Lisa M. Abendroth is a professor in the Communication Design program at Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado, USA. She is a SEED Network founding member and a recipient of the SEED Award for Leadership in Public Interest Design. Her work focuses on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of design created within the contexts of underserved people, places, and problems. Abendroth is a coeditor of the Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook: SEED Methodology, Case Studies, and Critical Issues (2016). Bryan Bell founded Design Corps in 1991 with the mission to provide the benefits of design for the 98 percent without architects. Bell has published three books on public interest design. His work has been supported by the American Institute of Architects Latrobe Prize and through a Harvard Loeb Fellowship. His designs have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Bell holds degrees from Princeton University, USA, and Yale University, USA. He teaches at North Carolina State University, USA.
This book fills an important gap for Public Interest Design educators. It includes essays and case studies on design projects at a wide range of scales, prepared by designers that truly understand public interest work. It is likely to become required reading for anyone committed to serving the public through design. John Quale, Chair, Department of Architecture, University of New Mexico Founder and Director of the ecoMOD Project The Public Interest Design Education Guidebook is a practical and detailed collection of essays, case studies, and critical assessment of community-engaged teaching methods and approaches in architecture and design. Faculty, administrators, students, and community members will find inspiration, lessons learned, and practical teaching and assessment techniques to inspire and challenge the learning and teaching of design for the public good. Liz Kramer, Associate Director, Office for Socially Engaged Practice, Washington University in St. Louis. Abendroth and Bell have provided an important and inspiring public interest design roadmap. They use case studies to help others understand the efficacy of diverse strategies in a variety of settings. Effective planning and design become far more impactful through engagement and empathy. Kenneth Schwartz, FAIA Michael Sacks Chair in Civic Engagement and Social Entrepreneurship Tulane University