Challenge:
Renee and Robert Innis believe in good, worthy design, and social enterprise as a way to move our economy forward and strengthen communities. Creative professionals, especially designers, are a large sector of the professional economy in Santa Fe, NM. How to form an organization that would reflect that for the design community in Santa Fe, NM was the big question on their minds. Could a group of like-minded designers come together to elevate the industry and work on projects together to create change in the community?
Approach:
We went deep on this idea, in long retreat style sessions where Renee and Robert could have the time and space to really throw ideas on the wall and see what might stick. We formed focus groups and invited other voices into the process to ensure that a membership group could be formed that truly served its own members and the community. We designed a plan to launch a membership organization for designers, and supported by ambassadors of design, with events, workshops, trainings, and education to the community on how design can make a difference in social issues and social enterprises.
Outcome/Impact:
The Design Corps has helped elevate the conversation of why design matters. A group of members came together through their design collaborations to educate the community on how immigrants contribute to the local economy. (See www.santafedreamersproject.org) The Design Corps meets for cocktails and conversation regularly and members are collaborating more and more.
Visit Design Corps Santa Fe
