design for humanity

diversity is something we are coming to see more and more of in today’s society. with so many people coming into the states from all over the world each day, its not hard to explore around any city and find pockets of culturally rich areas, cultures that are not native to america. here at risd, or probably any other major design school in the us, diversity is no stranger. a large international student acceptance rate brings in people from all over the world, people from different backgrounds, different countries. these students have come here to learn the skills necessary to pursue a career doing something that they enjoy: art and design. perhaps some of these students wish to take back with them to their country what they have learned here, to help and change their country for the better!

 

i believe that one step we can take as designers, in designing for humanity, is to first start with our roots. since, for the most part, we are familiar with our home countries, where we were born, where we grew up, and where perhaps we will spend the rest of our lives. the best way to learn about an area’s needs, people, daily lives, etc. is to have actually spent time living there. rather than spend resources trying to learn about a new country so we can help out, why don’t we start with a place where we already know everything about, a place we call home? here at risd, a melting pot of so many designers from so many cultural backgrounds, we are in a great place to design for humanity.  using what we learn here at risd, learning from all the great resources that we have here at this institution, we can take them and bring them back to our homes to apply it. being the people that actually live in the country/state/city we are trying to make change in, we are the best and most effective people to get the job done. i am not saying that you should ONLY design for your own point of origin, but  just that one place that you could start, that would be effective and purposeful, is the culture that you come from. now being at risd, where there is such a diverse cultural background, collaboration is also a very powerful and effective strategy that can be implemented. sharing with others that may have similar design problems and ideas would further fuel and help develop the process in your own design.

 

this may not apply to everybody, perhaps the area where you are from has enough resources and your skills are much needed elsewhere. but if it applies, then the best place for a designer to start designing for change, for humanity, is right where they came from, their home.