Serving the Underserved: The equation between design education and quality of life

Lisa M. Abendroth, Associate Professor and Communication Design Coordinator, Metropolitan State College of Denver

“Design that does good” continues to be a hard sell in a global context challenged by cultural conflict, environmental tragedy, social inequity, economic burden and access to the most basic of human rights. The question I pose is why? With so many significant issues to engage designers, why do we not see a more universal commitment to serving those who need it most through the design discipline and design education outreach initiatives? In what ways are new generations of designers addressing human ecology and how are design educators globally creating opportunities for appropriate student response? In this paper presentation I will share student work featured in a recent student exhibition on the subject of social design, which I curated and organized. These interdisciplinary design projects bring critical attention to the needs of underserved people, places and problems from around the world.

Featured projects demonstrate the rich possibilities that result from embracing community as client, where working in the margins, across socio-economic borders and cultural divides reveal the depth of design education initiatives today. Implicit to the processes shared by these student designers and their faculty mentors is a responsibility to research—working directly with communities and participants beyond the confines of the classroom. In an attempt to better understand how design education is addressing global imperative need, I will share synopses on curriculum, project development and outcome, while highlighting those individuals and programs that continue to foster significant community-development projects through design.