Worldstudio: Design Ignites Change

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time talking with Mark Randall of Worldstudio and Worldstudio Foundation earlier this week. Mark works as a graphic designer via the studio, and channels his creative activism through the non-profit foundation he helped found (and sometimes the two merge with projects like the Urban Forest Project).

Worldstudio doesn't go the anti-corporate route that some (like myself) have choosen, but rather they often make use of corporate money (like Tibor Kalman did) to reach larger audiences than they normally could about social issues; sometimes even alienating the corporation in the process (like when they produced the controversial "Wish You Were Here" issue of their magazine Sphere in 2001).

One of the most powerful things Worldstudio Foundation does is offer mentoring and scholarship opportunities to art and design students (with a particular interest minorities). Mark explained his work through the foundation as an attempt to "act more and comment less" (something many activist designers have a hard time doing).

Recently the Worldstudio Foundation has partnered with the AIGA to work on larger projects such as the creation of a set of Mentoring Guidebooks.

*Students interested in applying for a scholarship have until April 13 to send in an application.