CoDesign Perspectives: Exploring Social Impact

Participate in a survey to shape the future of design for social impact.

We believe design is a powerful catalyst for meaningful change. Yet, the role of creativity in driving social impact often goes unrecognized. That’s why we’ve partnered with NYC design studio ThoughtMatter to launch this survey exploring the intersection of design and social impact.

Your insights are essential. By participating, you’ll help us uncover opportunities, amplify resources, and share the stories that showcase design’s transformative potential. Together, we can build a future where designers are equipped and empowered to create change in their communities, workplaces, and beyond.

Let’s transform our industry—one idea, one voice, one action at a time.

All respondents will be entered to win: 

• A Limited-Edition CoDesign Collaborative tote bag ($30 value)
• A Free Individual Membership ($60 value)
• Free Registration to a Virtual Professional Development Workshop ($175 value)

Winners will be randomly selected after the survey closes on February 14. Your insights will shape the future of design and social impact!

Thank you to ThoughtMatter, for their collaboration in this project.

Field Trips

Curated by CoDesign Collaborative, field trips ignite curiosity and foster connections within the community. 

The Field Trip program is curated by CoDesign Collaborative, designed to ignite curiosity and foster connections within the CoDesign Collaborative community. It is offered as a benefit benefit of Corporate membership and membership in the Design Impact Society.

Field Trips are behind-the-scenes explorations of cutting-edge technology centers, innovation hubs, design studios, and other inspiring spaces. Each visit provides participants with a unique opportunity to engage with the creative minds and pioneering organizations that are redefining the boundaries of design and social impact. Past visits include the Schoolhouse Electric factory in Portland, Oregon, Autodesk Technology Center in Boston, and the ILZRO House in Rhode Island.

Field Trips offer:

• Access to facilities and environments where groundbreaking design and technology solutions are developed.

• Interactions with leaders, designers, and technologists at the forefront of their fields, learning about their processes, challenges, and successes.

Join us as we explore the spaces and meet the people who are shaping the future of design! Interested in hosting a Field Trip? Email info@codesigncollaborative.org.

High School Design Challenge: Inclusive Design

$350 Award Opportunity for Boston Area High School Students Interested in Design & Inclusivity

CoDesign Collaborative is seeking six motivated high school juniors and seniors in the Greater Boston area to participate in an Inclusive Design Challenge. The objective of this Design Challenge is to encourage future designers to think creatively about how to design and problem-solve inclusively. How can we design a better world for everyone, everywhere? This challenge will lead students through an exercise to learn to design with specific communities of interest using principles of inclusive design.

The goals of this challenge are to:

1. Inspire students to rethink and transform the world around them through developing design skills and introducing design as a career path.

2. Learn inclusive design skills: participatory design, asset-centric design, empathy, authentic awareness.

3. Learn design skills: brainstorming, sketching, ideation, low and high-fidelity hand prototyping, testing, iteration, presenting, taking, and giving feedback.

4. Equip students with the language to address accessibility and enable them to address and advocate for inclusivity in their daily lives.

5. Generate a final, hand-fabricated, prototype, a presentation, and create a portfolio page!

The Inclusive Design Challenge will be led by two design educators with architecture backgrounds.

The Inclusive Design Challenge will include two Saturday workshops in April and a final presentation for participants, parents, and their community to see the final prototypes. This program will take students through a full design process and teach them applicable skills in design, creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, and a presentation that they can apply to their schooling and future careers.

Award: The program will accept six students who will be awarded $350 each at the end of the challenge.

Location: Boston, Massachusetts (Location is walking distance from the T)

Eligibility:

High school juniors and seniors in the Greater Boston Area. Applicants must show an interest in design/creativity but do not need a background in design. Creative skills are encouraged and/or interdisciplinary skills in STEAM. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. We especially encourage women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities to apply.

Selection criteria:

We are seeking motivated, self-directed, and passionate applicants who are driven to better their communities.

To develop this exhibition, our team first formed a committee of advisors in the field made up of people who use and create prostheses; including amputees, limb difference advocates, clinicians, designers, educators, and more. This group of advisors helped us form partnerships and invite individuals, designers, organizations, and more to get involved to share their stories about the impact of prosthetic design.

One of the things we sought out the most were stories about the collaborative process of design; people with limb loss, congenital limb difference, maxillofacial disability, and mobility impairment, who become part of their own design process. Paralympic athletes working with designers to find innovative techniques and solutions in design. Kids collaborating with industrial designers to create their own expressive devices, sometimes even featuring legos! Organizations like D-rev who focus on developing affordable prosthetic solutions for those without access to advanced prosthetic devices. These stories show that the more voices, collaborators, and people who use prostheses that are part of the creation process, the better the design.

Bespoke Bodies is a free, public exhibition that aims to contribute to broadening larger conversations and shared resources around disability. The show recognizes that wearing or using a prosthetic device is one of the many methods and options around ambulation, physical activity, and appearance for disabled people.

Special Thanks to our Founding Advisors

• Tara Anderson, Product Manager, HP
• Kate Aquillano, Social Media Manager, USO
• Adam Arabian, Assoc. Professor of Engineering, Seattle Pacific University
• Andreas Bastian, Principal Research Scientist, Autodesk & Board Chair, LimbForge
• Maggie Baumer, Clinic Manager, Hanger Clinic
• Kaylee Dougherty, Assoc. Ocularist & Anaplastologist, Boston Ocular Prosthetics
• Betsy Goodrich, Vice President of Design & Co-founder, MANTA
• Braden Leonard, Founder, Hand Made Prosthetics
• Shalom Ormsby, Founder, The Luke Hand
• Micah Reyes, Design Engineer, Outradius Design
• Rodrigo Salazar, MSc. Rehabilitación Bucomaxilofacial, lUNIP & Mais Identidade
• Lauren Scruggs, Founder, Lauren Scruggs Kennedy Foundation
• Wilson Smith, Design Director, Nike & Professor of Adaptive Design, University of Oregon
• Paul Sohi, Product Designer, Autodesk
• Kevin Young, Senior Vice President Product Experience, Continuum

We Design

People. Practice. Progress.

“You can’t be what you can’t see.” — Marian Wright Edelman

With the onset of COVID-19, we had to close our physical exhibitions, but we immediately pivoted to transitioning We Design into an online resource. Check out our online exhibition!

We Design Conversation Cards

The We Design discussion deck can be used individually, in small groups, or with larger discussion forums. Within the deck, you’ll find stories from creatives in a variety of industries, along with statistics and topics of discussion around diversity and equity in design professions.

Design Together

A collection of design activities, resources, and challenges for all ages (and classrooms!).

There’s no better way to learn than by doing. Design Together is a catalog of activities you can do on your own or with family and friends. Each design activity challenges you to work through the design process by creating and executing your own ideas. The activities are flexible – allowing learners of any age to tackle the challenge on their own or with a design team. Materials can all be found in a standard classroom or at home, but feel free to get as creative and high tech as you like.

CoDesign Conversations

Start your day with design.

CoDesign Conversations is our design impact lecture and conversations series meant to convene, inspire, and educate. Events take place in person in Boston, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and beyond. We also regularly produce hybrid and/or virtual conversations with thought leaders in creative professions. 

Whether you’re a designer or not, CoDesign Conversations are meant to bring our creative community together and inspire you with a dose of design impact.

Interested in hosting a program at your space? Contact us

CoDesign Collaborative LIVE

Design is everywhere, so are our events — accessible to everyone online via webinars and live streams. No matter where you are, join us for great design discussions.

CoDesign Collaborative LIVE is our ongoing series of virtual events featuring talks and conversations with design thought leaders around the world. We’re bringing together a global community around design impact using interactive live streams and webinars to share design stories, demonstrations, and actionable knowledge. Join us twice per month as we bring the CoDesign Collaborative directly to your screen, online for all to participate in and enjoy!

11:30amET • We’ll open the event

Sign on early to check your audio and chat with us — we’ll open the webinar or live stream 30 minutes before the presentation begins so everyone can get settled in and ready.

12:00pmET • Presentation begins

We’ll kick things off with news from the CoDesign Collaborative and share what’s upcoming, then our keynote presenter or moderator will launch into the day’s presentation.

12:45pmET • Questions & Answers

Sometimes our presenters will take questions throughout, but we’ll always leave time towards then end for your questions, submitted via the chat box — and we’ll get to as many as possible.

1:00pmET • LIVE event ends

We’ll send a short survey to get your feedback on the event, and we’ll follow up with any additional info from the presentation — then we hope to see you at the next LIVE event!

Bespoke Bodies: The Design & Craft of Prosthetics at the National WWI Museum and Memorial

Bespoke Bodies: The Design & Craft of Prosthetics explores the past, present, and future of prosthetic design. The exhibition features stories from professional athletes, veterans, children, and other users who collaborated with prosthetists and designers to create prostheses with improved functionality, comfort, adaptability, and aesthetics. Bespoke Bodies combines these experiences with contemporary and historical artifacts showcasing the innovations and impact of prosthetic design.

The exhibition also features objects from the National WWI Museum and Memorial’s collection of artifacts from the Great War – a pivotal time in the field of prosthetics. The artifacts provide a unique historical context to explore urgent contemporary conversations around design and disability.

Veterans Affairs Center for Limb Loss and Mobility

With the help of advanced prosthetics, hundreds of service members participate in the annual Warrior Games. Here, U.S.Army retired Sgt.1st Class Andrew McCaffrey, a member of the Army team, trains on receiving the baton during the teams’ relay event for the 2014 Warrior Games at Fort Carson, CO.

Kaylee Dougherty & Boston Ocular Prosthetics

Boston Ocular Prosthetics provides many services to people with physical and visual disabilities. Kaylee Dougherty, BCO, CCA hand-crafts and fits her patients with hand-painted artificial eyes, ears, noses, and facial composites. Incorporating skills from her fine arts background, Kaylee provides users with ocular and facial prostheses that closely resemble their natural features.