DETROIT – A group of community-minded people in Detroit are focusing this summer on how to solve policing problems, certainly a hot topic with violence raging across the country between police and the citizens they have been hired to serve and protect.
Design Action Lab, a free program focused on community-driven problem solving, and Bamboo Detroit, a co-working community in Downtown Detroit, will collaborate on Design Missions, an eight-to-ten week self-paced design thinking course. Policing was chosen for the problem to solve based on recent tragic events across the United States. A second group of entrepreneurs and designers are working on ideas for improving education in Detroit. Design Action Lab was started by local entrepreneur and designer Brielle Maxwell.
“There’s been a turning point from the recent tragic events and police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille,” said Maxwell. “We’ve noticed more people are looking to get involved and take action. Design can be a vehicle for improving lives.”
Design Action Lab hopes to inspire creative problem-solving through human-center design that can help address these complex problems. The next workshop in the series on July 17th focuses on Methods and Planning for User Research. It is open to all designers, leaders and entrepreneurs in the community.
“Change involves taking action and stepping away from our comfort zone,” Maxell said. “It includes developing empathy for the people at the heart of the issue. Design for social and cultural change doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but it happens with and for the community by understanding their needs and building on their work. During our course, we’ll use methods from user research, design thinking, and startup entrepreneurs.”
Design Action Lab is an experimental program open to all interested in participating. More information can be found at www.designactionlab.com.
Bamboo Detroit offers 24/7 access to affordable and flexible work space, open and inclusive culture, growth programming, networking and events. More information can be found at Bamboodetroit.com.
