Urban blight has a grip on large sections of East Baltimore. Some see the high crime, drug use, and boarded-up buildings as signs that its neighborhoods will never recover. But graphic designers at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) remain optimistic. Each semester, students set out to spur lasting social change by teaming up with communities throughout Baltimore. Over the past several years two of MICA's undergraduate graphic design classes have been dedicated to the mission of achieving social change through design and a new Master of Arts in Social Design starts this Fall.
The Design Coalition was created by Bernard Canniffe in 2001 and is now taught by Ryan Clifford. Students in this class focus on "learning the principles of social and community-based design." The Center for Design Practice (CDP) is a more advanced multidisciplinary studio that was founded by Mike Weikert. Weikert's students team up with local organizations and tackle social problems for a whole semester. Although I recently wrote about one of their projects on Core77--an energy-saving initiative--I have spent more time learning about their partnership with Johns Hopkins University to rejuvenate The CareS Mobile Safety Center, a vehicle that tours throughout Baltimore and teaches families about home safety.
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