Product+Design



Product Design - Design for the Social Good

** Introduction: **

In this lesson students will learn about the Design for the Other 90% exhibition sponsored by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. As stated at its website, "of the world’s total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter. Design for the Other 90% explores a growing movement among designers to design low-cost solutions for this other 90%.” Using the knowledge obtained from this exhibition, each student will research and create an educational design innovation that improves the classroom of the poor.

** Objectives: **


 * Understand the history and purpose of the __Design for the Other 90%__ exhibition
 * Explore the connections between education and poverty
 * Work collaboratively in small groups
 * Create an educational design innovation that improves the classroom of the poor
 * Create a presentation highlighting what you learned, your final design innovation, and the anticipated effect of your innovation on education


 * Procedures: **


 * Go to Design for the Other 90% Exhibition Background and read about the origins and purpose of the exhibition
 * View the introductory video about the exhibition at the top right corner of Design Home Page
 * Read the Education Design Innovations section of the website; working in small groups, select one of the following educational design innovations to learn about and share with the class: AMD Personal Internet Communicator. Kinkajou Microfilm Projector, One Laptop per Child, Sierra Portable Light Project, Solar Home Lighting System Identify what needs/problems are met or solved by the innovation researched by your group
 * Research the educational needs of either an impoverished locality in the US (like Kensington, Philadelphia), or a developing country; record in your sketchbook how poverty has impacted education in your selected area
 * Brainstorm a product that positively impacts education in your selected impoverished area; use sketches, diagrams, labels and explanations in your sketchbook. Meet with Ms. Sweigart to go over your idea and sketches.
 * Using your best sketch design, create a prototype
 * Scale-up your prototype to a life-size model
 * Present your final educational design innovation and its potential positive impact to the class using either Animoto, Prezi, Youtube video or a Vuvox collage.


 * Web Resources: **

@http://www.educatorresourcecenter.org/view_lesson.aspx?lesson_plan_id=570
 * Education, Design & Empowerment **

@http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/
 *  Design for the Other 90% **

 @http://www.educatorresourcecenter.org/conversations_list.aspx?topic_id=11
 *  How Others Approach Design for the Other 90% **

 @http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663007/8-clever-approaches-to-a-better-classroom-for-the-poor
 * 7 Clever Approaches to a Better Classroom for the Poor **