This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Design for the Other 90% | |
|---|---|
| Name | Design for the Other 90% |
| Formation | 2007 |
| Founder | Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Foundation |
| Type | Exhibition program |
| Location | New York City, United States |
| Notable works | Jaipur Foot (exhibit), Safe Water for Haiti (projects) |
Design for the Other 90% is an exhibition and initiative that highlights industrial and product design solutions developed for underserved populations worldwide. It was launched to showcase practical inventions and adaptations that address needs in regions served by organizations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations Development Programme, Oxfam International, CARE International and World Health Organization.
The initiative was organized by the Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation and announced in the run-up to events involving TED Conferences, Clinton Global Initiative, Skoll Foundation gatherings and discussions at Carnegie Mellon University. Curators drew upon precedents in exhibitions at Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, partnerships with Massachusetts Institute of Technology labs, case studies from Grameen Bank and field reports from Médecins Sans Frontières to assemble designs that responded to challenges documented by World Bank, United Nations Children's Fund and USAID.
The project promoted principles derived from practitioners at Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, Royal College of Art, and researchers at Stanford University's d.school and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Emphasizing affordability, usability, and sustainability, curators referenced frameworks used by IDEO, Frog Design, Humanitas, and methodologies popularized by Amnesty International reports and casework from Harvard University's public health programs. The philosophy echoed themes advanced by Muhammad Yunus and Paul Polak and responded to critiques raised in forums like World Economic Forum and Aspen Institute panels.
Exhibited items and documented projects drew from a wide array of interventions including prosthetics like the Jaipur Foot, water-treatment devices promoted by WaterAid, and sanitation solutions showcased alongside technologies from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization partners. The selection included agricultural implements inspired by work at International Rice Research Institute, solar lighting systems aligned with initiatives by SolarAid, and transportation adaptations similar to projects by MIT Media Lab collaborators. Design entries referenced work by designers associated with IDEO.org, Design Without Borders, Engineers Without Borders, and sectors represented at conferences organized by SXSW and South by Southwest programs.
The initiative influenced funding priorities at organizations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Shell Foundation, and USAID innovation challenges while provoking debate in academic journals from Journal of Product Innovation Management contributors and commentators at The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Economist. Critics drew upon analyses from Amnesty International, think tanks like Brookings Institution, and commentators at London School of Economics to argue that exhibited solutions sometimes replicated models critiqued by Paul Polak and Esther Duflo; proponents replied citing case evaluations from Harvard Kennedy School, Oxford University studies and clinical partners at Johns Hopkins University. Discussions occurred at conferences hosted by ACM SIGCHI, International Development Research Centre, and panels involving representatives of UNICEF, WHO, and UNDP.
The roster of collaborators included curators and advisors from Museum of Modern Art, funders such as Rockefeller Foundation, evaluators from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and implementation partners drawn from Grameen Bank, Pratham, BRAC, and Ashoka. The program worked with design firms like IDEO, academic studios at Stanford University, incubators including IDEO.org and MIT D-Lab, and nongovernmental operators such as Oxfam International and CARE International. Exhibitions traveled through venues coordinated with institutions like Smithsonian Institution, Cooper-Hewitt, and regional museums in collaboration with local partners such as British Council and Asia Society.
The exhibition shaped curricula at institutions including Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, Royal College of Art, Parsons School of Design, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology by informing courses in studios influenced by IDEO methodologies and community-engaged programs at Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University. Its legacy is visible in the proliferation of social design labs at Harvard University, the rise of programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, incorporation into syllabi at Aalto University, and the creation of fellowships supported by foundations like Ford Foundation and Gates Foundation. The initiative continues to be cited in symposia at World Design Organization, curricular reforms discussed at European Commission meetings, and research outputs published by MIT Press and other academic presses.
Category:Design exhibitions Category:Social design