Design for social impact is a layered, complex, research-based practice to address a wide range of humanitarian, institutional, social, political and economic issues that negatively impact the lives of individuals. As the practice has evolved and expanded, designers continue to play an integral role from ideation to implementation, from action to assessment. This new PRINT Awards category will recognize work in this field in order to inspire our community, activists, leaders and all who aspire to address social problems and continue the discussion around what it means to achieve social justice.
We couldn’t be more excited to hear how your work is making a difference! But before you enter, learn all about the fascinating backgrounds of the judges who will look at your work.
Zoe Mendelson
Co-Founder of Pussypedia.net
Zoe Mendelson is co-founder of the Webby-winning platform, Pussypedia.net and author of a big pink book called Pussypedia: A Comprehensive Guide. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, LA Times, PRINT, Fast Company, WIRED, Slate, and elsewhere. Previous projects include: an official emoji pack for Mexico City, a civic engagement platform for nihilist millennials, a data narrative about drones; and a collection of love messages between friends. She is now working on a martial arts curriculum for dogs.
De Nichols
Senior User Experience Researcher at YouTube, Author and Activist
YouTube, De leads its product inclusion research practices. As designer, activist, social entrepreneur, and lecturer she addresses racial inequities within the built environment through the production of interactive art experiences, digital media, and social interventions. She is the visioning artist of the Mirror Casket (2014), a sculpture and performance created as protest art during the 2014 Ferguson uprising, which was collected by the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum for African-American History and Culture in 2016. And, her projects such as Sticky Note to Self, United Story (2015), and FoodSpark integrate art and public interventions to help audiences reflect and respond to cultural microagressions facing women, queer communities, and people of color. Her 2021 book, The Art of Protest has won accolades from The New York Times and was shortlisted for the 2021 Goddard Riverside / CBC Young People’s Book Prize for Social Justice,
Mitzi Okou
Product Designer at Spotify
Mitzi is a UX and visual designer from Atlanta, Georgia who received her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. She currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts where she is working as a product designer for Spotify. As an up and coming designer, she has placed in hackathons put on by companies and institutions such as IDEO, SCAD and MIT that solved for issues ranging from the wealth inequality in the music industry to federal socio-economic injustice. As a design activist, Mitzi recently organized a free and accessible virtual conference called “Where are the Black designers?” that highlighted and brought awareness to allies within the creative and tech industry about the experiences and struggles of being a black designer within the field. She hopes to use the platform to support black designers throughout their career and help them create their own narrative by connecting them with the established legacy of the black design community, creating a hub of resources, and establishing inclusive spaces within the tech and creative field
Do you think your work will resonate with this impressive team? Step right up and enter today! We can’t wait to see what you’ve got.