Social Designers

     Browsing on Core77 brought to my attention the words "Social Designers" in the title of an article. The article is about an exhibition that happened in August at the Abrons Arts Center on the lower East Side (an arts center that showcases performances, artists, and training for young people). The exhibit uses research to ask the question of whether design could be used to change the basic ways in which we associate with each other. The show used "examples of people who have taken it upon themselves to innovate new ways of resourcing their everyday lives" to do this, almost as case studies. It then attempts to see if design knowledge could increase their productivity and ease of life.

     Basically, the idea is that design is more than a talent or a hobby but a mindset and a lifestyle. While at times the "designer mindset" can seem imposing (say, when something that doesn't need to be replaced by a minimalist wall of glass is replaced for the sake of "upgrading"), it might be useful if ordinary people thought like designers, at least some of the time. This brings back to the table the idea of T-Shaped skills, that designers have to know more things than most people. The exhibit also looks at creative communities in an effort to see if they're actually worthwhile for those who live there.
   It nothing else, the exhibit was certainly a very interesting merge of science and art.