Our Stick Of The Week! is Ennis Carter and Social Impact Studios. Ennis is in the NOW as founder and director of Social Impact Studios, a company combining artistry & activism to call attention to important social issues. By collaborating with others who serve the public good, Ennis and her team build creative awareness efforts that get noticed and achieve idealistic goals.
"We believe that thoughtful, beautiful and meaningful communication is the most beneficial way to engage and motivate people. From concept to creation, we design action plans, visuals, messaging and moving grassroots experiences that do just that!"
"We believe that thoughtful, beautiful and meaningful communication is the most beneficial way to engage and motivate people. From concept to creation, we design action plans, visuals, messaging and moving grassroots experiences that do just that!"
The Carter Family
Ennis Carter considers herself one in the long lineage of those combining the skill and love of graphic design, with service to the community.
"My favorite examples of this come from the WPA projects. Other trivia? The answer is chocolate. Always."
Tell us about your NOW (Noodle On the Wall)
Social Impact Studios is a mission-based, creative enterprise I started in 1996 to help good causes get attention for their incredible work. It all started when I got out of college in 1986 with a degree in Philosophy and a desire to make the world a better place. What exactly I was going to do with those ideas, I didn’t know. I was lucky enough to get my first job out of college as an organizer and worked with students and community members on issues like clean water, voter registration, toy safety and education. I knocked on doors, I registered people to vote, I set up tables at shopping centers and train platforms. I also rallied eager folks around passionate ideas and the belief that we could come together to create solutions for just about any social problem. What I noticed the most in my work, was the need to engage people with clear and compelling stories as well as images! I found a love and talent for design and message-making, as I tackled the challenge in my own work.
Social Impact Studios is a mission-based, creative enterprise I started in 1996 to help good causes get attention for their incredible work. It all started when I got out of college in 1986 with a degree in Philosophy and a desire to make the world a better place. What exactly I was going to do with those ideas, I didn’t know. I was lucky enough to get my first job out of college as an organizer and worked with students and community members on issues like clean water, voter registration, toy safety and education. I knocked on doors, I registered people to vote, I set up tables at shopping centers and train platforms. I also rallied eager folks around passionate ideas and the belief that we could come together to create solutions for just about any social problem. What I noticed the most in my work, was the need to engage people with clear and compelling stories as well as images! I found a love and talent for design and message-making, as I tackled the challenge in my own work.
Is your NOW simmering, al dente or fully cooked and why?
Creative work is never fully done for me! In 1996, I opened the doors to what was then called, “Design for Social Impact,” with a computer and a passion to help good causes make the most of their image and communications. Over the course of 15 years, I have worked alone, with a handful of staff and also at a peak of 10 people in a shop. Individuals fully devoted to creative work that focuses on our four main issue areas of prosperity & opportunity, justices & fairness, culture and well-being. In 2011, in conjunction with our 15 year anniversary and 25 years after starting my career as an organizer, I decided it was time to fully embrace the larger creative and social goals of my work. So we embarked on a process of re-organizing our enterprise into a “Studio” model. This allowed for even more creative people to participate by forming teams to work on everything from action planning, strategic messaging, grassroots organizing and creative arts to call attention to important social issues. Newly named “Social Impact Studios,” I would say that we are in a stage of recreating ourselves with the benefit of a solid foundation of community, creative process and skills to get things done.
What recipes can you give other Creative Moms Taking On The Creative?
Becoming a Mom in 2004, taught me something very important about creative work. The best creation is collaboration and creative collaboration is a living, dynamic force that is better when nurtured rather than forced (think potty-training). In recent years, I’ve learned to look at my creative projects with clients as a co-dependency, not an exchange of services. I recognize the skills and years of experience that I bring to the table, but I’m also aware of the built-in knowledge that the people I work with have about the issue we are tackling or about creative ideas in general. At Social Impact Studios, we believe in casting a wide net for creative ideas. This includes stakeholders, audiences and people who care most about the issues we are helping promote. I’ve found that being more inclusive in the creative process has made my work more enjoyable AND better.
Creative work is never fully done for me! In 1996, I opened the doors to what was then called, “Design for Social Impact,” with a computer and a passion to help good causes make the most of their image and communications. Over the course of 15 years, I have worked alone, with a handful of staff and also at a peak of 10 people in a shop. Individuals fully devoted to creative work that focuses on our four main issue areas of prosperity & opportunity, justices & fairness, culture and well-being. In 2011, in conjunction with our 15 year anniversary and 25 years after starting my career as an organizer, I decided it was time to fully embrace the larger creative and social goals of my work. So we embarked on a process of re-organizing our enterprise into a “Studio” model. This allowed for even more creative people to participate by forming teams to work on everything from action planning, strategic messaging, grassroots organizing and creative arts to call attention to important social issues. Newly named “Social Impact Studios,” I would say that we are in a stage of recreating ourselves with the benefit of a solid foundation of community, creative process and skills to get things done.
What recipes can you give other Creative Moms Taking On The Creative?
Becoming a Mom in 2004, taught me something very important about creative work. The best creation is collaboration and creative collaboration is a living, dynamic force that is better when nurtured rather than forced (think potty-training). In recent years, I’ve learned to look at my creative projects with clients as a co-dependency, not an exchange of services. I recognize the skills and years of experience that I bring to the table, but I’m also aware of the built-in knowledge that the people I work with have about the issue we are tackling or about creative ideas in general. At Social Impact Studios, we believe in casting a wide net for creative ideas. This includes stakeholders, audiences and people who care most about the issues we are helping promote. I’ve found that being more inclusive in the creative process has made my work more enjoyable AND better.
What motivated you to throw your noodle?
I saw first-hand how challenging communication is for good causes. Advocates for important issues are very passionate and also very close to the issues they most care about. Those same advocates needed help getting their story out to the people who needed to hear it. In my opinion, the “public interest” movement, of which I am a proud participant, needed better communication, promotion and celebration. And I was excited to put my skills and passion to work to achieve that goal.
I saw first-hand how challenging communication is for good causes. Advocates for important issues are very passionate and also very close to the issues they most care about. Those same advocates needed help getting their story out to the people who needed to hear it. In my opinion, the “public interest” movement, of which I am a proud participant, needed better communication, promotion and celebration. And I was excited to put my skills and passion to work to achieve that goal.
What inspires you as a Mom and as a creative person?
I am most inspired by real stories by caring people – of all ages. At Social Impact Studios, we facilitate a lot of “stakeholder” conversations that engage constituents in a discussion about the issues at hand. I’ve learned to really listen at these times and am emboldened by hope, belief and thoughtful, meaningful conversation among people who care deeply about their community, their children’s future (as well as their own) and the state of the world.
I am most inspired by real stories by caring people – of all ages. At Social Impact Studios, we facilitate a lot of “stakeholder” conversations that engage constituents in a discussion about the issues at hand. I’ve learned to really listen at these times and am emboldened by hope, belief and thoughtful, meaningful conversation among people who care deeply about their community, their children’s future (as well as their own) and the state of the world.
Phil and Elspeth
How do you juggle Mamahood and your NOW?
I couldn’t do any of this without my husband Phil. He is truly a co-parent and we juggle both the care and raising of our daughter, Elspeth and our own pursuit of creative work (he’s a musician with a studio within Social Impact Studios).
Ennis and Elspeth
Mentally, I try to be present whenever I am with my daughter. I take the time to really experience our sometimes limited time together. It’s a challenge but I try very hard not to check the smart-phone or e-mail while on “mommy-duty.” We are very lucky to have a great inner-city community and a top-notch public school here in Philadelphia. Not true throughout our whole city, unfortunately, so we work with school advocacy groups to help promote a better system for everyone!
Elspeth
What is your ultimate pasta dish?
I love anything made with teamwork! Our most recent project is probably the best example of this. In 2011, we were commissioned to create a large-scale public mural on the subject of WORK by the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. In collaboration with a muralist to help us figure out the scale and installation, and community engagement teams, we held community conversations and worked for nearly a year to create a visual story that was fully installed at the end of September. For more on this project, see the living blog: How We Fish Mural Arts
I love anything made with teamwork! Our most recent project is probably the best example of this. In 2011, we were commissioned to create a large-scale public mural on the subject of WORK by the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. In collaboration with a muralist to help us figure out the scale and installation, and community engagement teams, we held community conversations and worked for nearly a year to create a visual story that was fully installed at the end of September. For more on this project, see the living blog: How We Fish Mural Arts
SOCIAL IMPACT STUDIOS
Check them out on FACEBOOK and TWITTER
SOCIAL IMPACT STUDIOS also presents Posters For The People.
Check them out on FACEBOOK and TWITTER
SOCIAL IMPACT STUDIOS also presents Posters For The People.
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