Design Action Blog

2010 Year in Review

January 25th, 2011 by nadia

Happy New Year from Design Action!

2010 was an exciting year for Design Action — we participated in a lot of important events and had some big developments here at Design Action.

Event participation and workshop presentations

Presentation at the Western Workers Heritage Festival, January 2010, on effective graphic design and communications in the labor movement.

Visual Revolt – an emerging collective of radical artists, print makers and designers — starts meeting in March.

Paper Politics book release and panel discussion at Counterpulse, in March, to talk shop about printmaking, poster making, graphics production, and politics. Organized by JustSeeds.

ussf US Social Forum, Detroit, June 2010: Design Action members, Josh, Nadia and Sabiha convened the workshop “Communication for Liberation.” Nadia participated in the workshop “Economic Allies - how economic alternatives can support the struggle.” Josh co-organized and did the designs for the hippest party for social justice activists, The Leftist Lounge. Design Action designed the identity system and website for the USSF.

Designed and programmed new websites in open-source content management systems for WRAP (Western Regional Advocacy Project), The Miami Workers Center, Florida New Majority, The Excluded Workers Congress, AROC (Arab Resource and Cultural Center), Resource Generation, The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP), and many many more.

Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training Conference, Money for our Movements , August: DA presented an introductory workshop on designing for fundraising. We also presented a webinar on the same subject in December.

US Federation of Worker Cooperatives conference, August 2010.

poonam" Worker-Ownership & The City: A Panel Discussion on Cooperativism in Communities of Color, sponsored by the Center for Political Education. A panel discussion with Omar Freilla, Green Worker Cooperatives; Guillermina Castellanos, La Colectiva; Poonam Whabi, Design Action Collective; Michelle Matos, WAGES; Abril Suzuki, Home Green Home.

Community-based Economic Development working group in the San Francisco Community Congress: Members of Design Action participated in this Congress, seeking to create a progressive agenda for San Francisco leading up to the November elections.

Oakland Museum presentation for the All of Us Or None Political Poster Project, December 2010.

Celebrate Peoples’ History Justseeds book release at AK Press, December. Sabiha gave a delightful presentation about political posters.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Making the Decision to use Social Networking

January 24th, 2011 by poonam

This article is courtesy of Idealware , which provides candid information to help nonprofits choose effective software. Social networking sites like facebook & twitter have received a lot of attention from the nonprofit world because they expand their reach to larger communities. There are a number of success stories about nonprofits using social networks to reach new volunteers, locate audiences interested in their cause, build up supporter lists, and even raise money.

On the other hand, the huge investment in the staff time required to build and maintain an online social network can be substantial. Each nonprofit has its own set of priorities, and it’s unlikely that social networking will top the list for every organization.

The article explores a few guidelines: first, how to know if social networking isn’t right for you and second, some of the ways that social networking might benefit your organization.

see: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page7935.cfm

Posted in Multimedia and Social Networking, Web Resources | No Comments »

Crafting a Social Media Strategy to Advance your Cause

January 24th, 2011 by poonam

This is a great guide put together by Movements.org . While working with an organization on creating their website, we often encounter the questions that this article is trying to answer. There are a ton of tools out there to communicate your message with your core constituency — How do you decide which ones to choose to effectively communicate your message? How should you be managing your Facebook page? What should you be tweeting about? Do you need to create a YouTube channel? All of this and more at: http://www.movements.org/how-to/entry/how-to-craft-a-social-media-strategy-to-advance-your-cause/

Posted in Messaging and Strategy, Multimedia and Social Networking, Web Resources | No Comments »

Design Action Collective and Inkworks Press are proud to announce the recipients of this year’s SERVE THE PEOPLE Poster Project

January 12th, 2011 by josh

We received many fantastic applications this year highlighting the inspiring work of many activists and communities. It was a difficult decision, and after much discussion we have decided to donate the poster design and printing to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network for the campaign against the anti-immigrant program Secure Communities. We are also excited to donate a poster design to Birthright Unplugged in support of the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel’s illegal apartheid wall.

About National Day Labor Organizing Network

NDLON improves the lives of day laborers in the United States. To this end, NDLON works to unify and strengthens is member organizations to be more strategic and effective in their efforts to develop leadership, mobilize, and organize day laborers in order to protect and expand their civil, labor and human rights. NDLON fosters safer more humane environments for day laborer, both men and women, to earn a living, contribute to society, and integrate into the community.

More on NDLON: www.ndlon.org
More on the Secure Communities Act

About Birthright Unplugged and the BDS Movement

Birthright Unplugged offers opportunities for people to gain knowledge through first-hand experiences and to use that knowledge to make positive change in the world. The organization began, in part, as a response to fully-funded, Jewish-only trips to Israel and as a rejection of the notion of a “birthright” for Jewish people to the land of Israel/Palestine. Israel has denied Palestinians the internationally recognized right of return for refugees, instead creating a “Law of Return” that extends citizenship benefits to any person of Jewish heritage, thereby excluding millions of Palestinians from living in the land in which they were born.

Over the past several years, Birthright Unplugged has focused their work on supporting Palestinian led non-violent campaigns of all kinds that seek to pressure Israel to comply with international law. They support participants’ involvement in human rights-based and justice-oriented efforts, including contributing to the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. This movement is a direct response to the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society and is modeled after the ultimately successful boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against South African apartheid.

More on Birthright Unplugged: www.birthrightunplugged.org
More on the BDS Movement: www.bdsmovement.net

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Serve the People Poster Grant - Results 1/3/11

January 3rd, 2011 by sabiha

Thank you all for your applications. Making this year’s decision is proving to be even more difficult than last year due to the exceptional work of all the applicants. We will postpone our announcement till 1/12/11 when members of Design Action Collective and Inkworks Press are able to make the final decision.

We will contact all the applicants with the results (and post them to our website).

Thanks for your patience!

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Excluded Workers Congress launches groundbreaking report

December 10th, 2010 by nadia

The Excluded Workers Congress, a project of the Inter-Alliance Dialogue (IAD), launched a report and website today on International Human Rights day at the Southern Human Rights Organizers’ Conference. Design Action is excited to have been part of this groundbreaking struggle, by designing the report, and designing and building the website (www.excludedworkers.org).

The Excluded Workers Congress was first convened at the US Social Forum in June 2010. It includes 9 sectors of excluded workers — people who traditionally have been left out of the right to organize as workers. The Excluded Workers Congress works to vastly expand the human right to organize in the United States; to win a new era of rights and policies for workers; and to transform the labor movement in this country.

Read about the Excluded Workers Congress and download the report from here .

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Miami Workers Center Website Launch

November 9th, 2010 by josh

mwc_site Design Action is thrilled to announce the launch of Miami Workers Center’s brand-spankin’ new website! Design Action was responsible for the information architecture, visual design, and programming.

Miami Workers Center’s vision is to create a progressive political and social environment in South Florida that allows for the full growth and development of low-income communities of color. The organization is an inspirational strategy and action center, who build the collective strength of low-income people of color and their communities for power and self-determination. Miami Workers Center initiates and supports grassroots projects, known as Grassroots Councils, that are led by the people most affected by the social issues of our time: poverty, racism, and gender oppression. Their organizing model emphasizes building the broadest and deepest base among their constituencies; developing their members’ strategic and tactical leadership; shifting the public debate around issues impacting their communities; and building alliances that enable them to amplify their power and message.

We were very happy to work with these bad-ass Floridians who have joined forces with many aligned organizations around the country in the Right to the City alliance, including Causa Justa/Just Cause in the Bay Area, who’s identity and website we also recently overhauled, and who were the recipients of our 2009 Serve the People Poster Project. Check out those projects here:

Miami Workers Center website

Causa Justa/Just Cause website

Serve the People Poster Project

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Seeking Applications for Serve the People Poster Project

November 3rd, 2010 by josh

The Serve the People Poster Project is a donation offered by Design Action Collective and Inkworks Press to your organization. All you have to do is present an idea, and if selected, Design Action will donate $1000 of design, and Inkworks will print 1000 full color, tabloid sized posters for you use as you wish. For free. Simple as that. The 2009 People’s Poster Project was a great experience for all of us.

The application form can be found here. Applications for the 2011 Poster donation are due November 30, 2010.

Go to the application form >>

Frequently Asked Questions:

What exactly are you offering?

Design Action will work with you to conceptualize and design a full color, 11×17 poster that serves your needs within $1000 worth of our design time. Then Inkworks Press will print 1000 copies of the poster (a $500 value).

Who is eligible?

Peace and Social justice organizations or groups of individuals who could use a mass produced poster to further their work.

What kinds of projects are you looking for?

We’re open to all your ideas, but some of the things that we tend to favor are:

Issue that are difficult to find foundation funding for, either because of subject matter or timeliness.
Organizations with a distribution plan, if not a demonstrated capacity to distribute 1000 posters. We hate seeing boxes of wasted paper sitting in offices months later.
Projects that have reasonable timelines and manageable decision-making teams.
But most importantly, we are looking for projects that feel like they will make a difference. We are open to public education campaigns, calls to action, even fundraising tools, if that is what is needed for good groups to get through tough economic times. Give us your ideas.

How often will this be offered?

People’s Poster Project donation is offered once a year.

When will recipients be announced?

2011 recipients will be announced on January 3, 2010.

If our project is selected, how long will it take before we have our posters in hand?

This can of course vary greatly, depending on your decision-making process, when you need it by, the complexity of the concept we decide on together… and to be honest, how busy our designers are. But we believe a 3 week design process is the best, as far as maintaining creative momentum, but also having the room to think. The printing will take about 5 working days.

How often can we apply?

As many times as you wish. We won’t be able to do every project we wish we could, so if your idea is not chosen, it’s most likely because of the limits of our resources.

What if I want a different size/format/quantity?

That’s fine with us, but we would need you to find funding to cover additional printing costs that may incur.

The donation assumes full color one sided printing on paper of the printer’s choice with bleeds and no folds, diecuts, spot varnishes or other custom printing options. Not that we’re unwilling to consider additional requests, but this is what we can do for free.

How do I apply?

To apply please fill out the electronic application form. Go to the application form >>

Please feel free to email: posters@designaction.org if you have further unanswered questions.

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Tips for working with designers

September 27th, 2010 by nadia

Planning and Budget

Plan ahead - make sure you have planned ahead of time your overall strategy, and have proofread and edited your text. The more advance planning you do, the less hours you will accumulate with the designer - keeping your costs down.
Include the designer if possible early into the process, so that ideas can be fleshed out before starting the designs. Leave enough time in the schedule - allow at least one week for printing, and plenty of time for the design phase. Schedule the time in advance with the designer and printer in order to meet your deadlines. Understand that designers are often juggling many jobs at one time. Budget: you can always request pro bono work but do not assume you can have free graphic design work simply because of nonprofit status.

Design and Visual Communications

Know your audience - who is this piece really intended for?
Imagery and tone of designs should be inclusive and not alienating. Many times pieces need to “walk the line” and appeal to a wide audience or base of people.
Try to understand the differences between your personal aesthetics and what design/color/image/tone will advance the mission of your organization. How do you want your base to experience this piece?
Good high quality photography! This is a worthwhile investment. Make sure the digital camera settings are on the highest quality setting. Assign someone to take pictures at your events.
Always have captions to your pictures.
Always include calls to action in your pieces.
Think about what stories you want to tell about your work. How can you challenge assumptions and get your message across?
2color or 4color? Uncoated paper or glossy paper? Consider the effect and pricing of these options when first meeting with the designer. Technology has advanced and the bar has been raised on good design in our movements, so 4color printing is now much more financially accessible.
Be concise. Brochures, newsletters and annual reports will be much more likely to be read if there is minimal text - bullet points help! A lot of margins and “White space” also makes your piece easier to read. Your donors and members might be daunted if there is too much text to read. You want them to read your materials!
When working on identity and logo design, remember that logos are an introduction to your organization, they are not meant to tell the whole story.
Your staff/volunteers should have a clear understanding of the organizational identity. Be consistent in the use of identifying elements.
Don’t micromanage! Trust the process with your designer and provide, clear, consolidated feedback that helps move the project forward.