Journal 08

For this journal assignment, I decided to explore the idea of “design like you give a damn.” This is the concept of designing for the improvement of the world, especially for those parts of the world that are living in poverty and in substandard conditions. I think that this is an important part of design that is just starting to become popular in the design world. It is one thing to make all of these new designs and products, but they must be able to be used by people. When we design for people who don’t really have anything, this product becomes so much more valuable and useful.

The first source I found is from INDEX:, a non-profit organization that works to promote and apply the idea of “designing to improve life.” I found an article on their website that discusses their design process that they use in order to create products that will truly improve the lives of people. It is a really interesting article because it describes how form, impact and context combine to design to improve life.
INDEX: Design Process

INDEX: holds a design competition and give the Design to Improve Life Award to designers who come up with ideas that exemplify the ideas of INDEX:.These awards are presented in the areas of body, home, work, play and community. I found an online book that describes the winners in each of these areas and their design. This book is really interesting because contains some interesting elements and products that I originally didn’t consider in the field of design, such as a book and an exhibit.
INDEX: Awards

After seeing some examples of designs that improve life, I found a few videos of interesting takes on the design of everyday products.

First, I found a video describing a new type of drywall that is better for the environment. 40% of carbon emissions are due to building operations. The video explains the process and future of a drywall that is clean and recyclable. This video also contains interesting facts about the process of building a home and how detrimental it is to the environment.
Drywall Video

The next video I found is about the process of growing your own clothes. This is a very interesting new process that has huge potential in the future. Organisms harvest into a material, which is like leather, which can then be sewn and formed into clothing. There is one major drawback to this design, but it has huge potential for the clothing market, or even the entire manufacturing processes.
Grow Your Own Clothes

The last video I found takes design to a whole new level. It describes the organization Project H, which works to improve the public education system. This organization is now stationed in Bertie County, NC, which is an impoverished area with a low emphasis education. The designers at Project H are looking into ways to redesign the education system to improve the lives of the children.
Designing Education

Overall, I have found some very interesting articles and videos about “designing like you give a damn.” I think it is important for students to learn some of the benefits and factors of designing for everybody in the world, not just the select few who have money to purchase high end, technological products.