Create: Day 90
August 30, 2011 
0 Comments
Day 90
Help the other 90%
Homeless man in Paris. Creative commons, Eric Pouhier.
How can we use creativity–not just for our own personal satisfaction–but to make the world a better place? Groups of designers, engineers, students, professors, architects, and entrepreneurs from all over the world have been trying to do just that. They’re figuring out how to bring food, water, energy education, healthcare, and other vital necessities to the poor…through innovative projects. Design for the Other 90% showcases these efforts. Maybe you’re already familiar with this project, as it’s traveled around the U.S. (The above photo, by the way, by the talented Eric Pouhier, is an example of how social conscience might arise from artwork.)
From the Other 90% program’s website:
“Of the world’s total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter. Design for the Other 90% explores a growing movement among designers to design low-cost solutions for this “other 90%.” Through partnerships both local and global, individuals and organizations are finding unique ways to address the basic challenges of survival and progress faced by the world’s poor and marginalized.
.. designers are working directly with end users of their products, emphasizing co-creation to respond to their needs. Many of these projects employ market principles for income generation as a way out of poverty. Poor rural farmers become micro-entrepreneurs, while cottage industries emerge in more urban areas. Some designs are patented to control the quality of their important breakthroughs, while others are open source to allow for easier dissemination and adaptation, locally and internationally.
Design for the Other 90% demonstrates how design can be a dynamic force in saving and transforming lives, at home and around the world.”
I care deeply about animal welfare and do pro bono work as a writer and designer to further that cause. I’ve done the same for food banks in my city and for arts organizations. I’m certainly not curing malaria, alas, but I feel good about using my creativity to bring about some small good in the world. What creative talents do you have that you can contribute?
Our time in the daily Create feed together is coming to an end. Tomorrow I’ll give you some ideas of where to go next for your creative fix.
Create Month 3
What to do so far:
In case you missed a day, the reminders below are clickable.
Turn unproductive activity into creativity.
Kill the angel and tell the truth.
Try ephemeral art.
Take a road trip.
Implement the 7 habits of creative people.
Don’t wait for inspiration.
Avoid online undermine.
Create at any age.
Make a portable Creation Station.
Use something taboo in your art.
Implement unplugged weekends.
Find a mentor or be one.
On the Ides, I’d rather…
Support arts education.
Get older and let your creative brain cells branch.
Start a new project: fill out a completion plan.
Enliven creativity by getting out in nature.
Take on a new creative identity.
Spend more time on creative ventures.
Look for places on your schedule to add creative time.
Learn Gleeful lessons.
Take a creativity quiz.
Learn from a master: John Updike.
Let go of projects.
Re-create how you recreate.
Ready, set, go create.
Admit it’s the best you can do.
Think about contributing your creativity for the greater good.
No comments yet... Be the first to leave a reply!