Benefits of a Social impact project

Social impact projects have been a part of my curriculum for a long time now. I have had students work with non-profit organizations and help with various social issues over the years. The true proof of creative power is evidenced by students when the playing field is real and the issues are affecting folks like all of us. They get a glimpse of what they writing, strategy and art direction skills can ALSO be put to use for. The access to so many free media outlets has made it a lot easier for students to develop and put their ideas to test.

I first made a graduate Graphic Design class create a curriculum to teach senior citizens how to navigate the web, in the early 2000's. Students ended up learning about user interfaces and accessibility issues first hand as they tested this on the Senior Citizens Inc. in Chatham County, GA. This experience made the class truly become conscious designers.
The projects when they affect real lives, automatically get the level of passion and student involvement beyond make-believe scenarios. When you are creating an awareness campaign for Opioid overdose, you end up researching symptoms and causes and try to find an answer beyond a creative execution. With this particular project, students recognized family members that may be affected. Or friends who might need help. It was a heartening project.

Some of the student work can be viewed here.

The opioid awareness campaign in my mind as an educator achieved its purpose when students began and concluded the research. The eventual deliverables they developed based on their strategy and understanding of the market was icing on top of the cake.
Based on this and many such projects before, listed below are some of my observations as an educator and designer.

Social impact project benefits for students:

• It makes them aware of a need beyond their space.
• Students become aware, conscious and responsible world citizens.
• Their ability to look at any problem objectively, increases.
• The level of passion and student involvement is extremely high.
• It humanizes the process of creative development: design, writing, strategy, art direction etc. 
• Students play roles beyond their expertise. 
• Research and information gathering become very important skills.
• Innovation takes place as funds are often limited or non-existent.
• Often a discussion of financial stability to support ideals comes to the table.
• Awareness of social issues increases and leads many students to the path of volunteering.
• Class discussions and team work often result in life-long friends when their ideals match.

Social impact projects don't have to be done for a particular organization. They could just direct creative minds in the direction of an existing need.