EP 31: Designing for Social Change | Penina Acayo Laker

Penina Acayo Laker is a graphic designer, researcher, and Assistant
Professor of Communication Design at Washington University in St.
Louis. Her research and creative practice explore how
human-centered, research-driven design methodologies catalyze
unique ideas to address complex societal challenges facing
communities in St. Louis and Uganda. She has collaborated on an
award-winning project that used simplified iconography to
communicate ailments associated with the spread, prevention, and
treatment of malaria in Kibera, Kenya. Penina earned an MFA in
Visual Communication Design from Kent State University and a BA in
Art from Goshen College. As a component of her MFA thesis, she
developed a secondary-level design curriculum that was inspired by
the paucity of design education in Uganda. This subsequently
inspired the creation of DesignEd Uganda workshops that Acayo Laker
organizes and facilitates over the summer to equip young people
with skills in design and creative problem-solving. Penina is also
the faculty advisor for a new minor in Creative Practice for Social
Change that exposes students to processes designers, artists and
architects use to address systemic economic, environmental and
social challenges. Bon and Penina discuss learning to design for
the true needs of people, bringing design education to youth in
Uganda and the value of design in healthcare.