Path to Impact: A Sappi “Ideas that Matter” Grant Winner

Understanding how to make an “impact” can be ambiguous, unclear, and daunting. Whether you’re a responsible design studio like us or an individual trying to get your business started, it can be hard to figure out how exactly to maximize the impact you want to make.

To approach this problem, and to make it easier for the rest of us, members of the AIGA Design for Good task force (Justin Ahrens, Lennie Mowris, Laurel Webster, Laetitia Wolff, and our founder Gage Mitchell) created the Path to Impact, which was just awarded a Sappi “Ideas that Matter” grant.

The Path to Impact workbook is a five-step guide that breaks down how to design for measurable and sustainable impact. This new approach uses ideas from design thinking, sustainable design, social impact design, diversity and inclusion, behavior design, and more to create one fluid process to evaluate impact. Thanks to the Sappi grant, the Path to Impact project will continue to grow and develop to accommodate various formats and audiences.

We’re looking forward to seeing this project evolve and are excited to see how the Path to Impact will inspire and influence future projects!

The Sappi “Ideas that Matter” grant recognizes and empowers proposed projects that support social impact. Read more about the Sappi grant and 2018 winners here.

The AIGA Design for Good Initiative and Task Force are part of AIGA’s approach to using problem-solving and design thinking for social change. Read more about the task force here.