Who We Are
Better World by Design is a student-led initiative at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design that celebrates the interdisciplinary collaboration between designers, educators, innovators, and learners. We envision a world where design-thinking is accessible to everyone so that it may catalyze positive change on a local and global scale.
What We Do
During the year, we facilitate workshops, panels, and discussions that engage in and promote design. These events culminate in an annual two-day conference that brings together designers, curators, scientists, makers, academics and students to inspire further conversation.
Our Story
In 2008, Sharon Langevin (Brown ’09), Steve Daniels (Brown ’09), Tino Chow (RISD ’09) and Mike Eng (RISD ’09) founded Better World by Design to merge their fields and solve social problems from a holistic perspective. Over the years, Better World by Design has expanded its reach while fostering a close partnership between Brown, RISD, and the Providence community.
Past Conferences
2018 | Tension | 2015 | Access | 2012 |
2017 | Blocks, Bytes, and Bars | 2014 | Wayfinding | 2011 |
2016 | Interplay | 2013 | Pause & Effect | 2010 |
Alumni
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
Erica Silver | Katherine Chavez | Evan Boyd | Caroline Turner | Paulina Tarrant | Anna Plumlee | Hannah Bebbington |
Tristan Harris | Kathleen Chai | Maya Omori | Indhu Solayappan | Andres Chang | Sage Green | Sage Green |
Tina Yang | Javi Syquia | Cameron Absher | Maria Russo | Solveig Xia | Paulina Tarrant | Peter Aranha |
Emilia K Mann | Nick Tomlin | Noah Braendel | Evan Boyd | William Klein | Tenzin Lama | Isabella Giancarlo |
Sammy Randall | Emilia Mann | Cyrus Maden | Maya Omori | Caroline Turner | Pierie Korosto | Allison Wong |
Cherilyn Tan | Emilio Vides-Curnen | Teri Minogue | Raina Wellman | Cole Moore | Anna Zeidman | Sophi Diaz |
Niyos Parekh | Francesca Gallo | Raina Wellman | Maddie Forbes | Rebecca Barron | Paul Bird | Patchi Drano |
Sylvia Atwood | Tina Yang | Tina Yang | Taryn Oshiro-Wachi | Ingrid Lange | Habiba Sugich | Pierie Korosto |
Rhythm Rastogi | Arjun Shah | Kana Hamamoto | May Kodama | Madeline Forbes | Katherine James | Alex Hadik |
Ella Harris | Anzia Anderson | Dylan Morrissey | Callie Clayton | Maria Russo | Andres Chang | Anna Plumlee |
Xinru Li | Tristan Harris | Carmen Zheng | Cameron Absher | Indhu Solayappan | Prithika Mohan | Jeff Conti |
Isabel Scanlon | Rachel Risoleo | Kendra Xu | Phoebe Gallo | Haily Tran | Omar Nema | Jia Lee |
Jonathan Katz | Briana Das | Michelle Devlin | Zoë Ene | Emma Funk | Cecilia Bodin | Keela Potter |
Aishwarya Bagaria | Erica Silver | Nick Tomlin | Daniela Longoria | Cecilia Bodin | Emma Funk | Teshia Treuhaft |
Stella Li | Sammy Randall | Curtis Stiles | Juanda Tan (JD) | Saad Moosajee | Kevin Cadena | Ho Jun Yang |
Sophia Meng | Lorraine Li | Joseph Chen | Cyrus Maden | John Filmanowicz | Rachel Haberstroh | Catherine Hebson |
Christie Zhong | Niya Sun | Wen Zhuang | Lucie Fleming | Minsoo Thigpen | Jordan Beard | |
Briana Das | Xuefei Yang | Javier Syquia | Mandi Cai | Rachel Montoya | Cole Moore | |
Megan Kasselberg | Cecilia Berriz | Natasha O. Figueiredo | Eitan Boiarsky | Tenzin Lama | John Filmanowicz | |
Malery Nguyen | Natasha O. Figueiredo | Kathleen Chai | Clare Jessey | Zoë Chinonso Ene | ||
Arjun Shah | Elaine Lu | Katherine Chavez | Noah Braendel | |||
Grace Wilkins | Ruthie Ashinne | Elaine Lu | Teri Minogue | |||
Lauren Milan Rausaw | Reet Agrawal | Brian Oppenheim | ||||
Claire Chen | ||||||
Christine Wang |
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
Hannah Bebbington | Daniel Goldberg | Mark Towill | Andrea Jones | Tino Chow |
Alexandria Sheng | Raaj Parekh | Sophia Yang | Frieda Kay | Steve Daniels |
Sophie Soloway | Dan Rejto | René Woo-Ram Lee | Andrea Krukowski | Sharon Langevin |
Joanna Zhang | Brett Anders | Giles Holt | Seungkyun Lee | Mike Eng |
Daniel Goldberg | Ben Meyers | Eli Scheer | Eugene Nelson | Arthur Harsuvanakit |
Kaitlyn Schoeck | Veronica Clarkson | Gabriela Baiter | Ambika Roos | Andrea Jones |
Arisa Lohmeier | Joanna Zhang | Maya Sikand | Matt Severson | Winston Mi |
Isabella Giancarlo | Yan Liang Sim | Joyce Tu | Deborah Vacs | |
Alex Hadik | Lily Mathews | Willem Van Lancker | Renwick | |
Anna Plumlee | Isaac Blackensmith | Yasmine Yu | ||
Allison Wong | Tim Dingman | |||
Andreas Nichbolas | Sophie Soloway | |||
Tabitha Yong | ||||
Beth Soucy | ||||
Erin Jones | ||||
Katherine Li | ||||