May 2009
It is not every day that college design students get a chance to step outside the classroom and tackle critical issues facing their communities. This Spring, innovative branding school, Portfolio Center is working to make that happen. With the help of Design Ignites Change and a couple of committed local partners, Portfolio Center has developed two Atlanta-specific project collaborations that bring design-thinking to local organizations that need it.
In Jonvenes Con Voz (http://designigniteschange.org/projects/19-jovenes-con-voz), Portfolio Center students, led by instructor Melissa Kuperminc, mentor area high school students from a Georgia-based, domestic violence intervention program for Latino families, Caminar Latino (http://www.caminarlatino.org/). The mentoring teams are exploring complex problems including: dating violence and immigration stereotypes, in a series informational posters intended to target Latino youth in nearby middle schools.
In another new class, Branding the Future (link to: http://designigniteschange.org/projects/21-branding-the-future), Eric Golev-Miller leads a team of his students through a rebranding exercise for Atlanta-based non-profit, Future Foundation (http://www.future-foundation.com/). The students are creating a primary identity system that will effectively communicate the Foundation’s involvement in the lives of at-risk youth.
“We are always excited about opportunities like this one..." explains Portfolio Center president Hank Richardson, "Design Ignites Change teaches our students they can use their passion and gifts to change the world and improve the future landscape. That’s powerful stuff!”
The school began by partnering with area non-profits to identify meaningful ways for the students to use design thinking to serve the community at large.
Learn more about these and other projects at www.designigniteschange.org.
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