Design Active Collective

Formed in the early 2000s as a graphic design collective, the studio that calls itself Design Action Collective designs for progressive, non-profit and social change organizations. The company says it grew out of a worker-owned print shop during the anti-war protests that followed September 11, and it still works as a cooperative in which every full-time worker is a co-owner.

Visual communication for movements

The collective provides strategic visual communication to nonprofits, unions and foundations. Its print work covers posters, flyers, brochures, reports, books, invitations, buttons, stickers and T-shirt art. It also designs logos and identity systems with business cards, stationery and other organizational materials. The studio says it comes from an established print background, and it offers guidance through the often confusing business of getting materials designed and printed.

Websites for progressive groups

Over the past decade the studio says it has built hundreds of websites for social justice groups, non-profits, NGOs, labor unions and progressive businesses. The range runs from small brochure sites to complex magazine, social networking and e-commerce platforms. Its featured case studies include the Spartan Housing Cooperative and an identity and website project for Mission Secure.

Campaign work and rapid response

The company says its work has supported thousands of local, national and international campaigns, and it cites the original Black Lives Matter logo, platforms for movement thinkers and large demonstrations among its projects. It describes rapid response, mutual aid and pro bono work as daily practice, and says its members are embedded in movement networks, which makes the studio a trusted resource for community partners.

Ownership and working model

The business is a worker cooperative in which full-time workers hold equal shares and an equal say in decisions. The studio belongs to the Network of Bay Area Worker Co-ops and is a founding member of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and it says these ties are meant to support other cooperatives and a wider solidarity economy. The collective describes its aim as shaping narrative legacies for clients that will outlast a particular political moment.