My Battle with the Top Shelf: My Ongoing Fight for Impact Design*
Which is to say Accessibility, Inclusiveness, and Sustainability in Design
Story time: When I was in college I had to go to the store to pick up some paper towels. It was the holidays and I had just gotten off of an extended, and short-staffed shift at the mall, it was starting to get late. I wandered into the supermarket and towards the paper towels, frustrated and wanting nothing but to get home. The store was damn-near deserted and the paper towels were stored on the top-most shelf. Well out of reach for my 5-foot-nothing-while-still-wearing-boots frame. I stared in disdain and huffed, preparing for the climb. (You see, us short gals & goblins never outgrow the “climbing on the counters” phase.)
P.S. I’m the goblin.
After a moment of struggling I caught a glimpse of my saving grace out of the corner of my eye. A tall man with a cart was coming down the aisle. I stopped climbing and politely called out to ask if he would help me get the paper towels. I went unheard or ignored as he retrieved his own package of towels and continued about his business (I now fully accept that perhaps this person was heard of hearing, or maybe he was wearing headphones — I don’t remember. Regardless, this consideration allows me to be a little less salty).
But at that time, I was even more frustrated as I started my ascent again. After some cursing, a few small jumps on the shelving, and aggressive swatting of my hand I finally jumped down off the shelving with my comparatively over-sized prize and went home; bruised, but not broken.
It’s this situation that I think about when I look back on my design practice and how it has evolved over the years. The world is just badly designed for most people because it’s designed for the average person. But the average person isn’t most people. On a bell curve, the average person is in the middle at this highest point. There are many of them, but there are still two-thirds of the curve (the outer portions) that contain people with varying degrees of needs that must be met outside of the average.
And being a short, non-binary, ace, punk-witch about the only thing that I have going for me is being white. I knew that there was more I could do to help design a better world, and educate others on how to utilize design in and for their business to do the same and make the world a more inclusive and sustainable place for everyone to be.
So, in 2016/17, I started (read: dreamed up) Wyld Craft just as a way to make some extra cash with freelancing while working a shit job. I did nothing to market it and nothing came of it, except for the odd project here and there. At the time I was only just starting to learn what I now know to be impact design. By 2019/2020 I was a full-on champion and advocate for impactful design practices across all areas of design (shout out to Lennie, who’s one of my ever-inspirations).
Now, in 2021 I’m wanting to make a commitment to growing Wyld Craft to be an impactful, accessible, inclusive, and sustainable extension of my design practice as I aim to help socially-conscious businesses and organizations develop their brand and help to design a better world through my craft!
Going forward, I’ll be sharing insights on being a “green” designer working with clients who’s mission aligns with being a sustainable and socially-conscious business. I’ll be pivoting my design practice and expertise, about green design and socially-responsible brand strategy to better support and educate like-minded organizations.
My next blog topic — is that what this is going to be? — will be on why I’m making this change and commitment in 2021.
Look out for incoming changes to my social feeds and my website, wyldcraftdesign.com as these changes firmly take root.
Follow this blog for more updates — or check me out on social media (Instagram | Facebook) for bite-size content, tips, tricks, and insight on making your business more socially conscious through impact design (or if you’re a designer, making your design practice more sustainable.)
