This is Part III of a series of solutions to pro-bono design by the Washington, D.C. design community. In this installment, we chat with two groups of local designers who have built upon their work as volunteers with socially conscious causes and created two unique solutions to pro-bono design.
When I started out writing my first article on pro-bono design several months ago, I was planning to write one article. But, along the way, I met some interesting people who were doing some great things in our community, and that one article quickly turned into many.
Two such groups that I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past few months include designers who entirely embody that pro-bono notion. They have founded causes that are close to their hearts, and they created opportunities to leverage their chosen professionals as a means to promote the missions of these causes.
Nguyet M. Vuong and Crystal Curtis, co-founders of Probonafide, and local designer Scott Spector, who started Design Reaction, were already active volunteers with causes and groups in their communities. All of them translated that involvement into an opportunity to use their professions to impact their causes.
“As designers, we know the power of communication and how central it is to the success of any business or organization. We also know the cost is sometimes out of reach,” Vuong said.
World Centers of Compassion for Children International
Probonafide started in 2006, offering discounted and pro-bono web design services to non-profits and charities. To date, Probonafide has helped a number of non-profits including: World Centers of Compassion for Children International, GYPA and Cameras for Cambodia.
“We believe by supporting our clients’ mission, we are doing our part to change the world,” Vuong said.
The five designers at Probonafide would love to eventually expand their offerings at probonafide to being full-time services, but until that day, they will continue to volunteer outside of their full-time jobs toward helping to change the world.
CO2 Reduction by Paul Nini
Design Reaction, which was founded as a resource for non-profit agencies, helps to encourage dialogue and interaction between non-profit groups and activist designers. It aims to give public exposure to those non-profits and designers alongside their worthy causes. These combined goals are achieved through the use of the Design Reaction web site, which allows non-profits to upload requests for posters for causes, and provides a place for designers to upload their posters for distribution and use via the Creative Commons copyright license.
Said Spector, “I hope Design Reaction will serve to educate the general public — and even designers — who are not aware of how design can be used in a socially responsible way.”
Design Reaction currently has close to 50 designers, design educators, and design students from an international community registered as participants, and it is accepting new calls for posters all the time.
These are just a couple of the stories and people that I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with through FullBleed and my involvement with the ADCMW. I look forward to learning more about the ways that the members of our community are giving back and making things a little better.
If you have a story, project or fresh take on pro-bono design — or if you want to give a shout-out to a local designer doing some great work in our community — email your ideas to us.
