When we do something, we put our all into it. We couldn't just have one event - we had to plan a whole weekend blowout. The theme: 10 Years of Artistry & Activism! Our events spanned a wide range of activities that gave our community lots of ways to have fun.

Our open studio brought friends and family to our "house" to start things off. Parents and siblings, neighbors and clients, friends and peers all gathered together for a warm and intimate time together at our home base.

Alumni gathered for brunch - hosted by Ben Wyskida who came back all the way from San Francisco! We shared funny stories of old times, caught up on where people are now and how much impact they continue to have in their other endeavors.

Our close circle of staff, long time clients, friends and family joined for an event at the National Liberty Museum - a place dedicated to celebrating heroes of liberty from all walks of life and all political orientations. Our guest speakers made us pause for reflection and laugh heartily. We gave out the first annual Golden Cog awards to some very important people. We ate great food and danced to super music!

With the help of interns, we dug deep into our archives to create 2 exciting projects. Our 10 Year Retrospective DVD is a showcase of the success of our clients, their perspective, the work we created to support their efforts and some behind the scenes views of Design for Social Impact. If you'd like a copy of this DVD, please e-mail us at info@dfsi.org to get details.

We were also proud to launch Lost Treasures - a catalog of concepts that were never used, now being made available to groups in a real financial pinch. With some care and attention a Lost Treasure can be crafted into a usable and appropriate piece at a lower cost. You can see an example of this (our very own signature DfSI "We Believe" poster is a result of a reused idea...) and more of our favorites at an exhibit hanging currently at the White Dog Café until December 1st.

Finally, we wrapped up the weekend with our Activist Trolley Tour. We took folks on a 45 minute tour on a trolley to reveal some little-known spots where activists made a real difference in history. It was fun and informative! It was so popular that we may just do it again... if you are interested or want to take your group on the tour, please e-mail info@dfsi.org to get details.

We are proud to have featured some local favorites at our events! We had great food from the White Dog Café and the White Dog Café Foundation's Fair Food Farmstand. We brought MANNA Catering on board for our dinner - proceeds from their service help benefit their work to provide hot, home-delivered meals to people with HIV & AIDS. We served PYNK - a special beer by Yards Brewing Company in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. And we danced the evening away with tunes from Cowmuddy!

How did we do all of this? First of all it took teamwork. The excitement and dedication of the people behind Design for Social Impact just can't be matched. Every detail was attended to and it showed. Creative solutions are our job, so we found ways to make it happen. We bartered. We bargained. We set up a "wine registry" because so many people asked us how they could help. We pulled out our "do it yourself" skills and set to work. We did some fundraising and we dug deep into our own resources to cover the little remaining costs involved.

We can't thank our community enough for everything THEY did too to make the weekend such as great success!

All in all, it was a great example of what we can do when our whole crew is working on a project. The work we put into our own celebrations reminded me of the breadth of what we can do for our community. Really, we are more than a graphic design firm - and many people know that. What you may not know is how much of an experience we can create and what a complete approach we have to pulling off an idea - even an event or an entire campaign.

Design for Social Impact started from an organizer's perspective - and we continue to adhere to that approach in our work today. Sure, I was focused on helping the public interest movement tell its story better through great visual design. But, that mission came from my own need as an organizer to create an exciting way to get the public's attention.

Our weekend-long bash showed me how big we can dream to catch that attention. It was a time to reflect and celebrate, but also a time to think about how much more we can do to make a social impact. As we step out into the next 10 years, I am excited about the possibilities and look forward to seeing what we can do together. Actually, I can't wait!

As a young designer with a lot to learn about art and life, I try to bridge that gap between imagination and reality in any way possible. For me -- and I think it safe to include everyone here at Design for Social Impact -- creativity is not an exercise or a hat to put on. It is a lifestyle. A modus operandi, if you will. A constant search and never-ending struggle, but ultimately a means to change the world one project at a time.

Thankfully, I do have some help. Like those unexpected connections and discoveries that arise from being an ever-observer. Like being surrounded every day by colleagues and clients whose dedication to positive social change parallels my own. Like stumbling over those "happy accidents" that turn hand-wringing into rejoicing. Like the fact that I can start or end any day in my own little world of trial and error; dabbling in the printmaking studio, the kitchen, my journal, or even the backyard garden. All these things and more are evident in what Scott Adams says of the beast: "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which to keep."

And even more consoling is the knowledge that I'm not alone. Creativity is absolutely essential in everything from fashioning your opus to typesetting an annual report to getting leftover food from restaurants into homeless shelters. It's a sensibility that exists in everyone and a thread that can make us realize that, as individuals, we are really more connected than we are disparate.

So these are the things that keep me open and aware, attentive to what works and what doesn't - both in my life and in my art. I don't know about life, but so far what I can tell works best for successful design is a thorough and exploratory creative process coupled with skilled composition of the elements at hand. I would be amiss to not admit, however, that the snap moment when an idea makes itself clear is still a mystery to us design folk. But there's no ghost. If any spirit directs our work here, it is the creative spirit. The human spirit.

Going recycled isn't the only way to be ecologically sustainable with your paper choice. Two prominent forestry groups - FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) - both certify paper mills that are running sustainable harvesting operations. These are becoming standards in many paper mills, and can help ensure that we do the right thing, even if we're not purchasing 100% recycled paper. For a great article about FSC and SFI, visit: http://www.perc.org/perc.php?subsection=5&id=225

When it comes to printing, your decision should be based on the quality of work, which will ultimately be seen by your audience. Design for Social Impact works with numerous printers in the area, who consistently print great quality pieces for low prices. With a dedicated print production department taking care of all the details from proofs to delivery, we doubly ensure the quality, and impact, of your final piece.