toy designed to improve the motor skills of children with cerebral palsy.

Liza Forester’s Let’s Kick It, a DIY fabric/plastic bag soccer-ball kit that makes balls for UNICEF’s young women’s soccer program

“The goal was to focus the students on developing a value system that would act as a backdrop for their future work,” says Tony Whitfield, chair of Parsons’ Product Design department. “There is a different level of commitment and research on the part of the students in this project than when we didn’t have an organization that the students were working with. There is a deeper commitment to coming up with something that would have a demonstrable benefit. It really changes the students’ understanding of what is possible in design. It’s not about styling issues or coming up with ideas that purely innovate but are not necessarily socially rooted.”

A Good Life reminds us that design is a tool, and one that can be used to make change. It also reinforces the potential power of good design education. And that design can, indeed, make, if not a good life, then at least a better one.

Yu Ming Chang’s Eden, horticultural-therapy indoor gardening units for the elderly

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 28th, 2007 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Global Education, Talking Points, Tales of Great Design, Design Academics, Products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.