Maria Giudice, founder and CEO of Hot Studio Inc., has a simple and direct explanation for what got her interested in creating and participating in design aimed at helping people, “Very early on, in college I learned that the difference between art and design is that art serves oneself, and design is in service to others.” It’s no wonder that she, along with co-presenter Amy Novogratz, the Director of the TED Prize, will present the SXSWi panel “Tools for Good: Design Meets Technology in Service”
During the panel Ms. Giudice and Ms. Novogratz will create an open dialogue, or as Ms. Giudice puts it a,”Core Conversation”, to share thoughts and ideas about how technological skills used in design can be put to use in serving people. “This is a subject matter near and dear to my heart,” explains Ms. Giudice, “and it’s also a topic many people at SXSW are interested in. I’m hoping to learn some tips and tricks from the people who attend the session and we can get a good conversation going as well.” This creative interplay between the audience and the panelists should produce a much more dynamic and creative experience then if the two simply stood up and gave a staid, stagnant speech and that is exactly the point. It’s the fusion of creative ideas generated during the presentation that then spills out and beyond the borders of the SXSWi conference that Ms. Giudice and Ms. Novogratz hopes will happen. As Ms. Giudice advises, “Experience for yourself how good it feels to help others in need. Then figure out how technology can improve their lives (via connecting to others, sharing information, streamlining a process, getting the word out, fundraising, etc).”
This people centered tech panel will be held on Saturday, March 13th at 12:30p.m.
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This is a sessio that I will definitely attend at SXSW — although I don’t think that Amy is actually going to be there. I heard Maria speak about this topic at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco last year and she was great. She and Hot Studio have a reputation for putting their money where their mouth is in really engaging in what she will be talking about.