Stories

For the past four years, designer Jared Culp has been carless by choice. But COVID and several months of mandatory isolation shined a new light on the dirty car dependence he had been avoiding. A car is a source of freedom. It brings people together in a time when we can only see our neighbors through mask and shields. What was once a source of luxury is now mandatory in most states and cities. In this article, Jared explores how we got here and the possibility of how we get around in the future in the wake of the current pandemic.

It is time for a reckoning in the United States around our violent past and painful present regarding racism, discrimination, and systemic oppression. It is time to realize that systems of oppression and inequity have been designed, and must therefore be re-designed. Design thinking has recently been criticized as a methodology that perpetuates systemic racism and white supremacy. We believe that this oversimplification misses the whole picture. While design can be and has been used to build inequity and injustice, we believe that with the right mindsets, approaches, and sensitivities, it can also be used to help dismantle the very systems of oppression that it is (rightly) blamed for helping to establish.

Learn how two design firms — Dalberg Design and argodesign — partnered to help Mimsi, a pop-up maternal health clinic serving Haitian women, collect much-needed data. When COVID-19 hit, the program was defunded, adding urgency to Haiti’s maternal health needs. While we search for new funding — and face our own challenges in America — how can designers play a role in shaping the conversation around resiliency and inspiration for a better future?

A welcome message for the Journal of Design and Creative Technologies by Doreen Lorenzo, Associate Dean for the School of Design and Creative Technologies in the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin.

Alex Iveroth enters 3D game environment for the 2019 Student Art Contest at Blizzard Entertainment, leading to a coveted internship and great industry connections. 

Rebecca Ngola is currently guiding the inaugural cohort for the M.A. in Design focused on Design in Health in her DES 397 – Service Design course. She made time to discuss her thoughts on design, joy and food.

Austria-American Educational Commission is pleased to announce that Yuliya Lanina has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in Fulbright-O21/MuseumsQuartier Artist-in-Residence for the 2020-2021 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

At home with her family, the Austin artist has started a new series of paintings specifically for frontline healthcare workers.

Read "UT System virtual workshop helps academic advisors use 'design thinking' to support student success" via the University of Texas System.

The Design Institute for Health team has had the privilege and honor to work on a number of COVID-19 related initiatives in the community and beyond. Here are a few highlights.