Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn

The duo behind Design Emergency on what began as an Instagram Live series during the pandemic and is now becoming a wake-up call to the world and compelling evidence of the power of design to effect radical and far-reaching change. On the following pages, we meet their contributors to this special Guest Editors’ section; from illustrators to tech entrepreneurs, from Atlanta to Karachi, these are stories of design’s new purpose and promise

- Nick Compton

Alissa Eckert, a medical illustrator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, helped create the visual shorthand for Covid-19, an instantly recognizable and easily reproduced spiky blob. With a need for clear and direct public information, it has become a critical messaging tool during the pandemic. Creatives Tegen Corona is a collective of Antwerp designers that worked with local manufacturers, fashion workshops, and community sewing clubs to create 100,000 pieces of PPE. It posted patterns and specifications on the internet, where they could be downloaded free. Roya Mahboob is an Afghan tech entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of the non-profit Digital Citizen Fund (DCF), dedicated to increasing the tech savvy and skills of Afghan women and girls. One of DCF’s projects saw five teenage girl roboticists in HerÄt design and produce emergency ventilators. Marco Ranieri, head of anaesthesiology and intensive care at one of the largest hospitals in Bologna, ‘hacked’ ventilator design so that one unit could ventilate two people at the same time, a vital innovation in critical over-stretched ICUs.