A Non-Profit Design Consultancy

Overview

This company is envisioned as an interdisciplinary design consultancy that places a high value on the greater good, individuals, education, and aiding the impoverished. It aspires to change the perspectives of designers who feel like tools of industry by offering a meaningful experience and will awaken their passion for ingenuity through the unraveling of complex social problems. It will encourage designers to bring this enthusiasm back to their workplace. The consultancy will seek to inspire the nonprofit sector with a radical approach, irreverent enthusiasm, and untraditional insight – and it will hunger to enlighten altruists about the power of design.

More About This Project

The Role of Designers in Business. Commercial enterprise is turning to design thinking and innovation techniques to remain profitable in the face of increasing competition and the increasing commoditization of standard mass produced goods. Businesses are recognizing the power of design and the role it must play in their organizations. At the core of this revolution are designers, providing the fuel and visionary spirit of this radical transformation. However, these designers are not enjoying adequate recognition or personal satisfaction in the current corporate or consultancy model. They frequently view themselves as “tools” within business, used only to accomplish menial task-specific goals or to send brand-oriented messages (with little input about the content of these messages). Designers have a growing need for purpose that is not being met within the context of their positions. Some have turned to governmental jobs or education, but many remain searching for meaning and significance within industry – and they are becoming increasingly frustrated, less productive, and less effective as business innovators.

Katherine McCoy addresses these frustrated designers working in business when she writes, “We cannot afford to be passive anymore. Designers must be good citizens and participate in the shaping of our government and society. As designers, we could use our particular talents and skills to encourage others to wake up and participate as well” . While I agree with McCoy that designers must become active contributors in our society, I am convinced she underestimates their impact. Designers can engage and address social issues directly, not merely offer marketing campaigns for these causes.

Victor Papanek presents a more compelling view in his uncompromising book, Design for the Real World, when he writes: “As long as design concerns itself with confecting trivial ‘toys for adults,’ killing machines with gleaming tailfins, and ‘sexed-up’ shrouds for typewriters, toasters, telephones, and computers, it has lost all reason to exist” . Papanek was one of the first to take a stand against the over-commercialization of design. He saw the true potential of design not as an economic business appliance, but as a force for cultural and social change. It is in this spirit that I recognized the potential of the design community – a group of highly creative, innovative, and extremely inspired individuals who carry the vision and roadmap for a better future.

The Need in the Nonprofit Sector. Since the inception of modern philanthropy in the late 19th century with John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, nonprofit organizations have sought to confront the toughest problems we face as a society. This alternate sector addresses issues overlooked by a commercial economy; poverty, illiteracy, disabilities, etc. But these complex problems are not easily understood. They are “wicked problems” as defined by Richard Buchanan, a design theorist, in his essay Wicked Problems in Design Thinking . A “wicked problem” is unique in that it has no definitive formulation, it is a problem with more than one possible solution, and is nearly always a symptom of another higher-level problem.

While design is conventionally viewed as a styling and superficial profession, it is increasingly becoming recognized for its leading role in these high level, wicked problems. Daniel Pink recognizes this shift in A Whole New Mind. He writes, “The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind–creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers”. These are exactly the attributes contemporary designers embody. Designers are trained to view situations differently and more holistically than lawyers, MBAs, or social workers.

Designers’ skill sets and methodologies enable them to quickly become experts in a topic through contextual research: identify opportunities, and executing innovative solutions. Furthermore, it is this sort of non-linear, out-of-the-box thinking that nonprofits are in dire need of as they address our culture’s wicked problems.

An encouraging example of a newcomer’s venture into nonprofits comes from Robert Egger. In the book, Begging for Change, Egger tells the story of his entrance into philanthropy . Originally a nightclub manager, he happened into the sector by chance. Once fully initiated, he was able to make a profound impact through the creation of the DC Central Soup Kitchen, whose programs have been copied nationwide. He also served as interim director at the Washington, D.C., United Way. What makes his ideas so revolutionary is their simplicity and feasibility. This is a clear result from his entrepreneur background and his inexperience with traditional nonprofit management.

Mission. It is with these thoughts in mind that I propose a new kind of design consultancy, a consultancy whose mission is to provide a respite for professional designers while allowing them to use their skills to address social problems and empower people in need. To achieve this, it will do the following:

• Recruit top design talent from corporations and consultancies to volunteer their expertise for a two-week retreat.
• Foster relationships with humanitarian nonprofit organizations that are interested in forward thinking and innovative ideas.
• Utilize contextual research techniques to assist humanitarian nonprofit organizations in achieving their mission or refining it.
• Educate social workers and philanthropists on the benefits of a user-centered, iterative design process and how they can utilize these techniques on their own.

This company is envisioned as an interdisciplinary design consultancy that places a high value on the greater good, individuals, education, and aiding the impoverished. It aspires to change the perspectives of designers who feel like tools of industry by offering a meaningful experience and will awaken their passion for ingenuity through the unraveling of complex social problems. It will encourage designers to bring this enthusiasm back to their workplace. The consultancy will seek to inspire the nonprofit sector with a radical approach, irreverent enthusiasm, and untraditional insight – and it will hunger to enlighten altruists about the power of design.

Excerpted from Chap Ambrose’s final design proposal for the Red and Grey Group. This work was completed under the supervision of the Austin Center for Design’s Director, Jon Kolko, in 2006.