Curitiba's City Hall requested that the Design Center Paraná find an alternative to fulfill design demands from micro entrepreneurs being supported by the Employment Program (Linhão do Emprego), and so the pilot project Design Center was created in 2001, to support around 80 spin-offs from this municipal program.

The Design Center concept started with the idea that micro-entrepreneurs supported by the Employment Program (Linhão do Emprego) didn't have financial resources to hire design professionals. Therefore, the whole project operation was planned with the participation of college students under the supervision of their teachers.

This way, the Design Center helped spin-offs in the elaboration of brands and packaging for products already present on the market and also in the development of new products. At the same time, it allowed design students to gain  professional experience and better market visibility. In a year and a half, the Center received35 service requests and created 31 projects.

Besides formatting, implementing and managing the project, the Design Center Paraná created formal partnerships for the project execution. Curitiba's Development Company (CIC), Tuiuti University of Paraná (UTP) and the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) were some of the partners.

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