Never lose your sense of idealism. We all want to live in a world of our own making.
Founded in 2018, Dugud Design developed less out of choice and more out of a necessity. Working with block clubs, community groups, and small non-profit organizations, I saw a need for quality design and branding to communicate a call to action. I hope to bring that passion to do good to your next project.
Darren Cotton
Founder & Principal Designer
My experiences in the fields of urban planning, community development, and community organizing have helped define my approach to design. Between 2015 and 2020 I served as the Director of Community Development & Planning for the University District Community Development Association (UDCDA), a human services, housing, and community development nonprofit serving Buffalo’s northeast neighborhoods. My work primarily focused on housing rehabilitation, small business support, commercial corridor revitalization, and community capacity building. Prior to my time at the UDCDA, I served as an Associate Planner at the University at Buffalo Regional Institute helping to lead community engagement and planning initiatives across the Buffalo Niagara Region. As a student renter living in the University Heights neighborhood, I also founded The Tool Library, a neighborhood-based tool sharing nonprofit whose mission is to provide communities with the tools they need to create the change they want. I saw the Tool Library as a platform to combat absentee landlords, neighborhood blight, and increase access to the tools people need to fix up their homes, grow their own food, or improve their community.
I hold Bachelor’s degrees in International Studies and Linguistics from the University at Buffalo, as well as a Master’s in Urban Planning from the University at Buffalo. I am a native of Western New York and currently live in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood of Buffalo, I work to bridge the gap between research, policy, grassroots activism, and design and am a firm believer that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.