Design/Relief teams have begun to collaborate in Red Hook, the Rockaways and South Street Seaport on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy as part of AIGA/NY's efforts to inspire communities through graphic design.
Design/Relief is a participatory design initiative that aims to support three New York City neighborhoods imagine a more vibrant future for themselves as they overcome the lingering effects of Superstorm Sandy.
This special project of the New York chapter of AIGA explores design's potential in defining and expanding creative placemaking to positively transform communities.
This designer-led initiative will establish collaborations with various partners-stakeholders, who can reflect the diversity of interests in a given community, but not necessarily with one single client in mind.
Each Design/Relief team will work collaboratively with their respective sites to develop an implementable design concept that addresses livability, legibility, navigability and vibrancy.
Each team includes one to two graphic designers tasked to identify an opportunity and a way to materialize a meaningful, neighborhood-specific design project, supported by one or two community engagement strategists who will focus on outreach and participation, along with one or two storytellers who will visually document the design process and create visibility for the project through regular blog reports.
Each team will work with the community to leverage existing assets and efforts while they contribute to creative placemaking definitions and build a case study to inspire other AIGA chapters across the country to take on similar design-led initiatives.