DESIGN IMPACT

In 2008, a conversation over the dinner table changed our lives. We discussed how businesses rely on design and innovation practices to deliver products and services that people really want. We wondered why the risk-taking do-gooders of the world didn't have access to that same level of creative and strategic design support to design products and services that people really need. We asked ourselves about the role of design in social change, and how that might fit with our other loves like multi-disciplinary teamwork, leadership development, and creative problem solving. This conversation kicked-off a two-year pilot project, and later, an international fellowship program for designers and organizations working together to create lasting good in their communities. Small steps became big steps and big steps became Design Impact. Five years later, we've worked closely with our partners to incubate over 30 social innovation projects, train over 1,500 leaders, and provide countless hours of design and innovation services to community development initiatives.