Small Diamond chair, model 421-1. Designed by Harry Bertoia (Italian, 1915–1978), upholstery designed by Antoinette Lackner Webster (Toni Prestini) (American, 1909–1998). Manufactured by Knoll Associates, Inc. United States, ca. 1957. Plastic-coated wire, cotton upholstery, foam rubber, 77.5 × 88.9 × 74.9 cm (30 1⁄2 in. × 35 in. × 29 1⁄2 in.). Cooper-Hewitt, National Design...

Going to New York from India for a day-long meeting was absurd to my wife. I was excited: a global meet-up on socially responsible design; one Asian among 50 odd Americans; big names among participants, sponsors, donors and a weekend that would allow me to see the World Trade Center monument. For such a short...

At the recent Social Impact Design Summit in New York, organized by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, one issue that received attention was the need to build local capacity so that projects can be self-sustainable. Any successful model should be built on local capacity, knowledge, and engagement. Designers sometimes assume that local communities cannot...

By Andréa Pellegrino, Worldstudio Design Ignites Change, an initiative of Worldstudio, promotes and encourages talented high-school and college students across the country to use design thinking and innovation to develop actual projects that will benefit their own communities while giving them a voice on important social issues. The winning projects of the Fall 2011 Design...