designmatters | Where art & design education meets social change.

Welcome to Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design
Where art & design education meets social change.
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Leap Dialogues Educational Guide
The guide contains 12 select dialogues, each accompanied by a set of open-ended questions to provoke critical reading and to jumpstart classroom discussion.
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Designmatters Project Archive
List of all Designmatters Case Studies in Chronological order.
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Imagining the Future of the Barbie Dreamhouse
Students teamed up with Mattel & Barbie to envision innovative forward-thinking ways of reimagining the iconic Barbie Dreamhouse for 2022!
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Study Away: Kyoto CULTURE // CRAFT
Students traveled to Kyoto for nearly two weeks to develop a unique perspective about the social, ecological and cultural significance of traditional making and crafting.
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COANIQUEM: The Healing Tree
A comprehensive system of environmental graphics, a storybook and a ‘passport’ that transforms the campus of COANIQUEM, a nonprofit treatment center for pediatric burn survivors, into a magical land where patients and their families go on a healing journey.
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The Designmatters Minor in Social Innovation
The Designmatters Minor in social innovation is a course of study for ArtCenter undergraduate students who want to master a toolkit of design skills and strategies to navigate the complex dynamics of working with communities and designing for social change.
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Fellowship Program
The Designmatters Fellowship Program embeds top ArtCenter students in host organizations for one full 14-week academic term to work on high-level projects and explore the mission, model and meaning of the host organization’s work.
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Engage + Envision + Empower: Creating a Safe Sex Culture in the City of Long Beach
ArtCenter students were challenged to develop a comprehensive transmedia awareness campaign about safe sex practices for the City of Long Beach which has seen a dramatic increase in the rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) during the past two years.
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PACIFIC RIM: Eco Research Lab Costa Rica
ArtCenter students collaborated with Tama University students and faculty for two weeks to study, explore and be inspired by the rich biodiversity of the Costa Rica ecological landscape to later design sustainable spaces, materials innovations, furnishings and experiences. This immersive experience challenged students to draw upon the influences of biomimicry and nature’s biological forms for concepts that reflected symbiotic relationships with natural resources.
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Introduction

The Designmatters educational platform at ArtCenter College of Design joins collaboration with experimentation, experience with reflection, problem-solving with problem-discovery, and purpose with action.

Our Mission

Through research, advocacy and action, Designmatters engages, empowers and leads an ongoing exploration of art and design as a positive force in society.

Recent News

Art Student Walks From Tijuana to Her L.A. Gallery Show

LA Weekly / April 2018

Congratulations Spring 2018 Designmatters Minor Graduates!

“The two-week experience on the ground in Chile was instrumental. We all felt the same thing; we all saw and experienced the same realities together. We all lived the same moments. And that really helped us later as a design team, as we related our ideas and concepts back to our shared experience.”
Andres Zavala, Student, Environmental Design

To create a campaign to combat record STD rates, Long Beach turns to art students

Los Angeles Times / March 2018

SAFE NIÑOS: ENVISIONING CHARITY RETAIL SYSTEMS

Imagining the Future of the Barbie Dreamhouse

“I have been impressed with our student’s ability to create thoughtful design narratives, that can literally change the trajectory of people’s lives, whether it’s on a humanitarian level, or emotional, psychological level.”
James Meraz, Environmental Design Faculty

This Stylish Walker Could Help The Elderly Get Around

Fast Company Design / December 2017

Engage + Envision + Empower: Creating a Safe Sex Culture in the City of Long Beach

Safe Agua Peru

Designmatters partnered with NGO Un Techo para mi Pais and the community to co-create design solutions to overcome water poverty in Cerro Verde, a slum outside Lima, Peru.

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