The Power of Design

Design 21: Social Design Network is a UNESCO partner which aims for "better design for the greater good." From their website:

We want to use the power of good design for greater purpose.

We believe the real beauty of design lies in its potential to improve life. That potential first manifests itself as a series of decisions that result in a series of consequences. The practice of social design considers these decisions on a greater scale, understanding that each step in the design process is a choice that ripples out into our communities, our world and our lives. These choices are the result of informed ideas, greater awareness, larger conversations and, most importantly, the desire to do good. Social design is design for every one's sake.

It's wonderful to see an organization tapping into talented designers for the benefit for non-profit work. I've actually been a member for a while, but I've finally just made my first contribution to the site. I've entered a contest to design the logo for the UN Film Festival, called "Stories from the Field." (You can see my entry above.) The competition is open until 11:59 PM tomorrow, if you're interested! The winning designer is paid for their work, and they have the opportunity to work on additional collateral materials.

It was so nice to work on something that wasn't purely for profit, and may actually make a difference. If you register with the site you'll be able to view and vote for your favorite designs (Pick ME! Pick ME!) from Wednesday on.

The other interesting aspect of all of this, from a design standpoint, is viewing 1000+ designs for the same project and brief! Where else can you do that? It's an amazing range of work and thinking. Some is really phenomenal, a lot is average, and there are a good percentage that are just bad (not following the brief, spelling the festival name incorrectly, or changing its name all together). Very interesting.

Click here for the Design 21 website.
Click here to read more about the contest.