30 Days of Designing for the Fringe

I frequently write about the concept of Designing for the Fringe; the idea that innovation comes when you design for those on the fringes of life—the disabled and disenfranchised—instead of the typical target audience. For the next 30 days I will post an article, everyday, about someone who is designing for the fringe. 

The articles:

1. Homes for the elderly in the Netherlands: College students co-habitating with the elderly + a dementia village.
2. Roobrik: An online decision tool that helps family caregivers make health and care decisions.
3. Transfatty Lives: A film about sex, parenthood, ALS and the life of one man. You are not the target audience for this film. 
4. 3D Printed Food: Going beyond confectionery and novelty to applications that solve real problems. 
5. Driverless Cars: The perfect "driver" for a driverless car is someone who can't drive. 
6. Playing Together: Inclusive playgrounds aren't a given in our society, but they're important.
7. Lilypad Scales: Did you know it is super hard to get yourself weighed if you're in a wheelchair? I didn't either. 
8. RISC for Journalists: At SwitchPoint I learned about RISC, Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues. RISC provides essential training for reporters in conflict areas.
9. Designing for the Fringe at SwitchPoint: The ideas we brainstormed at this amazing conference.
10. Digital Witness, Photography in Crisis Zones: Neil Brandvold speaking on conflict journalism and what it's like to be a witness to culture changing moments. 
11. Narrative Justice: Lisa Russell speaking about creating empowering film narratives. No more sad documentaries!
12. E-Nabling 3D Printer Crowdsourcing for Good: Peter and Peregrine are advocating for children and engineers to work together to create solutions. 
13. Sustainable Enterprise, Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship: Banana fibers solve a problem for 50% of the developing world. 
14. Braigo: A 12-year-old makes a braille printer with Legos. In other unrelated news, I waste a lot of time watching TV.
15. Safe Wander: Personal experience helped a Boy Scout create a wearable to prevent Alzheimer's patients from wandering. 
16. True Story: The get-to-know-you card game for people you've known your whole life. 
17. Smartstones: A wearable device that allows you to send messages with simple gestures.
18. 3D Printed Rhino Horns: Can using 3D printing solve animal protection issues?
19. Beam: Through telepresence and a Segway-like robot, Beam helps those with disabilities see the world.
20. Digital Humanitarians: Drones for good and #DigitalJedis. May the Fourth Be With You. 
21. Aging in Place: As your parents and loved ones grow older you start to notice subtle differences in the way they live their lives. 
22. Empathy Cards: Maybe you know the right thing to say. Maybe you don't. These cards will help you say something. And your friend will appreciate it.  
23. Accessibility, in Entertainment, for the Blind. How the blind watch movies and TV and play video games. 
24. Using a screen reader to surf the web. This is what it sounds like when you use a screen reader to surf the web. 
25. The Shoe That Grows. This shoe expands up to five sizes and lasts for five years. 
26. Making Death Easier. The dying process is messy and the beginning part of your grief. Talking about it early will help the survivors cope. 
27. The Medical Art of Frida Kahlo. Despite multiple setbacks, Frida Kahlo did not live in the world of the disenfranchised. She lived as a goddess whose entire being is a work of art. 
28. BrainDance: Exploring movement with dance choreographers, neuroscientists, physicians, philosophers and people with Parkinson's disease.
29. ATMing while blind. Headphones help those who are blind use the ATM.
30. What's it like to have Alzheimer's? A first-person video game, Forget-Me-Knot, helps people understand what it is like to have Alzheimer's. 

Anna Adlard, my Workshop partner, taught me the trick of writing about something everyday for 30 days. For other 30x30's read the 30 day challenge I did with Anna and the Music 30x30.