Catching up on M4

I'm really excited about my "Design for Sustainability" class and I started out by saying I want to use this to further develop my research from last term. I looked at all the areas for "products" (we do enough services and intangible things at GradID) that I could design. And then thought... who is it that I want to design for first? I had always thought of making educational games and toys for the kids, but after spending time with research, I knew I wanted to target the women first. So here I am, after carefully mapping out a rural Indian woman's day/week/life, I am ready to start designing a load-carrying bicycle that she can retrofit on her own. Something that will ease her chores, and give her more time to start something entrepreneurial, provide a means to get to sell her work, and make her more economically independent. But how will it change the dynamics of the village? That's one answer I need to find out!

I'm also trying to write an article for my entrepreneurship class - on how to make social design a part of your business portfolio. I met some interesting people in the process. I got back in touch with Marianna from DesignMatters and met her and Erica Clark to see how that became a part of education at Art Center. I also met Jocelyn Wyatt who is a part of the "Design for Social Impact" group at Ideo. An Acumen Fellow of 2008, she asked me if I was applying for the 2010 fellowship. I think I need more work experience - another year or two - before I go; but I decided to apply anyways. And for that, I need to answer my essay questions this weekend.

Thats's the update for now. Let's see how long it is before I come back here and write again. Till then...

"Design cannot not change the world!" -- SocialDesignSite