People often say “somebody should…" We say, “why not us!”

Origins

A meeting of minds.

Carly and Karel met in September 2023 and over a lunch together realized that they not only had a similar worldview, they also both shared a dream of making the “missing documentary” to make a real difference in the world using both of their respective skills and experience.

Prior projects

Karel had co-founded and led the Covid19 Design Challenge and the Future of Design Education both with hundreds of volunteers globally. Carly had created several critically acclaimed documentaries on the theme of biodiversity.

First collaboration

The two initially collaborated on designing and running a workshop on Biodiversity Design at OCAD university with the then interim Dean of Design, Kathy Moscou, as part of the DesignTO festival.

Planning the project

A few get togethers later, the UX/R for Good: Habits for a Better World project started taking shape with a focus on meeting people where they are using research methods, ideating solutions using design, and then bringing those solutions to the world through film.

Launching the project.

Karel posted a call for volunteers on his LinkedIn account and a sign up form on his website. He and Carly were absolutely thrilled at the enthusiasm, passion, and sheer number of people coming forward to volunteer.

Kicking off the project.

The project was officially kicked off on a Zoom call with volunteers. In fact there were two Zoom calls to accommodate the wide range of time zones represented by the volunteers. Another set of Zoom calls was held to go over the organization and details of the approach that the teams will be using followed by a call with the team leaders and now the project is in full swing. See the updates section for information on progress.