designExplorr

designExplorr celebrates design by creating opportunities that expose underrepresented youth to design careers through youth activities, consulting services and resources

Design is everywhere, but for many African American and Latino youth, the journey to a design career can be overwhelming. Limited access and too few opportunities prevent the majority of these youth from even beginning the journey. 

The solutions-based thesis “Design Journeys: Strategies for Increasing Diversity in Design Disciplines” explores diversity in design disciplines and introduces four deliverables to address the lack of diversity in the design profession. The intent of this research is to inform and empower future African American and Latino youth, their parents and other educational stakeholders, about the journey to obtain a design career. The Design Journeys thesis deliverables include the Design Journey Map framework, fifteen strategic ideas, the design principles and the business, designExplorr. 

DesignExplorr is a design education business that sits at the intersection of design and workforce. This design education business celebrates design by creating opportunities to expose underrepresented youth to design careers. DesignExplorr offers youth activities, consulting services to organizations for creating diversity building initiatives, and provides online information to youth, parents and other stakeholders. Our mission is to empower today’s youth with real-world skills, connections, and experiences so that tomorrow’s design profession has all the best people leading the way. 

In its brief inception, designExplorr has reached more than 1,100 youth, provided design challenges during the AIGA National Design Conferences, been commissioned to execute the Design Diversity Index with the Gund Foundation, facilitate relationships at HBCU an HSI schools with Amazon Design Team, facilitated design education programs with the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and presented this important research to several other organizations. You may watch our 90-second explainer video here or the PSA here.

DesignExplorr is an innovative solution to addressing the lack of diversity in the design profession because it combines my solutions-based thesis research, reshaped education models, information and activities to expose underrepresented youth design careers, along with impactful hands-on approaches to reach underrepresented youth in many different places on their journey to become an designer.

Access to technology is integral to my solution because it offers greater opportunities to expose underrepresented youth to current technological advances, introduction to design careers, as well as using Adobe and Google platforms.

• Complete my business canvas model
• Develop promotional materials for distribution to organizations, communities, museums and educational institutions
• Identify 3-5 host interested in collaborating and coordinating activities with designExplorr
• Create a calendar of scheduled activities for the #1designgoal tour
• Explore opportunities to create more revenue generating streams of income

I believe my educational background, professional network, and advocacy efforts to increase representation in the design profession are the important skills needed to succeed, and make an impact. I have an AAB and BFA in graphic design from the University of Akron along with a MFA in Design Research and Development from The Ohio State University. My graduate thesis research explores diversity in design disciplines. From 2016-2018, I served as Chair, AIGA’s Diversity & Inclusion Task Force. I am also an advocate for young people and I proudly mentor several design students on portfolio presentations, professional development and career planning.

Our #1designgoal is to empower today’s youth with real-world skills, connections, and experiences so that tomorrow’s design industry has all the best people leading the way. I utilize the Design Journey Map framework as a tool to guide and identify where the need is, and the Design Principles to develop educational models that create impactful experiences for youth while simultaneously creating revenue opportunities. The designExplorr revenue model offers interested stakeholders three different and unique options to work with us:

• Youth Activities: Collaborate with us to provide more impactful opportunities and experiences to expose youth to design and design careers, such as workshops, design challenges, and other design related activities.
• Consulting Services: Businesses and organizations can contact us to develop diversity building initiatives, targeted enrichment programs and other strategic measures to meet the needs of underrepresented youth.
• Online Resources: Internal and external stakeholders can utilize our connections to underrepresented youth, educational institutions and educators to facilitate relationship building within these communities.

I am applying to Solve because I have a great respect for the organization’s outlook on innovation. I particularly love how this organization is sharing their access of human and intellectual capital with an entire world of up-and-coming innovators. I would consider it an honor to be apart of this community and have the Solve thought leaders bestow their insight onto designExplorr.

The two key barriers, I have with increasing designExplorr's local and national reach and growing its' business model is access to capital sources and knowledge on developing business models. It is my hope to become a member of the Solve community, so I may connect and learn from other thought leaders that have grown social enterprises also.