Many community groups and organizations hire a social impact designer or futurist to help create a more prosperous, flourishing future. However, the designer or futurist often creates a future the community doesn't want or own, and any initiative created from the work either leaves the current situation unchanged, worsened, or only temporarily advanced or resolved. Many futurists tools do not work for underutilized communities.

For some, “Keep Portland Weird” is more than a bumper sticker. It’s a mandate, a clarion call, akin to the forces that guided many of us to the design community. It’s a directive to diverge from the mainstream and overcome functional fixedness. It also thrives on some of the same principles that guide design. Hear a series of short stories about the Whackadoos, a local band of merry pranksters who deeply valued creative chaos, understood their role in making it happen, and produced it lovingly for many years.