The Launchpad by Second Day

Overall estimated read time: 35 minutes

Last updated: July 2021

As corny as it may sound, the common thread that unites most journeys into social impact design is “a feeling.” It could be a feeling of discontent about how your skills are being used, a feeling of intrigue when you hear someone mention “design” for the first time, or just a feeling that “there must be a way to describe what I care about.” People are drawn to social impact design from an incredible variety of backgrounds, but some of the most common are anthropology, cultural studies, behavioral sciences, communications, engineering, urban planning, and architecture. At their core, designers are problem solvers. They see a bump or frustration, and they are pulled to make this problem easier for the next person. 

Importantly, that problem-solving process relies on four key functions: empathy, collaboration, experimentation, and optimism. 

1. Empathy: designers believe in deep research and listening to who the problem is impacting. 

2. Collaboration: they build with, not for, these communities. The phrase “human-centered design” originates from this premise—that humans are centered in the problem-solving process.

3. Experimentation: design is about testing and failing and fixing and testing again. It relies on constant innovation and experimentation. 

4. Optimism: to initiate a design process inherently requires the optimism to believe a problem can be solved or improved upon. 

While there is immense diversity within the type of roles you can have working in social impact design, those four core themes will revolve around any aspect of your work. Have your friends told you that you’re a great listener or particularly emotionally intelligent? Are you good at simplifying complex topics into words or images people can understand? Do you naturally fix things that are broken and strive to understand what broke them? Are you a deep researcher who builds their opinions and ideas off of a thorough understanding of a topic? Do you consider yourself creative? Do you have that “feeling” about social impact design?

If any of those questions apply to you, or if you’re just exploring, this guide will take you through everything you need to know about working in social impact design. To inform our work, Second Day has spoken to experts in the field and gathered the best information out there for upcoming and recent graduates. First, the guide will take you through the different entry-level positions to look out for in this field. Then, we’ll provide tips on actually getting those jobs in social impact design. We’ll finish with our next three steps: actionable items you can take to make progress towards finding your first job in social impact design. Let’s get started!