Personally, I find myself most struck by the concept of interdisciplinary collaboration that A Better World by Design entails. After transferring from a Pre-Med/Bio-Engineering major to an Industrial design major, the most common response I get from people is an eyebrow raise followed by a statement along the lines of “Wow. Well that’s a huge change.” In actuality, I’ve found that there’s a good deal of overlap between the two disciplines, in terms of both process and goals: both look to use design thinking to solve problems. It’s this kind of collaboration and partnership between disciplines that I find so essential toward bringing about a better world.

For instance, Skylar Roebuck and Lauren O’Neill of Operation Simple really epitomize the kind of collaboration I believe will solve global issues through design thinking. Together, a computer engineer along with a graphic designer worked together to develop a portable surgical table for underprivileged countries. The table can be shipped easily to those in need and provide them with better healthcare. By designing their product together, they created something compact and cost-effective, while still retaining the integrity of its function by reaching out to resolve global problems and promote a better world. Read more at http://operationsimple.com/.

For rather obvious reasons, the interdisciplinary nature of this project struck a chord with me, and I can only hope to strive toward something similar. Though many of my own ideas are primarily concerned with healthcare, such as a needle cover that enables a safer and more efficient way to administer vaccines, I believe a Better World by Design can encompass so much more. The solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems of our world can be realized through community collaboration. After all, A Better World by Design is so much more than a conference. It’s a way of thinking and a way of doing.

- Katharine Li, 2012 Competition Coordinator

To me, a Better World is the culmination of a multitude of efforts around the world to improve society, the environment, and our collective future. It is both small steps and large undertakings that empower not only the target community or area but the actors for change themselves. It is the improvement of our collective wellbeing both mentally and physically through taking an optimistic yet critical approach to solving global problems.

For me, personally, I first began to consider what a Better World really means after graduating from high school. I had been accepted as one of the pioneering members of the Brown/RISD dual degree program and was doing an internship for the xclinic in New York City when I realized that I wanted my studies and my career to make a positive impact on the world around me. That summer, I found myself surrounded by passionate people who were taking their love for art and design and applying it to environmental and health problems in order to create an impact. I have been striving to do the same ever since.

Through my studies in the Environmental Studies department at Brown and the Industrial Design department at RISD and through my attendance at the A Better World by Design Conference, I have found so many ways that we can use design thinking to reduce our impact on the environment, make daily tasks easier for the marginalized user, or ease the lives of people in the developing world. Most importantly, I think, I have learned how to redefine the problem and to question the parameters.

- Beth Soucy, 2012 Public Relations Coordinator

bethsoucydesign.com

But at the moment, there are, in simple terms, 9 designers pumping out cool products for 1 rich guy while there’s only 1 designer listening to 9 different “poor” people to design affordable and need-based products/systems. The proportions are all messed up! Here’s why:

For my footwear design class one of our projects was to design $1 shoes for developing countries. I was really excited because it’s the type of thing I’d love to take on in the future. But I soon realized it was a flawed assignment. How the heck would I design cheap shoes for “poor” people without physically observing where/how they live and what kinds of local materials their area produces? How do I know what kinds of shoes they really need without asking them? It’s not like the Internet has a well-updated list of specific consumer footwear needs that you can pick and choose from. Out of hope I even typed “chat with poor people” to see if I could somehow get in contact with someone in a developing country and ask them what they needed.

You might think it’s over-doing it, going to those places and asking what they want. But that’s called market research and product designers of corporations big/small are doing it everyday with you and me. The process is not any different just because your market is “poor.”

Anyway, the $1 project was difficult. It was so much harder than our previous projects where we had to just redesign historical shoes into cool modern day ones. Our teacher brought in bags of material swatches to look at. Binders and binders dedicated to midsole rubbers, upper meshes, exotic animal leathers, high-performance technology synthetics, and even reflectives. You just pick and choose, try different combinations, and BAM you got yourself your next bestseller. For the $1 shoes I had not choice but to take someone else’s research and base it off of that. I used Jacqueline Novogratz’s experience in Mathare Valley, the oldest and worst African slum, where she personally spoke to a woman who had escaped extreme poverty through entrepreneurship. (Click for her amazing TED talk that will change your perspective on poor people and poverty)

It’s just easier to design for rich people. In the world that you and I live in the physical and systematic infrastructure of industries from material-sourcing, to manufacturing, to production are all well-established (and just to be clear well-established does NOT mean well-designed). So it seems pretty straight-forward to design something and get it produced just like that.

Here is what I ended up with for the $1 shoe. (Click preview photos to view larger)

-Leah Erica Chung, 2011 Planning Committee Member- Branding

A Better World by Design and Décor Craft Inc (DCI) come together to bring you the annual DCI Product Design Challenge, now open for submissions!

This is a great opportunity for anyone to develop, submit, and produce their own ideas in order to help resolve a particular issue in our world today.

The DCI Product Design Challenge is a competition for design thinking and ideas. A Better World by Design and DCI encourage participants from any field or background to submit their concepts for consideration.

The 2012 competition asks participants to tackle this challenge:

In today’s society, many people are spending more time indoors than ever before and missing the beauty outside. Submit an idea for a product that will encourage people to re-engage with the great outdoors.

The winners will be awarded $1,000 for 1st place, $500 for 2nd place, and $250 for 3rd place. Additionally, winners will be presented with the great opportunity to have their winning design produced and distributed across the nation by DCI and showcased at the 2012 Better World by Design conference!

Submissions are due by April 1st.

Click here for more information about the challenge and how to enter.

View last year’s prompt and winners.

We are so excited to announce our 2012 Planning Committee! They hail from Salt Lake City to Beijing, from Development Studies to Graphic Design and as always, from RISD to Brown. The Planning Committee is full of inspiring ideas and can’t wait to get started on A Better World by Design’s 5th Anniversary Conference. We’re already looking forward to it! Here they are:

Hannah Bebbington, Brown’14
Isabella Giancarlo, Brown’14
Alexander Hadik, Brown’15
Erin Jones, Brown’12.5
Katherine Li, RISD’14
Arisa Lohmeier, Brown’14
Andreas Nicholas, RISD’13
Anna Plumlee, Brown’15
Kaitlyn Marley Schoeck, RISD’13
Alexandria J. Sheng, Brown’15
Ivy Sokol, Brown’15
Elizabeth Soucy, RISD & Brown’13
Aparaaajit Sriram, Brown’15
Allison Wong, RISD & Brown’15
Tabitha Yong, RISD’13

Committee 2011 on the eve of the conference

Anybody who was at this year’s conference knows what a stimulating and inspiring experience A Better World by Design can be. Now, we’re recruiting a new planning committee of Brown and RISD students who want to be a part of next year’s conference, our fifth anniversary, from start to finish. Applications are open until 10/31.

Students on the committee can expect to take part in every aspect of the conference, from selecting topics,  designing menus, and organizing publicity to planning parties and engaging the community. Be prepared to work hard, meet like-minded and interesting people, and join a network of changemakers.

For more information and the application itself, see www.abetterworldbydesign.com/join.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Clockwise from top left: a Buy With Heart sticker, and four Social Enterprises featured at A Better World by Design 2011: The Providence Granola Project, Runa Tea, Big Picture Soda, and RiverzEdge Arts.

“Local,” “Eco-friendly,” “Organic”— When a consumer sees these words stamped on a product’s packaging, very specific associations come to mind. She feels better about the purchase, knowing that the product is locally sourced, sustainably produced, or perhaps uses eco-friendly materials.

Now what if there was a phrase that let the consumer know that a product is not only environmentally mindful, but actually provides a social service to underserved people in the community? That in purchasing the product, she is helping to generate jobs for refugees in her city, provide college scholarships for underserved teens, or create a new beginning for a person who was formerly incarcerated?

Buy With Heart is a grassroots campaign that aims to educate the community about the concept of “Social Enterprise,” introduce consumers to local businesses that utilize this model, and highlight a wide spectrum of Social Enterprise products and services. Unlike a traditional non-profit, a Social Enterprise produces competitive products and services to generate revenue (often in addition to typical fundraising such as grant-writing and capital campaigns). Just as products labeled “organic” or “eco-friendly” tell consumers how a product is sourced, the Buy With Heart symbol lets consumers know that the businesses behind their products are driven by a social purpose.

Amos House, a Providence-based nonprofit that provides support services for the homeless, low-income individuals, and people who have been incarcerated, is a perfect example of a Social Enterprise in action. When the organization began to consider Social Enterprise, it was struggling to make ends meet through grants and donations. Today, Amos House supports three businesses: More Than a Meal Catering, Friendship Café, and Amos House Builds (collectively referred to as “Amos House Works”). All three businesses offer paid internships tor participants in Amos House training programs, which provide paychecks and valuable work experience for individuals in need. Amos House Works also helps Amos House remain sustainable— the businesses now account for 15% of the organization’s annual revenue.

Because Social Enterprises apply market-based strategies, they not only provide a social benefit, but create jobs and drive the local economy as well. It is exciting to imagine the impact Social Enterprises could have if truly encouraged to scale. What if everyone from individuals to small businesses to large companies made the simple decision to swap their day-to-day purchases with similar goods from a Social Enterprise? What if supporting Social Enterprise was as widely promoted as say, going green?

Our hope is that Buy With Heart will create opportunities for Social Enterprises locally, and generate recognition for these innovative businesses on a greater scale. A Better World by Design is an important supporter of this goal. Look for the following Social Enterprise products at the conference:

• Amos House More Than A Meal (Granola bars for energizer breaks)
• Big Picture Soda (Soda for energizer breaks)
• Cookie Place (Cookies for energizer breaks)
• Inspire Green (filtered water bottles for guest speaker bags)
• RiverzEdge Arts Project (screen-printed Better World by Design shirts)
• Runa Tea (Tea for energizer breaks)
• The Providence Granola Project (Granola for energizer breaks)

To learn more about Social Enterprise in Rhode Island and the growing Buy With Heart Campaign, visit www.buywithheart.org.

Name: Israel Buffardi

Are you a student?
I am currently finishing up my final course for my nutrition degree and I have a culinary degree from Johnson and Wales.

Why did you decide to combine a culinary and nutrition degree?
I love food and the experience of eating is very enjoyable. I wanted to learn how to continue enjoying that experience and combine it with a healthier lifestyle.

What will you be presenting at A Better World by Design’s Expo?
I plan on doing a food demo, highlighting a really great seasonal product from local sources and showing that if you’re using good seasonal produce, then it doesn’t need a lot of work–that work is done by the farmer. I also plan to have a showcase of what I do and my business goals.

What is your business?
The business name is Zest: How To, the slogan is “Learn Local, Cook Global”. The learn local side is thinking about cooking at home first, about where you’re living, what the season is and what’s growing locally. The Global part is about thinking of food on a global scale, being responsible about food. If I’m going to the supermarket to buy beef, where is that coming from? How does that affect the environment?

How do you see your business affecting the food system you want to see?
I think we would be a healthier country if people took charge of their own decisions in regards to food. The culture of dieting often casts food as the problem, or that a nutrient is evil. Food should be an experience and it should be social. We shouldn’t eat alone, we should eat with other people. Take time with food, take time to acquire it, to admire it for itself, to understand it, to know what to do with it and then to eat it. Have respect for where the food is coming from.

If I were to eat a Lean Cuisine I’d be eating it because I thought it was healthy, but I can’t picture myself enjoying it. I can’t picture someone having four friends over, sitting down around a table, drinking good wine and eating Lean Cuisines. That’s not a fun experience. Food should be a positive experience.

If we redesign the way we eat and think about food, do you think it would have an impact on the broader food system?
Absolutely. If there was more education about food, if people could have more appreciation for and think more about food, that would affect what they buy when they go to the supermarket.

Is that how you see Zest: How To fitting into the broader food system?
Yes, and I’m a very very small part of that. I think that the most important place that education needs to happen is with kids. I would like to work with teaching kids how to cook, especially lower income kids, because there’s a huge disparity with healthy eating and economic class.

Interested in joining the Expo? There’s still time! Click here to find out how.