2011NortheastDistrictConferencesg

Because some speakers are still finalizing and polishing their presentations, we will add their presentation information on a continuing basis as it is received. Please check back often for the latest updates.

Designers have increasing awareness of design’s ability to impact the quality of life of people around the world. From rolling water barrels to kid-powered wells to new public spaces, designers are finding new ways to use products, services and systems to Design4 Social Good.

Saturday, April 9: 1:45-3:45PM

• Designing Outside of Design
  If you are a designer, how do you convey the value of design to a non-designer? If you are not a designer, how can you learn this process as a tool for creative problem solving? This talk will explore the definition of design as it relates to those in and outside of the traditional design community in order to co-create social change. Design for America is tackling these issues to reinvent the world around us. You'll hear about this growing student-led movement and examples from the field as over 150 students from 21 different majors have already been working with local community organizations to address social and environmental needs.
  Sami Nerenberg, Chief Expansion Officer, Design for America
  

• Project Firefly: Designing Newborn Care Technologies for Developing Countries
  We will discuss Design that Matters (DtM)'s collaborative approach to product design and the challenges of applying design principles to health care in poor countries. To demonstrate these issues, we will highlight Firefly, the first low-cost phototherapy device that Vietnamese clinicians trust to use in the room with mothers in rural hospitals.  This context supports an optimal cycle of newborn phototherapy and feeding for rapid and effective treatment of jaundice and hyperbilirubinenua.  The project is a collaboration between DtM, the East Meets West Foundation (EMW) and Vietnamese manufacturer MTTS.
  Timothy Prestero, CEO, Design that Matters

• QuaDror
  Join Dror Benshetrit and discover QuaDror—a design innovation that lends itself to a wide scope of applications and scales ranging from product design to city planning.  QuaDror is a simple, unique and versatile space truss geometry with unparalleled structural efficiency. Over four years of interdisciplinary, collaborative research, Benshetrit developed manifold design applications including a solution for emergency housing. The system provides a stable frame, uses local cladding for the roof and sides, and its collapsibility allows for 1,750 QuaDror home kits to be shipped in one 40-foot container.
  Dror Benshetrit, principal, Studio Dror

• How Design-Driven mHealth Solutions Can Create Social and Behavior Change
  Severs will discuss Project Mwana, a major mHealth initiative designed to help mothers and infants in Malawi and Zambia receive the full spectrum of post-natal care. Learn how social and mobile technologies combined with user-centered design can enable powerful health solutions.
  Jason Severs, Principal Designer, frog design

2011 IDSA Northeast Conference