Hasta La Ideas

A workshop led by the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project and a brochure for Green Map, two of the organizations selected for desigNYC projects.

Socially minded design projects work best with a matchmaker: someone to connect the organizations serving the public good with the design talent ready to help (at no charge). Enter desigNYC, the volunteer-led organization founded by Edwin Schlossberg and Michelle Mullineaux of ESI Design and New York‘s Wendy Goodman. Launched last year with a successful round of pilot projects, desigNYC has just revealed its line-up of collaborations for 2011. A panel of expert judges considered submissions from the NYC nonprofit and design communities, selected the top projects, and matched nonprofit needs with design firm skills.

The nine new projects span the design disciplines and focus on addressing issues such as sustainable development, social justice, human health, and local food systems. Designer Rodrigo Corral will work with the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project to design a multi-language financial rights guide for new immigrants in NYC, while architects 590BC and Studio L’Image will create architectural enhancements and interpretive experiences for PortSide NewYork‘s Brooklyn boathouse and community center. Communication designers Language Dept. and developers Rubenstein Technology Group have been matched with Educating Tomorrow to create an identity and website that will act as a resource hub for the NYC educational community on sustainability issues. Meanwhile, Otto NY will partner with Green Map System, which marshals user-contributed mapping of local green resources, on a redesign of the Green Apple Map website. Other projects include greenhouse development on unused lots in East Brooklyn and a communications framework for a new urban and industrial ecology center in Gowanus.

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