We sped over to MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) after Johns Hopkins, and opened up shop from 4-6pm. One of our visitors, among a swath of students, was Kevin White, from Global Vision 2020, the US-based partner for the producers of the liquid-filled self-adjusting Adaptive Eyecare glasses. Kevin showed up to give us a few extra pairs (after our first pair was broken in North Carolina!), and Matt got a personal fitting for his own pair.
At 6:30 pm, we sat on a panel with some friends and colleagues we have come to know well: John Bielenberg of Project M (we recently saw him at PieLab in Greensboro, AL as well), Julie Lasky of ChangeObserver, and Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, journalist and design writer for publications such as Metropolis. Our other friend Ellen Lupton, who teaches at MICA and is also a curator at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, introduced us.
After brief presentations from each of us, Elizabeth moderated a panel discussion that focused on the efficacy and growth of design for social impact. We discussed the best ways to work in communities we are unfamiliar with (trust-building, long-term commitment, and humility), as well as the debate over “something-vs.-nothing,” which began with John Bielenberg’s statement: “Something is better than nothing.” Julie made the comment, however, that we do have a duty to measure our impact and to foster feedback that allows for continual improvement.
We’ve personally seen this in a few designs in the road show, things that might be guilty of the “it’s good enough for them” paradox, where many feel that a device doesn’t need to be perfectly designed if it is intended for a “bottom of the pyramid” market that has nothing to begin with. We feel this is a slippery slope and that all design, no matter who it is intended for, should be thoughtful and take into account all reasonable possible contingencies.
In closing, Elizabeth discussed Baltimore’s D:Center and MICA’s Center for Design Practice (sponsors of the event). Thanks to all who made for great conversation around design for the greater good!
