Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Overview
The Social Design Pathways matrix is a useful tool for clarifying the
terrain, stakeholders and potential impacts of social design
projects. It acknowledges the fact that design for social impact, as
an emerging field, can be complex and multi-dimensional, and that
a process for mapping its many ingredients can be instructive and
beneficial.
The matrix can help reveal the skills required for action, the kinds
of participants and partners required for rigorous work, the scales
of engagement, and the possible outcomes for a given social
impact challenge.
Problem solvers can use the Social Design Pathways matrix to see
the distant but clear edges of the total landscape of social design
practices, to expand their perspective, and to inform the solution
strategies that they choose to pursue.
The Social Design Pathways matrix was developed at the 2013
Winterhouse Symposium for Design Education and Social Change.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
License (a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US).
Meaning you can use it any way you wish as long as you attribute it and
share any share any alterations or use of the matrix with us (and other
users) by emailing to: socialdesignpathways@gmail.com Image courtesy: Craighton Berman
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
RANGE OF EXPERTISE brought to bear on the project
SCALE OF(designer’s or project’s ) ENGAGEMENT
Cultural
(Transformation)
Changing the attitudes
and behaviors of a
community or
organization.
System
(Innovation)
Altering an existing
system, or creating a new
one, to deliver a better
solution.
Stand-Alone
(Intervention)
The introduction of a
discrete product or
service
Individual Interdisciplinary Cross-Sector
(Designer) (Team) (Group)
A lone person or A team made up of Requires cross
discipline. the necessary sector
expertise. participation for
ideation and
execution.
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
How you might use the Pathways matrix
If you are a teacher:
“I think you need to think way bigger or way smaller with your
project. Run it through the pathways matrix and lets figure out
what’s reasonable given your resources and expertise.”
If you are a student
“I want to be a social designer, but I don’t know what skills I will
need to be successful.
If you are a practitioner
“It used to be that we reinvented the wheel with each new project,
now we use the pathways matrix to help us understand the scope
of the project at the start.”
If you are a critic
“Before using the pathways matrix, I frequently confused my
ambition for a initiative with what that type of project could
actually achieve.”
Example : Allan Chochinov, Charlie Cannon, Gala Narezo
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Example: Project Mapping
Cultural
(Transformation)
Bring public Change district Implement an How can we address childhood
attention to the
food purchasing
policies. organic food obesity?
larger problem. standard
A lone designer may redesign a cafeteria
Jamie Oliver’s tray to suggest portion sizes (A stand-
Food Revolution alone design).
She may collaborate with the cafeteria
staff to change the display of food,
drawing on behavioral psychology (a system
innovation).
System
(Innovation)
Change the food Integrate staff Linking local She may engage a a celebrity to help bring
public attention to the larger cultural
display in the efforts in a farms to school
problem (a cultural transformation)
cafeteria line. single school so cafeterias
NY TImes students can eat Farm2School That same designer may integrate staff
efforts in a single school so that food
what they grow grown on site can be eaten by the kids that
Edible grew it (a system innovation requiring a
Schoolyard team).
Or work across schools to link farm-fresh
produce to cafeterias (a system innovation
requiring cross-sector approval).
Stand-Alone
(Intervention)
Redesign a
A Farm Supported Vacant lot
cafeteria tray Moving from a single school, the designer
Community allotment may work to change district food purchasing
to guide portion
Corbin Hills gardens policies (a cultural transformation driven
control. by an interdisciplinary team)
Road Farm Southside
Paige Kirstein
Community Land And perhaps, work with her state government
Trust to implement an organic food standard.
Individual (Designer) Interdisciplinary (Team) Cross-Sector (Group)
Example: Winterhouse Symposium
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Example: Skills Mapping
What skills might a graphic designer
Cultural
(Transformation)
Brand as Experience Translate expert Brand proposition
knowledge into need to work on cancer awareness
accessible language
Brand Scaling Shared value argument and reduction?
Civic engagement
A lone designer may design a cancer
Holding Town Hall Cross media strategy Access to decision awareness poster (A stand-alone design).
Meetings makers
The Truth campaign He may develop a self exam pamphlet to be
distributed to doctor’s offices (a system
A PSA campaign innovation).
She may engage her community by organizing
System
(Innovation)
Distribution, Elevator pitch Organizational
and holding town hall meetings (a cultural
Platforms or Channels Development transformation)
Strategy alignment
That same designer may work with scientists
Strategic Stakeholders Business Modeling and public health experts to develop an
Funding models evidenced based pitch book for a public
Distributing Self exam A network of events project. (a stand alone project requiring a
team).
pamphlets Starting a labeling
campaign Or work to get a company to label its water
bottles BPA free (a system innovation
requiring interdisciplinary expertise).
Graphic Design Skills Research
Stand-Alone
(Intervention)
Event planning Or develop a comprehensive ad campaign (a
Outreach cultural transformation driven by an
Compelling narrative Team building Public relations interdisciplinary team)
Jargon-free fluency
And bring that campaign to a national
An awareness Poster A public event audience through network public service
An evidenced based announcements (a cross sector effort in
cultural transformation)
pitch book
Individual (Designer) Interdisciplinary (Team) Cross-Sector (Group)
Example: LEAP Symposium
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Next Steps: Testing
Project/Landscape Mapping Skills Inventory Resource Index Assessment Tool
How do social design What are the skills What are the essential How do we evaluate
projects range across needed for social references in each of projects?
these scales of designers in each of the these terrains?
engagement and expertise? scales of engagement and Do different areas of
ranges of expertise? What kind of tools are activity rely on
What does is the needed to in to operate different theories of
landscape of design for Where do individual in each of the quadrants? change?
social innovation? designers want to work?
Potential Venue:
Pratt Potential Venue:
Cumulus Potential Venue: ?? Potential Venue:
LEAP @ Art Center Winterhouse 5
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Next Steps: socialdesignpathways.org
Instructions Use Examples Best Practices PDF Uploads Credits
“How it works” “How to use it” “New insights” “Download your “Share your “And your
own” results” contribution”
Video (first Narrative New or unexpected
edit) examples uses Design (Draft) Several examples Creative Commons
PDF instructions Drafts completed List of
(draft sketch) developers
List of
contributors
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Instructions
There are two sets of instructions.
A simple short video was shot and rough edited at the LEAP
Symposium at Art Center in September. This needs to be polished
At the same conference, Craighton Berman, a Chicago-based
illustrator, began to develop a visual language to explain the matrix
(Shown at left) to accompany a brief verbal set of instructions.
Image courtesy: Craighton Berman
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Examples
The idea here is to develop some very simple use-case examples,
told in the voice of potential users.
(See slide 3)
These might also go into more detail to illustrate how to map
projects, skills, resources, etc.
(See slides 4, 5)
Samples: Allan Chochinov, Charlie Cannon, Gala Narezo
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Best Practices
Best practices, or perhaps more ambitiously, Towards Best Practices
collects new uses and insights from people using the Social Design
Pathways tool.
Kristin Hughes, CMU
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Best Practices
Best practices, or perhaps more ambitiously, Towards Best Practices
collects new uses and insights from people using the Social Design
Pathways tool.
Kristin Hughes, CMU
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Best Practices
Best practices, or perhaps more ambitiously, Towards Best Practices
collects new uses and insights from people using the Social Design
Pathways tool.
Scott Boylston, SCAD
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Uploads
The Uploads section of the site would collect all of the examples
of the tool’s use and application. The catalogue would help
document the spread and use of the tool, illustrate new models for
use, collect new skills, resources, etc.
Amy Whitaker, SVA & Sotheby’s Institute
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Uploads
The Uploads section of the site would collect all of the examples
of the tool’s use and application. The catalogue would help
document the spread and use of the tool, illustrate new models for
use, collect new skills, resources, etc.
Kristin Hughes, CMU
Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
Credits
Attribution
First, there is the question of how we credit the origin of the work.
Do we say its Winterhouse Symposium and list all of us? Or do we
give it a name and a website and list all contributors there. Until we
work that out I think we should attribute it to the Winterhouse
Symposium for Design Education and Social Change 4.
Second, how do we license it?
We have two options under creative commons:
The Social Design Pathways Matrix was conceived and developed
1. Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported,
permits commercial use at the Winterhouse Symposium on Design Education and Social
Change.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
2. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Third, how do we credit other contributors.
I’d like to ask everyone who uses it (during this early phase) to
share their applications through uploads and tell us what they are The Social Design Pathways Matrix was further developed at the
using it for. LEAP Symposium held at Art Center, September 2013. The
Design Matters program at Art Center supported the creation of
the instructional video.
