Design that Matters (DtM), a 501c3 nonprofit based in Salem, Massachusetts, creates new products that allow social enterprises in developing countries to offer improved services and scale more quickly. DtM has built a collaborative design process through which hundreds of volunteers in academia and industry donate their skills and expertise to the creation of breakthrough products for communities in need. Our goal is to deliver a better quality of service, and a better quality of life, to millions of beneficiaries through products designed for our clients.


Project Firefly


DtM Project Portfolio
Learn about all of the exciting news that happened in 2012 by reading our 2012 Annual Report! Highlights include Firefly implementation and winning the National Design Award for Corporate & Institutional Achievement!

DtM Project Portfolio
Learn more about Design that Matters past projects and design philosophy by reading the DtM project portfolio. The portfolio gives a description of our past work as well a detailed case study on the development of Firefly phototherapy.

Firefly Phototherapy Tech Sheet
Learn more about the technical and design aspects of Firefly by reading the Firefly phototherapy brochure. The brochure covers all aspects of the Firefly design from power consumption, per treatment cost, and phototherapy irradiance.

MIT Innovations Journal
Read DtM's journal article: "Better by Design: How Empathy Can Lead to More Successful Technologies and Services for the Poor" from the Ashoka-Lemelson Tech4Society special edition of MIT's Innovations journal.