Design & Social Innovation

Kefalonia, Greece

May 2019

Before my final fall semester of undergrad at North Carolina State University’s College of Design, I had the opportunity to travel to the island of Kefalonia, Greece for a course on the topic of design and social innovation. We were tasked with creating a project proposal that could educate the current generation on the island’s history.

The arrival

We spent our five weeks in Kefalonia at the Ionian Center for Arts and Culture, and were hosted by Sophie Giannakis Kagadis and her small staff at the center. We were treated with such respect and care, and grew together as designers and friends. Every night we enjoyed a dinner prepared by Sophie and her staff out on the balcony of the center. It really felt like we were being welcomed into a family on this beautiful Greek island. During our stay, we grew to love Sophie and she grew to love us as though we were her very own children. Pictured is the Ionian Center at sunset.

The process

Led by professor Scott Townsend, we began our project in small teams working to research varying topics. One team focused on research, while another visited historical parts of the island and collected photos to be used for the final projects. The last team focused on interviewing residents of the island in order to get first-hand accounts of experiences which could be used to shape our project proposals.
We visited important landmarks and historical museums together to gather more research for our projects. But most often after our class, you could find us on the beach, or at the cafe near our center where we loved to get work done - and eat incredible food of course.

The Project Proposal: Early Stages

After an initial two weeks focused on gathering information, interviewing, and taking photos of the island, we began designing our final project proposals. We used our years of Design School experience to construct a project outline and design its accompanying proposal.
My group was made up of four brilliant designers - two graphic designers, one architect, and one design studies. We collaborated incredibly well and came up with something that I’m truly proud of. I used my skill as an organizer to help create a streamlined project idea that could be realistically implemented for as low a cost to the schools as possible.
Pictured are some of our more finalized notes about the project we wanted to create centered around the educational system on the island.

The assignment

We designed an assignment hand out that would outline the project and provide instructions for the students.

The teacher’s guide

The teacher’s guide to allows the teachers to enact the project in the way that we envisioned as the designers.

The exhibit

The exhibit design is made to be presented to the students’ families during a school event and/or in the classroom as a reminder of the project’s outcome.

The quotes shown here were collected during the interview process of our initial research

The final poster in the exhibit acts as a buffer between the project’s historical lesson and the personal experiences of the students

The second poster in the exhibit functions as a historical lesson for the students

This map of the island is designed to be written on by the students during a class activity

The exhibit design is heavily based on Greek tiles, often seen as a decorative feature in the architecture.

I am proud to say that I was the head designer of the exhibit posters’ look and feel. It was met with high approval from both our professor and the stakeholders who saw it. I wanted to make the posters embrace the island’s traditional air, while making it accessible and customizable for the students (hence, poster four). We all worked to make it appear both fun and educational, and I think that we succeeded in doing so with grace.

The final presentation

At the end of our time in Kefalonia, we presented our project proposals to stakeholders in the community who would have high influence in implementing our ideas realistically. Because my group’s project was on education, we invited the head of Kefalonia’s school board to listen to our proposal. I’m happy to say that we were met with great approval for the project and were encouraged to have it implemented in the community’s education system.