The world today faces challenges of unprecedented scale and complexity—including urban congestion, depleted natural resources, housing shortages and crises in education and healthcare. Solutions to these challenges increasingly require collaborations offering diverse approaches and perspectives. Because mankind lives in a designed world, designers are pivotal to the success of these collaborations.

Public awareness of the importance of design beyond mere consumerism and style is rapidly growing, and design is now an equal partner with many enterprises, including business, medicine, science, technology and urban planning.

A College-wide initiative launched in December 2001 and led by the International Initiatives Department, Designmatters at Art Center explores the social and humanitarian benefits of design and responsible business.

Our Mission

Through research, advocacy and action, Designmatters strives to engage students, faculty and staff in an ongoing exploration of the links between design and issues of social and humanitarian importance.

We believe that design, responsibly conceived and applied, can contribute to solving such contemporary challenges as sustainable development and providing for basic needs and services, including adequate public health, safety, education, housing and transportation.

We seek to forge collaborations with individuals, educational and cultural institutions, industry, community agencies and international organizations that yield tangible solutions to contemporary social challenges.

Our Vision

In accord with the overall curricular philosophy at Art Center, our goal is to help educate a new generation of designers who can advocate design as a force for positive social change. Empowering designers to take a unique leadership role in contributing to problem solving, efficient technologies and low-cost production strategies—to making a difference in the lives of people and our planet—is at the root of the Designmatters initiative.

As we encourage a revolution in responsible, sustainable design through endorsed courses, affiliated projects and our role as a United Nations-designated Non-Governmental Organization, Designmatters at Art Center will place Art Center College of Design at the heart of the global dialogue on the role of design in society and the world.