Giving Compass' Take:

· Causeartist discusses Durell Coleman's Design the Future, a week-long program that focuses on teaching students in high schools the "how" behind changing the world.

· How does design help students build skills for their future?

· Learn about design-focused schools.

When it comes to solving a problem, one usually looks at the data to see why or how things are happening. But just using data doesn’t tell the whole story, which is why Durell Coleman, founder and CEO of DC Design, a social design firm based in San Francisco, has centered his approach on human-centered design.

Instead of relying on raw data to reform things such as foster care, over crowded prisons or refugee crisis, Durell also employs design thinking to get to the core of an issue. He works with the people directly affected by an issue and brings different communities together to help create solutions. His most recent project digs even deeper into this idea by working with teens to teach them how to apply design thinking and go into the world to use it for themselves.

For Coleman, getting access to tools and skills is of great value, and has been since he was young. At just eight years old, Durell knew he wanted to be an inventor and create his own company based on his inventions. The type of inventor he wanted to be was reimagined when his brother was diagnosed, and eventually died from, cancer. From that moment on, Durell committed himself to creating things that help people and improve their lives for the better.

Read the full article about changing the world through design by Kristen Conahan at Causeartist.