AED Social Change Design and the AED Center for Youth Development are thrilled to announce the release of the Community YouthMapping (CYM) YouthMapper Field Kit. Funded through Sappi Fine Paper’s Ideas that Matter program, the kit includes a custom-designed clipboard and survey pad, a small brochure, an ID badge and business cards, a window cling, a jacket, and a backpack.

This is the third Ideas that Matter grant awarded to AED Social Change Design, and our collaboration with youth development experts on this project was extremely rewarding. The CYM program mobilizes youth in canvassing their communities to identify available resources and analyze critical issues. This set of branded materials will equip youthmappers nationwide with practical tools for forming connections within their neighborhoods, while fostering pride and a collective identity.

We’re thrilled to announce that a new batch of posters designed by the brilliant Marian Bantjes has arrived! These exquisite posters were produced using a foil stamp technique on copper paper. The posters are available for a $65 donation (covers UPS Ground shipping within the U.S.) to benefit AED’s Speak for the Child project which provides assistance to children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. The initial run of the posters sold out in a few days so if you would like one, please email us at design@aed.org.  Autographed copper posters are also available for a $100 donation.

See more pictures of the posters here.

THE BAD NEWS: The laser cut posters are all gone. THE GOOD NEWS: We are working with Marian to produce another limited run of this design. (We expect to have it available in 2-3weeks.) You can email us if you would like to reserve copies. THE GREAT NEWS: Thanks to your kind generosity, the funds raised will help programs that work to heal a generation of Kenyan orphans and support their care givers. Read about Speak for the Child project or watch a short clip here.

**For the lucky few across the globe who did get a poster, we invite you to share pictures of how you’re displayed the poster. Please email jpgs to designsc@aed.org. See some pictures here.  Thanks again for your generosity.

This is the latest in the series of posters promoting Social Change Design. For this poster, the follow-up to the 2007 version designed by Luba Lukova, we commissioned renowned graphic designer, illustrator, and typographer Marian Bantjes to do her own interpretation of our call to arms: “Design Ignites Change.” The intricate design was painstakingly laser cut on white paper, creating a luminous, delicate work of art. Marian Bantjes is best known for her innovative, highly ornamental typography and detailed vector artwork. Her clients include Pentagram, Saks Fifth Avenue, Young & Rubicam Chicago, Anni Kuan, Houghton Mifflin, WIRED, and The New York Times, among others. For more information and examples of her work, visit her website. An extremely limited edition of these unique posters is available for a donation of $55 each. Proceeds will benefit AED’s Speak for the Child project, which provides assistance to children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Donations are tax deductible. If interested, please email us at designsc@aed.org.

Sappi Fine Paper’s Ideas that Matter program is an initiative launched in 1999 by the international paper company in an effort to promote the power of design for the public good. Sappi awards monetary grants to designers throughout the world to help them design and implement campaigns for non-profit organizations addressing cultural, health, and human rights efforts, as well as supporting the homeless, underprivileged and disabled.

AED Social Change Design, working with the AED Center for Early Care and Education, recently submitted an Ideas that Matter proposal which was chosen from a competitive field of over 100 fellow North American applicants as a grant recipient. The grant will fund a project that will involve creating a directory to assist migrant farm worker parents in locating safe, comprehensive educational and social service centers for themselves and their children.

The amount of the grant, $49,200, was the full amount requested in the proposal, and nearly the maximum possible amount of $50,000 allotted to grantees. This project provides a fantastic opportunity for AED Social Change Design to continue using our creativity and design skills to produce high quality and innovative communications that benefit society.

The poster features the work of renowned designer, illustrator and artist, Luba Lukova, with whom we worked to produce this illustration depicting our battle cry: “Design Ignites Change.” For more information about Luba’s work, visit her website at www.lukova.net or the artist’s spotlight at Altpick.  

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the poster, please email us at designsc@aed.org.

Recently, we have expanded our scope by taking on a new client: Ashoka, a dynamic, high-profile nonprofit organization known for being a leader in the development of global social entrepreneurship. AED Social Change Design is in the process of re-vamping Ashoka’s overall brand by giving it a fresh look and creating consistency throughout their marketing materials. The goal of the Ashoka Social Networking brochure is to expand Ashoka’s global network of like-minded business people, including entrepreneurs, senior executives, investment bankers, venture capitalists, and consultants.

Every year, the AED Center on AIDS and Community Health collaborates with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to plan the annual Community Health Summit. This yearly summit brings together representatives of community-based organizations from across the nation to share information, build professional relationships, and develop skills with which they can better serve their communities.

AED Social Change Design has successfully developed a logo and accompanying materials for the summit since its inception in 1998. This year’s theme was “Strengthening the Pathway: Integrating Education and the Health Sidewalk.” Past themes have included “Kids Healthy and Ready to Succeed in School” (2005) and “Weighing in on Children’s Health: Tipping the Scale on Obesity, Nutrition & Fitness” (2006).

From 1993-2006, the AED Center for Environmental Strategies (CES) led the GreenCOM project, an action-oriented communication and social marketing program on sustainable solutions for a better environment.

GreenCOM worked with over 110 partners in 32 countries using AED’s thirty years of experience in applied social science and education research.

Excerpt:

Instead of telling people what to do or not do, or penalizing them, GreenCOM would provide positive incentives, build coalitions, and forge consensus for change at all levels of society.

Instead of placing environmental needs over human needs, GreenCOM would address them both. And projects wouldn’t end with increased awareness. They would start here.

We have been developing materials for GreenCOM, and most recently, a narrative and book report of its success with a focus on five selected countries: Tanzania, El Salvador, Egypt, Indonesia, and Panama.

The project was funded by USAID.

From 2001-2007, the AED Center for Civil Society and Governance (CCSG) supported civil society in Bangladesh to advocate for better protection of human rights through the Bangladesh Human Rights Advocacy Program (BHRAP).

CCSG tasked our team to design and develop a visual book titled Defending Human Rights: Citizens, Civil Society and the State (The Bangladesh Human Rights Advocacy Program Experience, 2001-2007). It contains a narrative on the role of civil society, success stories and strategies, strengthening civil society to advocate for human rights, to sustaining human rights advocacy in Bangladesh. It was printed in July of 2007.

This project was funded by USAID.