Co-design for social impact

Tanya Bhandari is a communication designer from India who has been working in the social impact space for over a decade. Currently she is the Design Director at ⁠YLabs⁠ in Kigali, Rwanda. She was previously Design Lead at ⁠UNICEF’s Office of Innovation⁠ (New York), Design Fellow at ⁠Center for Urban Pedagogy⁠ (New York), and Designer at ⁠Teach for India⁠ (Mumbai.)

In this episode, reflecting on the projects she has been involved, Tanya stressed the power of co-design, where young people lead the process and participate from beginning to end. Tanya talked about prototyping as a form of research and how to prototype in resource-constrained environments. As we discussed how her work involved complex collaborations, she stressed the importance of always having part of the team embedded in the local context. Last, Tanya suggested that design for social impact required designers to step back from a position of expertise, to become sense makers and facilitators.

To learn more about Tanya's work, check her website: https://tanyabhandari.in/about

Follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyabhndri/

Credits:

Conception, host and production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design & Post-production: Claudio Silva

Music & Art Work: Guilhem Tamisier