Design as an Agent of Social Change

It might be fashionable now, but in 2011 there was little talk about designers as agents of social change. And there was no talk about designers in the emerging field of user experience. Also known as UX, the field was just coming into its own as a resource for business, namely by helping companies engage customers online. But no one, least of all user experience designers themselves, saw UX as a guide through complex human systems — the very role that could make these designers invaluable in social change.

So we set out to test this idea. We pitted 55 UX and visual designers against five social challenges — unemployment, community mental health, public education, urban violence and cross-cultural understanding. The outcome: we were definitely on to something. Designers demonstrated in just two days that they had something unique and important to contribute.

People often say to me, “You’re defining design in a whole different way. We don’t think of design that way.” I think that’s happening here. People are thinking about the capacity that they have being much more importantly and more generally applied. They have a capacity to solve problems.

Bruce Mau

Founder, Massive Change Network

The seed for pursuing our cash-free mobile payment program came from UX for Good and it has grown into a very successful reality. Today, patrons can pay for StreetWise without even downloading an app.

Jim LoBianco

StreetWise Executive Director

Our UX and visual designers were Luiz Andrade (Underwriters Laboratories), Joshua Barr (TandemSeven), Mekayla Beaver (Gloworm), Kristin Berggren and David Lawrence (both of SapientNitro), Nina Bieliauskas, Eldridge Doubleday, Mark FelcanSmith, and Pete Simon (all of Sears), Jason Bowman (Groupon), Nicholas Brethauer (Mandi Communications), Jennifer Canady (Centrails), Chris Courtney (Tribune Media Group), Michael Dain (ARC Worldwide/Leo Burnett), Brynn Evans (GoLocal), Claire Goff (IDEO), Riley Graham (Wolters Kluwer), Will Hacker and Carrie Sawyer (both of Cars.com), Jim Hall and Victor Short (both of Allstate Financial), Halley Hopkins (Collective Context), John Jarosz, Joseph Juhnke (Tanagram), Stephen Lund (Digital Primates), Brian Maggi (Idea Momentum), Sarah Malin (The Third Teacher), Laurel McDowall (Translation), Kevin Mech (KeyLimeTie), Gene Moy (AXIOM Sensis, Siemens Healthcare), Sami Nerenberg (Design for America), Chiara Ogan (Adaptive Path), Cia Romano (Interface Guru), Chad Rupp (OfficeMax), David Scotney (Reach), Phillip Weber (NAVTEQ), Chelsea Winkel (Problem Solved), and Jennifer Berzansky, Brian Winters, Carolyn Chandler, Vena Chitturi, Haley Ebeling, David Everly, Maggie Hendrie, Brian Henkel, Christopher Ina, Danyell Jones, Phillip Keiken, Makoto Kern, Daniel Leu, Meredith Payne, Tanarra Schneider, Brandy Taylor, Marnie Vosper, and Bill Welense (all of Manifest Digital).

The designers were led, informed, inspired, and provoked by Ryan Butts (League of Chicago Theaters), Ed Chen (Student, School of the Art Institute of Chicago) Kevin Coval (Young Chicago Authors), Bruce Crane and Jim LoBianco (both of StreetWise), Raymond Crossman (Adler School of Professional Psychology), Michael Davis (The DAVIS Experience), LaMont Evans and Gary Slutkin (both CeaseFire), Carlo Garcia (LivingPhilanthropic.com), Mark Guarino, David Evan Harris (Global Lives Project), Al Herbach (Schmaltz Online), Frank Karigiannis (Pauly Honda), Katy Klassman (The Curated Group), Trung Le (Cannon Design), Mari Luangrath (Foiled Cupcakes), Stephanie Pace Marshall (Illinois Math & Science Academy), Bruce Mau (Bruce Mau Live), Doug Siefken (TransLumen Technologies), and Dr. Tae.

I believe design can help people think differently about how to make the world a more just, a more fair, a more equitable, and a more sustainable place.

Stephanie Pace Marshall

Founding President, Illinois Math & Science Academy