Designing for the Homeless
Billy Fasig
The Signs for the Homeless project exchanges handwritten cardboard signs for colorfully illustrated, extremely eye-catching redesigns in the hopes that they will benefit those holding them... by helping them get noticed. I'm sure we've all encountered homeless people asking for money. Many times they just walk by and don't even ask, as if they've given up hope. I read an article on this project and found it to be extremely fascinating. The new signs are so much more eye-catching and provide the homeless people holding them a little more hope of being noticed.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't typically have loose change or dollars in my wallet. Most of my money is on my card. So when I encounter a homeless person, I usually try to avoid eye-contact all together. Christopher Hope, one of the creators of this project says, "good design helps you see the world in a different way." So I ask you, if you were walking down the street and happened to see a homeless person holding an excitingly colored sign like this, would you be more likely to stop for a second or at least glance their way? I believe that I would.