What Design Can Do (pt 2)

More news on Emily Pilloton and her Project H Design can be found in the New York Times article, "Designing for Humanity." Her new book, Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People is coming out on Thursday.
The above picture is of one of her designs used to teach kids math.
It further details her ideas of making designs that are artsy yet completely functional. They went in to a place where troublesome foster kids are sent to calm down thinking they could use aromatherapy, music, and other designer details. But they were completely unprepared for the instructions by the director who told them they could not use anything that could be used as a missile and had to use a specific material on the walls in case of flying feces. Scary, right?
But really what it's all about is design that can be used in daily life that is nice yet completely functional. Design should not be simply about the statement it makes, but rather something that can be used and enjoyed by many.