The Curry Stone Foundation has announced the winners of the 2012 Curry Stone Design Prize. In a departure from previous years, and in honor of the fifth anniversary of the Prize, five winners will share the award equally, each recognized with $25,000 for their work as social design pioneers. The Curry Stone Design Prize celebrates social design pioneers and the power of design as a critical force for improving lives and strengthening communities.
In a series of posts we will feature the five inspiring social enterprises that have used “better” design for social and community betterment.
Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)
CUP collaborates with teachers, students, policy experts, and community advocates, along with artists and designers, to visually communicate complex urban process and policy decisions. In CUP’s hands a topic as dry and alienating as voter redistricting is distilled down into a colorful, accessible foldout brochure that becomes a source of empowerment. Or a clear handout explaining urban code to street vendors in NYC helps them avoid penalties, fines and stems loss of revenue.
The subjects of CUP’s projects vary greatly, but many provide practical advice to groups who lack access to such information: immigrants, public-housing residents, and at-risk youth, to name a few. CUP doesn’t rest once the design phase is complete—the group also organizes community sessions and school workshops in order to help build an engaged citizenship.
About Priti Ambani
