There has been a surge of interest in providing better and free education for underserved youth in the lately, especially coming from the technology industry.
For San Francisco-based Inneract Project (IP), however, it has been in the business of giving free design courses to the inner city middle and high school youth in an effort to get them interested and also open up opportunities for them in design.
IP offers three types of programs: the Youth Design Academy (YDA), Learning Labs and "Designed" video series. How do the three programs differ?
YDA is an eight-week session, held for four hours on Saturdays, for middle school students and the focus of which is to teach the basic principle of design. The goal is to ingrain the importance of analytical, conceptual and creative thinking that is of utmost importance in the field of design.
Learning Labs is composed of one-day lectures and workshops that cater to middle and high school students. A part of the session includes studio tours and field trips to get participants more engaged in the field of design and be more aware of its importance in product development. "I feel like technology needs design more than design needs technology," IP founder Maurice Woods said in an interview, and that's exactly what he intends to show in this program.
"Designed" is a video series that features the various disciplines in design and some key people in the industry.
IP also recently launched its newest program called Video Game Academy, a four-week session which aims to teach middle and high school students the basics of game design, as well as how to use game development software to create their own games.
IP works with volunteers who are professionals in their respective design industries and, since it is a free program, it is always looking for more volunteers willing to share their knowledge in design, as well as donors and sponsors who could help in providing equipment and other needs to keep the program running and change more underserved kids' lives.
The project was founded by Maurice Woods in 2004 as a product of his graduate studies in the University of Washington in Seattle when his Visual Communication Design (VCD) class challenged them to use design to change the world.
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