EXPLORE OUR DIGITAL SOCIAL DESIGN DIRECTORY
LEARN ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND PRACTICES WHO USE DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

The school-boat travels to the children to provide basic primary education as the children can't travel to the school due to the lack of transportation during flooding in Bangladesh (Natore, 2013). Image Credit: Abir Abdullah/ Shidhulai Swanirvar Mohammed Rezwan How can design help flood prone communities to function when facilities and resources are under water? Founded by Mohammed Rezwan, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is a nonprofit that works to support the environment and people affected by climate change-induced flooding in Bangladesh by transforming waterways into pathways for education, information, and technology. How can design help flood prone communities to function when facilities and resources are under water? Lycée Schorge. Image Credit: Kéré Architecture Francis Kéré Can an architect truly straddle both first world success and community development in the developing world? Diébédo Francis Kéré is a Pritzker Architecture Prize winning Burkinabé architect recognized for creating innovative works that are often sustainable and collaborative in nature. Can an architect truly straddle both first world success and community development in the developing world? Civic City Can graphic arts be an agent of political change? The team of Vera & Ruedi Baur / Civic City are widely credited with launching a wave of political activism within the fields of graphic design and its allied professions. Can graphic arts be an agent of political change? Ishinomaki Color Fight, organized by local high school students. Ishinomaki 2.0 How can a disaster be a catalyst for new visions? Ishinomaki 2.0 was founded in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami that devastated Ishinomaki and the surrounding region, with nearly 46% of the city destroyed. How can a disaster be a catalyst for new visions? The Shufat School embodies an ‘architecture in exile;’ it is an attempt to express the constant tension between the here and now and the possibility of a different future. Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency How can design address colonization and displacement? Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency (DAAR) is an architectural studio, collective of architects, and a residency program based in Beit Sahour, Palestine. How can design address colonization and displacement?
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Prize Winners

Learn about our Prize Winners, Grantees, and Design Circle.

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Podcasts

Social Design Insights podcast. Conversations with the leading voices of the social design movement.

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Videos

Short, inspiring films about social design pioneers around the globe.

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Initiatives

Supporting inspiring work around the world

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CSF’s Mission is to empower the practice of community-driven social design

The Curry Stone Design Foundation supports groups and individuals using design to build healthier, more vital communities. Over time, this support has taken the form of an annual prize, a podcast, grants, and an honorary circle.

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Social Design Insights is a weekly podcast of conversations with leading designers who discuss innovative projects and practices that use design to address pressing social justice issues.

Hosted by Eric Cesal, Produced by Baruch Zeichner.

Listen to the latest episode of Social Design Insights here.

IN MEMORIAM

Jockin Arputham dedicated his life to working with slum dwellers to build representative organizations into powerful partnerships with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living.

Mr. Jockin Arputham

We are saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, colleague and incredible humanitarian Mr. Jockin Arputham.

Jockin dedicated his life to working with slum dwellers to build representative organizations into powerful partnerships with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living. Arputham was the president of the National Slum Dwellers Federation which he founded in the 70s and of Slum Dwellers International which is now a network of slum and shack dweller organizations and federations from over twenty countries across the world.

The National Slum Dwellers Federation works closely with Mahila Milan, a collective of savings groups formed by homeless women and women living in slums across India, and with SPARC, a Mumbai-based NGO that was awarded the Curry Stone Design Prize for their instrumental work in supporting tens of thousands of the urban poor access housing and sanitation throughout India.