The Public Access Design Fellowship allows New York City-based artists and designers to apply their design skills to contribute to social change. Fellows collaborate with CUP and a community organization to produce innovative multimedia tools that make information about important social justice issues accessible to historically underrepresented communities. We’re looking for designers interested in a collaborative process who can bring unique visual solutions to the design challenges presented by these issues. 

Each year, a jury of advocates and designers selects a small group of designers to be Fellows with the Public Access Design program for a one-year period. Over the course of the year, four to six Fellows collaborate with an advocacy partner and CUP staff to produce four or more projects.

All Fellows attend an introductory session on CUP’s methods for collaborative and participatory design with CUP staff and designers from previous CUP projects. Fellows are also invited to attend special events and gatherings throughout the year. These include opportunities to meet and network with past CUP collaborators, and other notable New York City-based design professionals and community advocates.

A jury will meet in November to select the 2017 Public Access Design Fellows. The jury is:

Alyssa Aguilera
Co-Executive Director of Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY)

John Kudos
Co-Founder/Principal of Kudos Design Collaboratory

Karen Maxim
Supervising Attorney at the Bronx Defenders

Silas Munro
Designer and Educator

All Public Access Design Fellows receive:

• A $200 honorarium
• Press and promotion from CUP and on the Public Access Design website
• Invitations to small gatherings with current and former CUP collaborators, jury members, and other prominent designers

• An additional $2,000 stipend
• Full attribution and rights to reproduction for their work
• Project publicity through CUP, including press releases, exhibit entries, and design award submissions

CUP is committed to innovative design, and will be an advocate for creative approaches to each project.

Public Access Design projects will take the form of four possible media formats, each designed to work with partner organizations’ needs and to be easily completed within the short project time frame. Advocacy partners are asked in their application to identify one format for their project. Currently, the formats are:

We seek Fellows with an interest in both social justice and a collaborative design process. Fellows should be able to bring original and innovative visual solutions to the challenges of design for social change.

The group of Design Fellows will include but not be limited to designers with experience in each of the media formats being offered by the program. Artists and designers working in print, animation, motion graphics, and interaction design are encouraged to apply.

The jury will evaluate applicants based on the following criteria:

• Quality of design work presented, particularly as it relates to the designer’s selected media formats
• Does the designer’s work show an ability to organize complex information?
• Is the designer interested in a deeply collaborative process?
• Does the designer seem capable of producing original, inventive work that will also meet the needs of his or her collaborators?
• Can the designer incorporate illustration, photography, information design, or other non-typographic solutions into their work?
• Is the designer invested enough in the process and goals to produce exceptional work, given the timetable and funding?

Should I apply to Making Policy Public or to Public Access Design?
Both! Designers are invited to apply to both programs. We encourage you to submit your work for consideration to both programs. 

Can I apply as part of a design team?
Yes, applications from teams are encouraged!

What work should I include with my application?
Please include what you consider your strongest work in your application, and be sure to include work in the media formats that you’re applying to work in. If you’re an individual submitting work that you did as part of a group, please indicate your role in the project in the caption.