Inneract Project teaches kids design and life skills

Maurice Woods’ goal is to help underrepresented kids.  And as a Yahoo designer, web design is an important part of his life.  Design allows people to make sense of and feel close to technology, he argues.  So what about kids at risk of falling through the cracks?  Woods’ youth organization, Inneract Project, aims to use design as a tool to help these kids.

Inneract Project, based in San Francisco, offers free design learning resources for middle and high school kids.  The programs consist of three main types: an eight week course for middle school students called Youth Academy; Learning Labs, studio tours, workshops and lectures; and Designed, a video series featuring designers.

“Technology needs to be considerate of empathy,” Woods told TechCrunch.  And for Woods, design and empathy go hand in hand.  He focuses on a concept he calls “cultural context,” the notion that children learn based on the things surrounding them as they grow up.

Several of Inneract Project’s programs focus on sports and music, things that Woods noticed minority children tended to be more interested in.  The organization is starting up a basketball-focused program where students will design jerseys, socks and logos.  “Kids in the community understand what that is,” Woods said.  “They’re already in their environment and learning in their environment.”

Inneract Project was founded in 2004.  Since then, it’s helped hundreds of students through not only design education, but by highlighting career paths and options as well.  In the future Woods hopes his organization will be able to offer more advanced classes to students, give designers chances to teach, and expand into more cities.

Diversity, Woods says, is important as Inneract Project moves into other cities.

“We want to always have this focus on underserved youth and communities and always have this focus on advocacy where we’re not only just teaching them but we’re actually going to where these communities are and learning about them, and asking them questions, and developing a program that’s important to them, and evolving this ecosystem of people all over the nation who are interested in giving back and who have these skills, and want to see kids succeed and get into design and tech fields.”

Inneract Project will be hosting a panel called “Valuing Diversity in Design and Technology” next month in San Francisco.  The panel discussion will feature BlackGirlsCode founder Kimberly Bryant, Paradigm founder Joelle Emerson, Accel Partners designer Jason Mayden, AIGA SF Diversity Chair Julio Martinez and KPCB Design Partner John Maeda, and will be moderated by Megan Dickey of TechCrunch.

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Source: TechCrunch

Image: How Design