home

PROJECTS

 

Featured Projects

MEDIA
 

Featured PSA

ABOUT DESIGNMATTERS

The world today faces challenges of unprecedented scale and complexity—including urban congestion, depleted natural resources, housing shortages and crises in education and healthcare. Solutions to these challenges increasingly require collaborations offering diverse approaches and perspectives. Because mankind lives in a designed world, designers are pivotal to the success of these collaborations.

Public awareness of the importance of design beyond mere consumerism and style is rapidly growing, and design is now an equal partner with many enterprises, including business, medicine, science, technology and urban planning.

A College-wide initiative launched in December 2001 and led by the International Initiatives Department, Designmatters at Art Center explores the social and humanitarian benefits of design and responsible business.

OUR MISSION


Through research, advocacy and action, Designmatters strives to engage students, faculty and staff in an ongoing exploration of the links between design and issues of social and humanitarian importance.

We believe that design, responsibly conceived and applied, can contribute to solving such contemporary challenges as sustainable development and providing for basic needs and services, including adequate public health, safety, education, housing and transportation.

We seek to forge collaborations with individuals, educational and cultural institutions, industry, community agencies and international organizations that yield tangible solutions to contemporary social challenges.  

DESIGNMATTERS THEMES


Designmatters projects are conducted year-round at Art Center. Each may focus on one or more of the following themes: