10 Ways to Take Design Action and Make a Positive Difference in the World
In Articles by Sean Hodge

Can we make a positive difference in the world through the use of design? If so, how? Let's look at ten ways to take decisive action through the use of design.

Designers deliver messages with impact, and are trained in conceptual and high-value visual thinking. They can use these skills to assist non-profits, eco-friendly companies, and active charity groups. We can raise funds through the sale of our donated design work, launch projects with big concepts that are grounded in practical campaigns, and more. Let's discuss some of these ideas.

1. Sell Your Design Work and Donate the Funds to Charity

There are numerous models to follow here. In the example below a large assortment of talented designers put together a book featuring their work. The book is titled, "Designed To Help." The proceeds went to help the tsunami crisis in Asia.

With the recent "Solving Poverty" Button Design contest here on PSDTUTS, we'll be using the winning entries to set up a store where proceeds of the button sales will go to Kiva.org. This leverages the PSDTUTS community to empower individual designers to create artwork for a worthy cause.

2. Deliver a Message with Impact and Give it Exposure

Whether you're creating the message, or working within an existing campaign, as a designer you can communicate with impact. Ultimately, the message should make you think or be something positive that makes people want to grab onto. You can also get creative with your method of delivery or use of social media. Of course, this is what we do best as designers - give ideas shape, form, and strong visual appeal. Choose the right cause and jump in.

Shepard Fiery has created numerous critical political designs, has participated with delivering messages on the street, and worked to deliver strong messages. Here is an interview with him where he discusses his beliefs, artwork, and how they work together. His Obey campaign is well known and for a good overview of his work see the Shepard Fairey Wikipedia entry. 

3. Choose to Work with Companies or Organizations that Make a Difference

You could choose to work directly for a charity or non-profit organization. Thereby, contributing daily to assisting the groups cause. This could be on an individual project or permanent basis. Or, as a freelancer choose to only take on work from organizations and companies who's polices and practices you agree with.

You may choose to work for a corporation or business though. Before accepting a design position with a company, you should review their policies, evaluate what they contribute to making a difference, and what your role might be in these initiatives.

This is something I didn't consider when starting to work for Envato, which was Eden at the time I can to work here. It's really inspiring to be writing this post, and contributing to Blog Action Day, which is a nonprofit, grassroots movement of thousands of individual bloggers coming together for one cause.

4. Create a Website or Video Dedicated to Solving an Issue or Spreading Awareness

Now this requires a bit more technical knowhow than visual design alone, as it requires you to pursue more technical knowledge, or find someone to partner with, but it's far from outside the boundaries of what we could pursue. Many of us are savvy web enthusiasts and could really pull together a unique website dedicated to solving issues or spreading awareness in support of a cause.

A one person driven initiate called the UnculturedProject has been popular for quite some time. It's a YouTube channel put in place to change the conversation about poverty. The channel has had much more success than any other Global Poverty channel on YouTube. Shawn, who runs the project has touched many lives and educated numerous people on ways to assist with solving poverty issues.

5. Train in Working with Eco-Friendly Practices or Making Graphics for Green Companies

Educating yourself on up to date standards regarding eco-friendly practices will allow you to serve as a resource to help your clients make good decisions. Here is an introductory article on Green printing to get started on this topic. There are certainly many more topics that will allow you to serve as a resource for your customers.

Also, consider your role as teacher. How can you help other designers with their client projects geared toward eco friendly customers. Ryan one of our regular writers at VECTORTUTS, wrote a tutorial on creating an environmentally friendly type treatment that gives some great techniques that could be used in branding this type of company or organization.

6. Apply Your Conceptual Design Experience to Solve Local Issues and Impact Global Issues

The Art Center College of Design has an interesting program called Designmatters. In it students take part in project where they work with agencies toward making a real world difference.

One such project had students working with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Safe Motherhood Initiative to create an awareness campaign on maternal mortality, which is an often overlooked issue within third-world countries. This project offered no direct calls to action and required deeper solutions. "Designing for the UNFPA challenged students to think beyond just a client’s vision or brand, but to consider how to effectively communicate to the global public about a real-world problem."

7. Launch a Good Project with Great Intentions

Doing some good in the world is a noble mindset. Creating a good project can make a tangible difference. The makers of Good Magazine have raised over $800,000 for various charities with their hybrid online and bimonthly print magazine. It offers a unique model whereby %100 percent of subscription costs go to charities of your choice. The magazine offers a combination of inspiring, thought provoking, and informative content about pushing the world forward through progress and change.

8. Donate Your Design Skills Directly to a Non-Profit Organization or Charity Group

This is a fairly simple model to follow. Take on a client project pro-bono for a non-profit. This is a great way for young designer's to build their portfolios with real projects and experienced designers to stay connected to the community.

About a month and a half ago Mark Hayword, one of my blog friends, mentioned a non-profit project he planned to launch that had some really interesting concepts behind it. Here is a link to a post that describes the model he was proposing. What also really caught my attention was that social media savvy individuals and popular bloggers were behind the project. They had some great launch and long-term plans.

9. Run a Donation Driven Design Contest on Your Blog

If you have your own design blog, no matter the size, then you can run a contest to drive donations. Here is a post on running graphic design contests to get started. Styletime is running a contest in support of Blog Action Day and has amassed quite an impressive array of prizes. To be eligible requires you to donate a dollar at a minimum.

Really you could run any kind of fundraising event as well that is design driven. Here on PSDTUTS we just launched the "Solving Poverty" Button Design contest, and on VECTORTUTS the accompanying "Solving Poverty" T-Shirt design contest, which uses both a competition and sales of designed items to provide funds toward Kiva.org, a micro-loaning non-profit group that helps entrepreneur in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty.

10. Create a Mission for Your Design Business That Makes a Difference

Aside from being listed within numerous web design galleries as having a high-impact site design, Studio 7 Designs Inc. also stand out based on their focus on working with eco-friendly practices. They seek out environmentally conscious companies. This is stated on their about page, but can also be viewed in their portfolio, which indicates they practice what they are saying. There page on environmentally friendly web design indicates that they donate to Kiva.org and myclimate.org, it also shows the eco-friendly standards they adhere to.