In this multi-disciplinary Designmatters studio, hosted by Advertising and supported by a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, students created a violence and gun prevention campaign designed to serve a diverse population of at-risk youth.

In collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Health Education Programs, HIV/AIDS Prevention Unit, students formed two design studios tasked with creating communications addressing the pessimism and hopelessness leading teenagers to violence and other anti-social behavior. These campaigns will be implemented in the LAUSD, with replication potential for other underserved areas of the country.

After the studio’s conclusion, Designmatters and project partners from LAUSD chose to further develop Where’s Daryl?, a short-term school-wide event designed to alert middle-school students to the hazards of getting involved with guns. Using various mediums—videos, posters, Facebook—students learn Daryl’s story: how he got involved with guns; his experiences with the juvenile justice system; his regret about his situation and his resolve to avoid such trouble in the future. Furthermore, Uncool student Ariel Lee’s anti-gun children’s book, Mark & the Jellybean Monster, was included among Design Observer’s 50 Books/50 Covers.