Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

The Global Public Interest Design 100

Around the world, a growing movement at the intersection of design and social change is taking hold. This work takes many forms as well as many names, but finds common ground in service of others. Think life-saving products, dignifying environments and places, and more efficient processes, services, and systems—all designed or redesigned for the betterment of all.

John Cary
By John CaryMay 16, 2013
John Cary
See Full Bio

This global list was compiled by Public Interest Design based on nominations solicited from a range of leaders across the design field and beyond. Lists of this sort, of course, are inherently imperfect and subjective as well as far more representative than comprehensive. But they are also useful in shining a light on unseen leaders and unheard voices. Between this list of 146 and our inaugural list of 150, nearly 300 people have been recognized—and we are certain there are many more working hard each day to make the world a better place, by design.

The research and work was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Autodesk, a world leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software and services—helping people everywhere imagine, design, and create a better world.

designsocial designinfographicsglobal citizenshippublic interest design

The Latest

Researchers are blowing people's minds after sharing the ideal shower length
Health

Researchers are blowing people's minds after sharing the ideal shower length

For James Beard Semifinialist Daniel Garwood, mental health advocacy isn’t a tall order
Culture

For James Beard Semifinialist Daniel Garwood, mental health advocacy isn’t a tall order

Collage of different movies
Culture

5 movies to help you chill out and relieve stress but that aren’t boring

A person listens to music on headphones with their eyes closed, with album covers superimposed on top
Culture

People say these 5 songs can help ease an anxiety attack

More For You

Ultra-difficult color test is so hard only 1 percent of people can get a perfect score
red yellow and green paper
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Ultra-difficult color test is so hard only 1 percent of people can get a perfect score

Lenstore, a UK-based eye care company, has created an ultra-difficult color test that’s so challenging, the retailer says that less than 1% of the first 2,000 people who took it got a perfect ten out of ten. The test involves distinguishing between different hues of the same color and putting the colors in the correct order on the spectrum.

Lenstore says that women fair better than men on the test. Females scored an average of 57.7%, while men obtained an average of 53.8%. These results closely mirror the current scientific data on sex and color perception.

Keep ReadingShow less
MIT’s super-fast camera can capture light as it travels
assets.rebelmouse.io

MIT’s super-fast camera can capture light as it travels

A camera developed at MIT can photograph a trillion frames per second. Compare that with a traditional movie camera which takes a mere 24. This new advancement in photographic technology has given scientists the ability to photograph the movement of the fastest thing in the Universe, light. In the video below, you'll see experimental footage of light photons traveling 600-million-miles-per-hour through water.

The actual event occurred in a nano second, but the camera has the ability to slow it down to twenty seconds. For some perspective, according to New York Times writer, John Markoff, “If a bullet were tracked in the same fashion moving through the same fluid, the resulting movie would last three years."

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelsey Wells’ Side-By-Side Photos Prove That Weight Doesn’t Equal Health
assets.rebelmouse.io

Kelsey Wells’ Side-By-Side Photos Prove That Weight Doesn’t Equal Health

It's super easy for most people to get hung up on the number on their scales and not how they actually look or, most importantly, feel. People often go on diets in hopes of reaching an ideal weight they had when they graduated high school or got married, but they're often disappointed when they can't attain it.

But a set of photos by fitness blogger Kelsey Wells is a great reminder for everyone to put their scales back in storage. Welles is best known as the voice and body behind My Sweat Life, a blog she started after gaining weight during pregnancy. To lose the weight, she started the Bikini Body Guide (BBG) training program and after 84 weeks she shared three photos on her Instagram account that prove the scale doesn't matter.

Keep ReadingShow less
No one noticed what this woman was staring at when they chose her for their label
assets.rebelmouse.io

No one noticed what this woman was staring at when they chose her for their label

No matter how you feel about it, everyone can agree that art is interesting. It makes us think. And one of the greatest things about art is that it can be interpreted a thousand different ways depending on the eye of the beholder. The artist usually has some intent when they initially create a piece, but once it's out in the public eye, its meaning can be anything. It can also be used for anything (barring copyrights, which do not come into play in this story).

Enter Middle Earth Organics and their pasta sauce. Middle Earth Organics is known for their organic pasta sauces, and each label on their products features a famous Italian painting.

Keep ReadingShow less

GM highlights its huge pivot to all-electric vehicles in hilarious Super Bowl ad

General Motors has been one of America's largest car and truck companies for more than 100 years, and with a huge "reinvention" underway, they're positioning themselves to be around for a lot longer.

The science on climate change has made it clear that the future of transportation has to be greener and cleaner. Vehicles are one of the main sources of greenhouse gases, and with fossil fuels being both a limited resource and a polluting one, car companies will need to turn to new technologies in order to compete in the global market.

GM, in a big pivot from just a couple of years ago, is embracing that future with both hands. In November, GM withdrew from a Trump administration lawsuit against California's strict emissions standards and invited other companies to do the same. Now, in a hilarious new ad, it has announced that GM will add 30 electric vehicle (EV) models by the year 2025—just four years from now.

In the 90-second spot, which will air during the Super Bowl, Will Ferrell points out that Norway sells more electric vehicles per capita than the United States, and he clearly takes that fact personally. Let Norway dominate the U.S.? No friggin' way.

Keep ReadingShow less

Nike's new NASA-inspired 'Space Hippie' shoes are its most sustainable yet

NASA has a fancy term for using materials it finds in space to help propel its missions forward, "in-situ resource utilization" (ISRU). ISRU is the process of collecting, storing, processing, and using objects to replace those brought from Earth.

Let's say NASA wanted to visit Mars and knew there are building materials on the planet. Instead of wasting resources flying the materials from Earth, the astronauts could harvest them on Mars instead.

Keep ReadingShow less

Japanese artist makes incredible sculptures of 'Tom and Jerry's' most absurd scenes

"Tom and Jerry" animated shorts follow the countless attempts of a cat named Tom to capture his friend Jerry, a mouse.

The two have genuine affection for each other although they are constantly ensnared into a literal game of cat-and-mouse where Jerry almost always wins and Tom winds up getting pulverized.

The show is either a monument to Tom's perseverance to catch the mouse or his stupidity because he never achieves his goal.

Keep ReadingShow less

After a child went missing, someone invented a wristband that helps prevent abductions

At this past weekend's North American International Toy Fair in New York, not every participant was a toymaker. In the back of the huge space was a booth for BuddyTag—a smart wristband that helps parents monitor children within 120 feet. BuddyTag was invented by Willie Wu after he lost his daughter at Six Flags. “His child did everything right—waiting in one place with an employee of the park," said Wu's sister, who was stationed at the booth. The kid was found in an hour, “but it was the worst hour of his life." It also sparked an idea.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025