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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Socially Engaged Art
As a field that blurs the lines between art and life, the Spring 2018 studio, Socially Engaged Art, emphasized participation, dialogue, and action from a place of shared concerns. The class was formatted to encourage collaboration to foster skills of negotiation, while holding space for individual voices and unexpected innovation within art production.
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Seeing the Unseen: Visualizing Flow Patterns of Mesopelagic Ocean Eddies
ArtCenter students design interactive data visualization projects based on the elusive underwater movement patterns of ocean eddies.
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Safe Niños Development Studio: Charity Retail Pop-Up
ArtCenter students worked with COANIQUEM to design and implement a pop-up structure/system on site at the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Santiago, Chile.
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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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A Future Vision for the Aquarium of the Pacific
Packard Fellowship invited ArtCenter students, faculty to develop concepts for a new wing at Aquarium of the Pacific!
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Designing Democracy: The Future of Civic Engagement
In partnership with California Common Cause, ArtCenter students created campaigns, collateral and experiences aimed to increase voter participation and citizen empowerment.
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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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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FALL 2018 DESIGNMATTERS MINOR GRADUATES!
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Designmatters Project Archive
List of all Designmatters Case Studies in Chronological order.
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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

Happy Holidays from the Designmatters Team

Design for Health & Well-Being: The Rancho Renegades

"The students confronted important issues from personal vantage points, ultimately ensuring that others would care about them, too."
Sherry Hoffman, Humanities & Sciences, Faculty

Amanda Sutanto’s STACK Stool project showcased at Shanghai Design Week

The “Night Loo” keeps refugee women safe from hazardous bathroom trips

Fast Company Design / September 2018

Designing Democracy: The Future of Civic Engagement

Spring 2018 - Host Department: Humanities & Sciences

"Design can capture and integrate the best of science, technology and art to provide a clear, compelling roadmap to a more sustainable future."
Jerry Schubel Ph.D. President and CEO, Aquarium of the Pacific

With tiny homes, Pasadena ArtCenter’s students face the realities of solving LA’s homeless crisis

Daily News / December 2018

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

A Future Vision for the Aquarium of the Pacific

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"Being part of this program helped remind me of the importance of the design process, and ultimately why design matters."
Greg Philpott, Founder and President, mDialog