What is Design for Social Impact?
If you heard the word design, you would likely have an idea of what it means, whether it be aesthetics, a concept, or a solution. Similarly, social impact is not a foreign term to most. Two words come to mind almost immediately as I am writing this: “positive” and “change”, which is the essence of social impact defined by Mitchell (2021) as “any significant or positive changes that solve or at least address social injustice and challenges”. But what about when these two terms are combined? Defining design for social impact is not as easy and probably requires more thought to explain (at least for me!). So let’s unravel the meaning together, shall we?
Before we get into design for social impact, let’s understand what design is first. To this day, there is still an ongoing debate regarding the definition of design. Blackler et al. (2021) mentioned that to practitioners, design is seen as a process, but to society it is seen as the result of the process. To me, the line between design and result is blurry. I believe design is not only the process of ideating and creating the product, but also the result. Separating a design from a product feels like disconnecting an artist from their artwork — these thoughts may be biased, though. Design helps shape people’s personal identity and community (Julier, 2014), and my experiences as a designer influenced my identity and thoughts. While design may have various interpretations, it can be agreed that its intent is to make the world a “better place” (Papanek, 1985). If design is social by nature (Resnick, 2019) and already creates a positive change, what is design for social impact and why is it important?
The concept of social impact is certainly not a new idea. However, it is becoming more and more common, especially with the advancement of technology and rising global issues such as climate change. We all know social impact generally refers to helping society. In the context of design, it is defined as the effect designers have on people and communities (Redondo-Sama et al., 2020). Nowadays, social innovation is becoming more integrated with design “as stimulus and objective”, similar to how technical innovation drove most design choices in the twentieth century (Manzini & Coad, 2015, pp. 55–74).
As designers, we naturally consider creating positive solutions for society without explicitly prioritizing it because that is design at its core. Despite this, Margolin & Margolin (2002) states that current social interventions by designers have been inconsistent with only few successful outcomes. This proves that design itself does not create enough effective solutions for social impact. Moreover, reflecting on myself as a designer, I acknowledge that most of my designs do not address all demographics as catering to every individual’s needs is not an easy task. This is why design for social impact emerged — to address gaps for marginalized people in current designs (Products of Design, n.d.).
An example where design for social impact is important can be found in developing countries. As someone coming from that background, I believe design for social impact is not emphasized enough in these countries. This is because the social aspect of sustainability is not fully considered (Pocock et al., 2016), and oftentimes the required resources are scarce and costly. This is where the “social model” of design can come into play, a concept suggested to work well with experts in developing countries due to its process of social service intervention (Margolin & Margolin, 2002).
Therefore, it is essential for designers to develop skills relating to vulnerable and marginalized populations rather than “sticking to the rules” (Margolin & Margolin, 2002). Good Design (2023) and Products of Design (n.d.) both mention the following key principles for social impact design:
- Human-centered approach: To design for society, designers have to place users in the center when designing. Through understanding the user’s needs and learning about their experiences, designers can create the best solution to enhance their lives.
- Sustainability and ethics: We want to ensure that the design is not only improving the life of users, but also the world. This also includes ethical considerations such as social responsibility and sustainability.
- Systems thinking: Designers have to consider the impact of economic, political, cultural, and environmental systems, along with its ethical considerations. This approach ensures that designers can identify the root problem and find a niche area to address.
- Measurable impact: We should be able to define the success of the design, this design discipline is often measured by its usefulness rather than its aesthetic appeal (Products of Design, n.d.). Having clear user outcomes allows easier assessment of the design, useful for refining and analyzing it.
- Collaboration/Sharing: Designers must be open to sharing their results to society to accelerate the impact and to develop scalable solutions.
Resnick (2019) suggests that the ultimate goal of design is to contribute to the creation of a “good society”, defined as one that is fair and just. This concept of a good society can act as a prototype for the ideal social structure that could be, and one we should aim for. With design’s major role in creating positive changes, we have the ability to create significant impacts for society, which inherently extends to the world (like a domino effect). And the best part? It can start with you. :)
References
Blackler, A., Swann, L., Chamorro-Koc, M., Mohotti, W. A., Balasubramaniam, T., & Nayak, R. (2021). Can We Define Design? Analyzing Twenty Years of Debate on a Large Email Discussion List. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 7(1), 41–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2020.11.004
Good Design. (2023, June 5). Design for Social Impact | Good Design Australia. Good Design. https://good-design.org/beyond-aesthetics-design-for-social-impact/
Julier, G. (2014). The culture of design (3rd edition.). SAGE.
Manzini, E., & Coad, R. (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. In JSTOR(pp. 55–74). The MIT Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt17kk7sv.8?seq=1
Margolin, V., & Margolin, S. (2002). A “Social Model” of Design: Issues of Practice and Research. Design Issues, 18(4), 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1162/074793602320827406
Mitchell, N. (2021, September 3). Social Impact: Definition and Why is Social Impact Important? Career Hub | Duke University. https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/blog/2021/09/03/social-impact-definition-and-why-is-social-impact-important/
Papanek, V. J. (1985). Design for the real world : human ecology and social change (2nd ed., completely rev.). Thames and Hudson.
Pocock, J., Steckler, C., & Hanzalova, B. (2016). Improving Socially Sustainable Design and Construction in Developing Countries. Procedia Engineering, 145, 288–295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.04.076
Products of Design. (n.d.). What Is Design For Social Impact? — Products of Design | SVA. Products of Design. https://productsofdesign.sva.edu/blog/what-is-design-for-social-impact#:~:text=Design%20for%20social%20impact%20is
Redondo-Sama, G., Díez-Palomar, J., Campdepadrós, R., & Morlà-Folch, T. (2020). Communicative Methodology: Contributions to Social Impact Assessment in Psychological Research. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00286
Resnick, E. (2019). The Social Design Reader. Bloomsbury Publishing.
About
Jenny is a 4th year computer science & design student at USYD who enjoys creating for society. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and eating desserts.
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