By the People: Designing a better America An exhibition of 60 collaborative designs from throughout the United States and across borders, By the People challenges the country’s persistent social and economic inequality. Curator of Socially Responsible Design Cynthia E. Smith conducted over two years of field research—traveling to shrinking post-industrial cities, sprawling metro regions, struggling rural towns, areas impacted by natural and man-made disasters, and places of persistent poverty—in search of design for more inclusive and sustainable communities. In a simple, bold move, we “hacked” the Cooper Hewitt’s open source font to create a stencil font. This font was used to paint important text, including the title wall, introductory text and compelling infographics—such as statistics and community quotes—directly onto wall panels. The exhibition delivers a powerful message of optimism for achieving a more just and equitable society for all Americans through design.
