Public Access Design projects will be a short, intensive, collaborations between CUP, an artist or designer, and a community organization that is working to break down a policy or planning issue that affects its constituents. The collaborations will result in visual tools that go directly to communities whose access to information, or lack thereof, can have major consequences for their health, livelihood, and well-being.

We’re looking for community organizations and advocacy groups working on a complex social justice issue that would benefit from a visual explanation, and an interest in working collaboratively to produce a visual tool. Strong applicants will have firsthand knowledge of the project topic, access to and a relationship with the constituency affected by that topic, and the capacity to participate in regular meetings and provide feedback throughout the process. Proposed topics should be bounded enough to work within the Public Access Design time frame and format options.

Public Access Design’s advocacy partners can choose the format that best meets their needs from four options, each designed to be easily completed within the three- to four-month project time frame. The formats offered this year are:

Pages - A four- to eight-page print publication
Frames - A 30- to 60-second animation or motion graphic
Pixels - A web-based interactive graphic
Folds - A pocket-size print graphic that unfolds to 11½ ” x 21”

Advocates have the right to use completed projects in their outreach efforts and republish the work (at cost) in perpetuity. For print-based projects, advocates will receive 1,000 free copies of the print materials to distribute directly to their constituents. CUP manages the research, editing, art direction, and production processes.

The deadline for project proposals is August 6, 2012 no later than 8 pm. Find out more and apply online here.