this is the last sentence of project h design’s mission, and it is a statement many of us, as creatives, have declared at some point of our lives {often in the same breath as “one day i will design my own font”}. project h is a non-profit organization based in the bay area that “connects the power of design to the people who need it most” and all that good stuff, including adaptive eyecare glasses and the HippoRoller. one can’t help but be inspired, especially when you share a common process + passion.
So where are we with humanitarian design? I know almost all of my Gen Y students want to do it because their value system is into doing good globally. Young designers in consultancies and corporations want to do humanitarian design for the same reason.
But should we take a moment now that the movement is gathering speed to ask whether or not American and European designers are collaborating with the right partners, learning from the best local people, and being as sensitive as they might to the colonial legacies of the countries they want to do good in. Do designers need to better see themselves through the eyes of the local professional and business classes who believe their countries are rising as the U.S. and Europe fall and wonder who, in the end, has the right answers? Might Indian, Brazilian and African designers have important design lessons to teach Western designers?
And finally, one last question: why are we only doing humanitarian design in Asia and Africa and not Native American reservations or rural areas, where standards of education, water and health match the very worst overseas?
his musings about technological colonialism are interesting and nussbaum has made a similar inquiry in the past, “is ‘green’ the ‘new imperialism’?” and this is where we catch ourselves being defensive and paralyzed at the same time. he makes a compelling argument so much so that we hesitate a moment and check our intentions, making sure our feet are still planted in the ground with enough forward momentum. we think about jiu jitsu. we ask ourselves, am i an imperialist? we wonder about that font that we still would like to design, one day. and in the meantime, the founder of project h, emily pilloton, responds to mr. nussbaum.
not only is our production designer, brad, a patient man when it comes to printing substrates and traffic jams, but his patience also looks fantastic in a hazmat suit.
brad suited up for a campaign we created for earthjustice earlier this year to urge the epa to regulate and classify coal ash as a hazardous waste. this campaign also had john and me traveling across the country to interview victims of coal ash contamination in kingston, tennessee and waterflow, new mexico, getting stranded in houston {the airport kinda smells like ketchup} and getting caught {slightly} speeding in a little town called cuba along the way {”officer, i’m trying to make up time from being stranded in houston”}. we worked with a talented photographer and retoucher who generously dedicated their time for this project, and this is essentially why our work is good… ’cause our clients do good work.
Check out this new video about cap & trade from Annie Leonard, the woman who brought is “Story of Stuff.”
There are about as many takes on cap and trade as there are environmental groups, which isn’t surprising given the system’s complexity and multiple permutations. The big take home message in this one is that the simplicity and promise of cap and trade evaporate when we try to enact it in the real world.
Wherever you stand on cap and trade, it’s hard not to be delighted by Free Range Studio’s spunk and style. And I’m always charmed when cartoons commingle with real life. Annie Leonard is happy to hop into cartoon land to talk about cap and trade, but it’s clear that she wants it to stay on that side of the divide.
The rest of the world will find out in April when HOW Magazine publishes its 11th Annual Interactive Design Award edition, but YOU, dear Underground Blog Reader, get the low down skivvy on the inside tip:
WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!
(Not that we care about that kind of thing.)
But we are rather proud that StopSoot.Org - the video, website and ad campaign we created for EarthJustice - was selected out of over 700 entries to receive one of handful of merit awards.
Congrats to everyone who worked on the project and EarthJustice for a super successful campaign.
