SOCIALLY ENGAGED & COLLABORATIVE DESIGN: STRATEGIES FOR CIVIC IMPACT

In partnership with FOCUS
Hispanic Center for Community Development

ABOUT DESIGN CONSORTIUM

The Design Consortium (DC) is a student–faculty creative studio grounded in a collaboratively engaged design process. Within this framework, design faculty and students partner with community residents, organizations, educational institutions, and local activists to pursue shared communication and public engagement goals. The traditional notion of designers “serving” clients is replaced by a model of equal partnership, where meaningful impact emerges only through collective collaboration. This inclusive approach recognizes that each participant brings essential knowledge that makes the work and shared goals possible. This framework is integrated into the Graphic Design curriculum housed at Express Newark.

Design students collaborate with faculty to examine partners’ communication needs and challenges, develop responsive strategies, and propose design approaches for implementation.

PARTNERS

FOCUS: Hispanic Center for Community Development

FOCUS, is a non-profit organization 501c3 located in Newark, New Jersey. FOCUS, a social services agency, provides community social services and human development services to Essex County residents. Committed to improving the effectiveness of its communities and improving the quality of life for the City of Newark and the Essex County residents FOCUS provides the unique opportunities for individuals and families in the community to succeed and become self-sufficient.

FOCUS primarily serves the Hispanic population of Newark. New Jersey itself has the seventh largest Latino or Hispanic heritage population in the nation with roughly 1.7 million of Hispanic ethnicity (3.1% of the entire United States). New Jersey’s Hispanic population is 19% of the state’s population, making it the eighth largest statewide population nationally. Clients served by FOCUS adult and human development programs, and children and family services are 48% Hispanic, 42% African-American heritage, 9% Caucasian and 1% as “other ethnic” heritage.

focus411.org

SPRING 2026

This semester, the DC is partnering with FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community Development in Newark. FOCUS empowers Hispanic community members by providing innovative, high-quality services to a diverse range of constituencies. Through this partnership, DC will support FOCUS in expanding its reach and strengthening its organizational sustainability.

Working collaboratively, the DC team will help FOCUS clarify and communicate the full scope of services it offers — both to the community and to potential funders. Projects may include an updated identity system, refreshed presentation materials, and a more structured website that highlights FOCUS’s programs and services clearly and effectively. The goal is to help FOCUS broaden community awareness, improve access to services, and enhance its capacity to secure funding and financial independence.

This partnership aligns with FOCUS’s mission to collaborate with other organizations and strengthen existing synergies, ensuring the best possible services for the communities they serve.

CONSIDERATIONS

This work will touch on the eight critical considerations: 

(1) Information Hierarchy: Clarity & Simplicity

(2) Intuitive Consistency with Visual Systems

(3) Visibility: Discoverability & Outreach

(4) Regulations & Standards: Nonprofit/Legal Standards

(5) Universal Accessibility

(6) Cultural Sensitivity

(7) Maintenance: Organization’s sustained upkeep

(8) Political Climate & Community Trust

OBJECTIVES + DELIVERABLES

Design Consortium students will partner with Focus leadership to define communication strategies and deliverables that address organizational challenges. The course centers the strategy-building process as a shared design outcome, promoting knowledge exchange, adaptability, and long-term value for Focus.

All work will support the organization’s goals to broaden community awareness, improve access to services, and strengthen capacity for funding and financial independence, while advancing students’ skills in communication design, strategic thinking, and community engaged practice.

COURSE FORMAT / PHASES

Notice / Connect / Discover [ Weeks 1–3 ]

This phase emphasizes relationship-building and context-setting through learning materials, site visits, and community engagement. Students conduct ethnographic, historical, and contextual research, including interviews with stakeholders, to understand Focus’ mission, values, audiences, and the broader social landscape shaping their communication challenges.

Define / Strategize [ Weeks 4–6 ]

Working collaboratively with Focus leadership and stakeholders, students synthesize research insights to define core communication challenges and articulate strategic goals. Activities include comparative and precedent analysis, ideation workshops, and strategy exchanges that surface opportunities for inclusive, effective, and sustainable design approaches.

Design / Offer [ Weeks 7–10 ]

Students advance and refine design concepts that respond to defined communication goals. This phase emphasizes iterative design methods, prototyping, and presentations to Focus leadership and community stakeholders. Ongoing feedback and refinement ensure solutions are grounded in partner needs and aligned with organizational priorities.

Produce / Deliver [ Weeks 11–13 ]

Students finalize selected design outcomes and prepare materials for production and delivery. This phase includes revisions, production planning, file preparation, packaging of final documents, and presentation of deliverables. Students also reflect on the process and assess the impact and applicability of their work for Focus’ ongoing communication efforts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Engage in socially-engaged design research that extends beyond the classroom and contributes to the Newark community.

2. Apply equity-centered, inclusive, and ethical design practices, recognizing power and privilege, and critically evaluating the challenges and responsibilities of designing with and for communities.

3. Conduct and synthesize field research methods — including interviews, observation, and collaborative dialogue — to inform context-aware and ethical design outcomes.

4. Co-create original, appropriate, and impactful communication design approaches through partnership-based, professional processes.

5. Articulate and share design decision-making — including empathy-building, problem framing, research interpretation, and strategy development — with partners + peers.

6. Collaborate effectively with peers and community partners, contributing meaningfully as both an individual designer and a member of a diverse team.

7. Manage individual responsibilities within complex design systems, supporting collaborative workflows and shared outcomes.

8. Maintain high technical and professional standards, critically evaluating both personal and collective design work.

PROCESS QUESTIONS

Message & Goals

What is the main message we want to communicate?

What are the goals of this project for Focus, their constituents, and the Newark community?

What story or experience do we want to create and share?

Community & Stakeholders

Who is the community or audience? Who are the stakeholders and users?

What do they know, feel, think, and need?

How can we understand their perspectives and priorities through collaboration?

Research & Narrative Development

What information and insights can we collect to shape our narrative?

Who should be involved in shaping the story with us?

Whose voices need to be visible, and what stories deserve attention?

Designing the Experience

How can we design a participatory experience where the process itself communicates meaning?

How do we ensure the design is engaging, reflective, and inclusive of community input?

Equity & Inclusion

What strategies will ensure diverse voices are included and participants feel represented

and heard?

How can design decisions uphold accessibility, empowerment, and ethical responsibility?

Usability & Functionality

How will issues of usability, accessibility, representation, interactivity, and navigation

be addressed?

How do these considerations shape the final experience for both the community and

organizational goals?

Professor Contact Information: chantal.fischzang@rutgers.edu

Class Syllabus: DC_Spring2026

Shared Docs & Student Folders 

Mural Ideation Board