Vote for the Best Design to Improve Life

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2009-08-22 12:51:00 UTC
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In many ways, I think the field of design might be the related field that social entrepreneurs most need to work to understand. With the new INDEX: Design to Improve Life, we all have a chance to dig into the field a little deeper and have a hand in awarding the most relevant design around.

One of my favorite examples of why design matters comes from frog designer Robert Fabricant. I wrote a post a few months back called "Using Dick Cheney to Save the World." The inspiration was a suggestion by Fabricant that an energy monitor boldly featuring Cheney's face would do a lot more to inspire behavior change than a standard monitor with buttons and numbers. His thought was to have an evil looking Cheney slowly smile more and more sinisterly as your energy usage went up. Imagine, he said, coming home to a horrible set of twinkling Cheneys.

This may seem cute, but I think that this sort of creativity has profound impact. Many of our problems are caused on a fundamental level by behaviors. Shifting behaviors is a complex business and tends to require a creative approach.

In my experience, designers tend to share with social entrepreneurs a fundamental believe that the world can be better and that better understanding how people interact with one another and their environment tends to hold the secret to improvement.

This spirit is on display in droves in the Index: Design to Improve Life contest. Voting began August 20th and users around the world with select a People's Choice winner. The nominees include incredible projects like the frog + Pop!Tech collaboration Project M. To see all the candidates and vote, visit: www.designtoimprovelife.dk

(Hat-tip on this post goes to Tim Leberecht, who wrote about INDEX on his iPlot blog)

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
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