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Designing for Social Good

Student group Design For America teaches human-centered design

Hannah CHung
Hannah Chung, who was part of the first Design for America (DFA) chapter, turned her DFA project into a company. Operating out of Rhode Island, Sproutel makes toys that help children with cancer and diabetes cope with their conditions.

Design For America (DFA), an idea incubator for social innovators, began at Northwestern University in 2009 with just three students and one faculty member. Today, it comprises more than 1,200 students at 36 studios around the country – all committed to design, innovation, entrepreneurship and the capacity to make change

“You don’t have to be an art student or an engineer. Participants in DFA can come from any background, and we learn human-centered design together,” co-founder Hannah Chung said. “DFA is created with the immense momentum from students. We learn design by doing, and we exchange our insights and lessons. It’s a place where we encourage students to fail and iterate because that’s how you learn.”

Countless ideas have emerged from DFA, and some of the members, including Chung, have formed companies together. Chung and co-founder Aaron Horowitz started their company, Sproutel, at DFA, where they developed the concept for their first product, Jerry the Bear – a toy that teaches children with type one diabetes how to manage and cope with their condition.

You don’t have to be an art student or an engineer. Participants in DFA can come from any background, and we learn human-centered design together.”

Hannah Chung,
Co-founder of Design For America

“We believe that fun and empathy are key components when creating a product that is engaging for children,” Chung said. “Fun products capture the attention and imagination, and fostering empathy encourages children to connect with the product on an enhanced, emotional level.”

Children take care of Jerry by “feeding” him various types of food, monitoring glucose levels and adjusting his insulin accordingly. The bear also comes with animated books and an app.

Chung and President Obama
Sproutel co-founders present Jerry the Bear to President Barack Obama during the first-ever White House Demo Day in 2015.

Chung and Horowitz presented Jerry the Bear to President Barack Obama during the first-ever White House Demo Day in 2015, and Chung won a pitch competition at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in 2013, earning recognition from investor Warren Buffett.

Recently, Sproutel partnered with Aflac and Aflac Cancer Center to develop My Special Aflac Duck, a social robot that helps children cope with their cancer treatment. The duck was unveiled at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and won numerous awards including Best of Innovation for Tech for a Better World and Best of CES by Engadget.