After the Jump: How Design Can Change The World
This week marks the the 85th episode of After the Jump and the last show before our radio station takes a quick summer break to gear up for fall programming. So I wanted to dedicate this show to a topic that is not only applicable to anyone in the creative community, but one that sends us off on a note that inspires further thinking, collaboration and ultimately, action.
For some people, myself included, the desire to do good and make a bigger difference in the world can be hard to juxtapose with our desire to create beautiful objects, whether they’re paintings, pottery or a brand new website. The art and design community at large is sometimes dismissed as nonessential because, in the bigger sense of survival and meeting your basic life requirements like water, food and shelter, most of us aren’t producing things on a daily basis that change those survival essentials for people around the world.
But while there are indeed parts of design that aren’t tied to everyday survival, there are so many parts that are. From product designers making water filtration devices for people without clean drinking water sources to graphic designers and illustrators creating artwork for nonprofit groups that need help raising awareness, there are an infinite number of ways that the skills, passion and vision of the creative community can be used to do good.
So for today’s show, I want to walk through some of the ways artists and designers are giving back to the world, talk to a few people who are making it a part of their daily life and break down the steps that all of us can follow to use your creative abilities to do good in the world. I’m pleased to be joined on-air for this episode with two incredibly talented women who have made giving back a big part of their professional life, Dawn Hancock of Firebelly Design and graphic designer Sharlene King. Their ideas inspired me so much and I know their examples will be a great inspiration for anyone else who’s been wanting to find a way to use their design skills to give back to those in need. (Painting above by the talented Zoe Pawlak) xo, grace
*I also wanted to point out cause/affect, a biennial, international design competition that celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society. It’s a great list of design studios doing great work.
