Win/Win: Working with live projects for the public and educational ‘good’

This paper presents a recent case study where graphic design undergraduates worked with Lifeline Transform Mentoring Project – a new initiative for young offenders in prison – to improve the organisation’s communications. The aim was to offer a realistic look at running a pro bono project, enhancing employability and extending the student experience beyond the college environment, based on the author’s 10 years experience of managing projects which embrace a social responsibility agenda.

Such projects can be inspirational for students and enable charities or third sector clients to access design skills that they may not normally be able to commission. However, there can be problems with managing expectations (of both client and students) and ethical issues. By collaborating with a recent course alumnus who is bringing design thinking to a non-visually literate workplace, a better synthesis between the educational needs of the students, the clients and their service users was possible.