I just finished reading “How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul” by Adrian Shaughnessy. It was very heavy on the how-to-being part and a little less so on the without-losing part. While I’d recommend the book highly to anyone looking for more about running a studio, forming and developing client relationships, and forging their own path through the design world, it left me wondering where else we can go as designers to take an active role in forming a bright new world.

Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth (I do love my manifestos) has been hanging next to my desk for years now, and I was very pleased to see that his studio has joined forces with Institute Without Boundaries to form MASSIVE CHANGE. It endeavors to do exactly what I described above, move smart, creative people out from behind their drafting tables and in front of the social steering wheel.

They share this vision with (and were recently interviewed by) Worldchanging. I had a chance to hear Alex Steffan speak at South by Southwest Interactive this year and his presentation honestly brought me to tears. The simple idea of fostering giant culture shift via applied imagination struck me as not only plausible but immensely fun! In web design, I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of writing semantically meaningful, standards compliant code; creating a sustainable future is the same challenge raised to the power of the human race.

I just purchased the Worldchanging book (coincidentally designed by the same guy who wrote the foreword to “How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul”) and the MASSIVE CHANGE book. I’ll let you know when they’ve cured me of this ridiculous obsession with saving the planet.

Finally, I’ve decided that Kevin Cornell’s “Design Vigilantism” would be the perfect way to begin my life of extra-curricular world-saving via graphic and web design. Victims that need avenging may be suggested in the comments.