How can design bring about positive social change and promote inclusion and social justice? In this issue, we look at "social design" and showcase projects that make life better through design - for everyone.
In this issue, we continue our focus on "Artificial Intelligence" and spoke to creatives from Hamburg who have organized themselves to answer the question of how AI influences the design profession and how it can be put to good use. HAWK University of Applied Sciences has set up its own portal to support students with AI and with "Seas of the Moon" we present a project that shows how AI can be used to create things that would otherwise not exist.
In our "Design & Research" section, we also look at how AI is changing the design profession. In an interview, one of the founders of Canva told us how he sees the future and the opportunities for designers. We take a look back with "Helvetia", a remarkable book project that explores Switzerland's colonial history - yes, there was one. We show how picture books can help to overcome trauma and with "Plitsch Platsch" we trace water and its significance in Stuttgart.
Focus on "Social Design"
In our Graphic+ on the topic of "Social Design", we present design solutions for people whose needs are often not sufficiently taken into account. The new CI for the MuZIEum in Nijmegen, for example, incorporates the challenges of the visually impaired directly into the design and a kindergarten in Seoul uses design to train the senses. Creative Navy does not use the term social design, but uses UX and UI design to create products that make life better every day by helping to reduce complexity. When designing for the Special Olympics, the athletes with intellectual and multiple disabilities were directly involved in the design process and thus played a leading role in shaping the appearance. For the designers, this meant having to leave familiar paths, but the experience has now broadened their horizons for other projects.
The cover
In this issue, we are delighted to finally be able to present a photographic motif. It comes from the series "Leaving One for Another" by Turkish photo artist Olgaç Bozalp, whose pictures focus on the experience of migration.
The cover was printed on Olin Millesime, a high-quality Bristol board with an ultra-satin surface that flatters the hands and makes photographs stand out particularly well. The newest member of the Olin family comes from Antalis.
The showroom
Elon Musk shoots rockets into space while women's rights are still partly stuck in the Middle Ages? Reason enough for Innocean to take countermeasures with the Vulva Spaceship and show how social causes can be advanced with a little humor. The new look of the National Portrait Gallery skillfully combines tradition and the present in a clear brand essence that Edit has masterfully carved out. The illustrations by Itziar Barrios show why creative intelligence will not be replaced by artificial intelligence for a long time yet, and with Coordt von Mannstein we present a creative who had a decisive influence on the design and advertising of the Federal Republic of Germany. Last but not least, we present the results of the European Design Awards 2023 - a journey through current design work from Finland to Croatia.
You can order Grafikmagazin 04.23 with a focus on "Social Design" free of charge (within the EU) here.
