Designing Hope: Investigating Financial Models for Socially-Minded Design
As designers, Sahar and Ashley are passionate about improving the world around them and aim to devote their studies, careers and lives to this end. Their thesis, entitled “Designing Hope: Investigating Financial Models for Socially-Minded Design” explores a series of case studies for funding humanitarian design. They partnered with NGOs, community-based organizations and companies to collaboratively develop solutions for the communities they serve. Their thesis aims to create a new path and show successful examples of how "design for the greater good" can be a viable career as well as a life's passion.
Sahar Ghaheri is a designer who grew up in Pittsburgh. She received a BFA in Photography from Washington University in St. Louis and continued her studies at the Design Skolen Kolding in Denmark. Sahar has worked at El Boutique Creative group, a Kuwait-based design firm and held an internship at Karim Rashid in New York. Her experiences thus far have cemented her beliefs in sustainability and socially conscious design. Sahar is an Intern for Change at the Center for Sustainable Design Studies, and was a fellow at the Buckmister Fuller Institute in 2010.
saharghaheri[at]gmail.com
Ashley Thorfinnson is a designer who grew up in Minnesota and moved eastward to study at Dartmouth College. As an active member of New York's design community, Ashley is a member of Project H, an Intern at Pratt's Center for Sustainable Design Studies and a 2010 Buckminster Fuller Institute Fellow. Approaching design from a background in environmental studies and art, she is passionate about the idea of creating products, systems, and solutions that affect change on numerous scales through careful consideration of aesthetics, materiality, and intent.
athorfy[at]gmail.com
Advisor: Fred Blumlien
