News. Design

Today, the Knight Foundation launched another of their breakthrough reports, this one taking a deep look into the fast-evolving Nonprofit News industry. Titled Finding a Foothold: How Nonprofit News Ventures Seek Sustainability, the report features tons of data and analysis on 18 different nonprofit news organizations. We are proud to work with Knight, to design the report and bring clarity to the mountains of data, and illustrator/journalist Susie Cagle to bring levity to the subject.

One year ago, The United Nations Population Fund asked us to help engage youth in a global discussion to help set UN population policy for the next 20 years. Hundreds of youth leaders met at the Global Youth Forum in Bali - joined by thousands participating online representing every country in the world (even Antartica!)- and drafted what has become known as the Bali Declaration. Setting specific, bold targets for improving the status of women, LGBT, and underprivelidged youth, as well as improving health, education, and employment worldwide, the Bali Declaration has been hailed by some as the most progressive UN Declaration to date. 

Last week, the Knight Foundation released a watershed report titled Why Contests Improve Philanthropy to share the lessons they have learned as one of the pioneers in developing contests to identify and fund initiatives that show great potential but might not qualify for the traditional grantmaking process. The report centers on six lessons on creating effective contests that supplement traditional grantmaking.

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global partnership working to provide exactly what its name proclaims. While access to water has improved in recent years, 800 million people still do not have access to safe drinking water; and sanitation lags far behind with over a third of the world's people living without adequate sanitation facilities. 

Currently running in The Netherlands, the ICPD International Conference on Human Rights is the second of three thematic conferences that will shape UN population policy for the next 20 years. (The first was the Global Youth Forum in December.) Hosted by UNFPA, the Government of the Netherlands and The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the conference is focused on identifying emerging challenges to delivering equal rights for all. We are proud to extend our relationship with the ICPD partners to deliver a visual identity system that set a tone of hope and empowerment for all conference materials.

Usablenet is a leading provider of mobile usability solutions to global brands. They provide the strategy, design and technology to create websites and apps tailored to each user's device and context. When you pull up the New Jersey Transit website on your phone, and get a mobile site optimized for train schedules, that's them.

As we approach Parkinson's awareness month in April, we are proud to share our latest work for the National Parkinson Foundation. What started as a project to design branded merchandise has become a national campaign involving NPF chapters around the country. The campaign, called Whatever It Takes, is designed to empower individuals and raise awareness of the many things that can be done to combat Parkinson's Disease. While other organizations are working on a cure, the National Parkinson Foundation has a unique mission: to improve the quality of life for the estimated 1 million people with Parkinson's in the US.

Did you know that 43% of the world is under age 25? Almost half! And that number is over 50% in developing countries. This number represents a half of the world that has long clamored to have its voice heard - and has found technology and social media to be the platforms that finally give them the influence they have long demanded. Just look to Egypt and the Arab Spring for potent examples of the power that youth wield today.

Last night we had the pleasure of attending the Young Audiences Arts for Learning Gala at the always-glamorous Waldorf-Astoria here in New York. Celebrating their 60th Anniversary, Young Audiences is the nation's leading source of arts-in-education programs and services. As an agency co-founded by a visual artist and a writer with a Master's degree in Educational Technology (and parents of two very creative kids), we are huge believers in the value of arts and creativity in education. And were thrilled to be able help Young Audiences celebrate their 60th by designing the anniversary book for the event. 

Last night was the Spirit of ABNY Awards, an annual awards ceremony and fundraiser for The ABNY Foundation, honoring those that make New York City a better place to live. This year, the focus was on the tech industry, honoring the "visionaries who connect tech to the big apple", including Foursquare, ideeli, Dawn Barber from NYTech Meetup, Alan Patricof, Deputy Mayor Robert Steel, and of course Cornell & Technion for their forthcoming applied sciences university on Roosevelt Island. And with presenters including Mayor Bloomberg, NYC Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, it was great to see firsthand the commitment that city government is putting behind the tech industry as the next big engine for growth in NYC.