IN THIS ISSUE
Publisher's Note
Letter To The Editor
Thinking Green
Project Of The Month
More Thinking Green
GDUSA Contests
More Thinking Green
Upcoming Events
More Thinking Green
Now On GDUSA.com
PUBLISHERS NOTE: AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Washington has had an epiphany: jobs matter and entrepreneurs are vital to creating jobs. But the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York has already been ahead of that curve with carefully laid plans for a professional, non-degree program in Sustainable Design Entrepreneurship. The first program of its kind in the country, FIT recognizes that designers and entrepreneurs have the ability to drive change: designers through system and product design that influences behavior, as well as environmentally friendly material selection and sourcing; and entrepreneurs through innovation, job creation and growth. Student can elect an area of concentration — Sustainable Graphics/Packaging, Sustainable Fashion Design and Sustainable Interior Design — and study with faculty drawn from a variety of talented sustainability experts and FIT instructors. The program's advisory board includes the likes of Joel Makower, Beto Lopez, and Holly Henderson. Christine Helm is Program Coordinator and Jane Tabachnick is Program Consultant. Too bad FIT doesn't have expertise in healthcare, or we might make some progress on that issue as well.
— Gordon Kaye
LETTER: YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING
I could not believe that bottled water was featured as an example of green design in the January 2010 Green Design Newsletter. You've got to be kidding right? Is there any single product that you could show that is less green than that? Nothing exemplifies the crimes against our planet better than this product, no matter how is it “designed.”
— Susan Westhoff, Director of Marketing, Christopher Place Senior Communities, Ann Arbor MI
Coke Zero
Coke's presence at the Vancouver Olympic Games is zero-waste
and carbon-neutral. This is thought to be the first corporate
sponsorship of its kind. Café furniture made from
pine-beetle-salvaged wood, bottles made from 30% plant-based
materials, and beverages delivered via hybrid vehicles and
electric cart are among the elements. The effort has been years
in the making, say Coca-Cola officials, beginning with a
relatively simple recycling effort for the Athens Olympic
Games in 2000. Since then the company has layered in additional
steps, like environmentally friendly coolers and shirts
made of plastic bottles.
Big Move To Green Messaging
Businesses are finding marketing and advertising advantages
in green messages. In fact, 82 percent of respondents in a
new survey say they planned to include more green messaging
in their marketing, according to the report, “Green
Marketing: What Works & What Doesn't - A Marketing Study of
Practitioners.” Similarly, three quarters of respondents
use the internet to disseminate green messages, the most
popular medium, followed by half who utilize print. Survey
sponsors are the Environmental Leader and several
marketing trade publications including MarketingCharts,
MarketingVOX and MediaBuyerPlanner.
The Design Revolution Road Show is a
traveling exhibition and lecture series bringing “product
design that empowers” to 25 high schools and university
design programs across the nation in the Spring of 2010. A Project
H Design initiative, the road show will feature an Airstream
trailer exhibition of 40 humanitarian design solutions that have
been showcased in the book Design Revolution: 100 Products that
Empower People. The programming will bring the evidence of and
tools for design for social impact to the doorsteps of students,
with the ultimate goal 
of enabling and empowering the next
generation of creative problem-solvers to apply their skills to
the world's most pressing problems, including sustainability, and
improve life on a global scale. The
event launched last week in
San Francisco at the Academy of Art University. “We believe
design can change the world, and we're taking the show on the
road,” say Project H founder Emily Pilloton (shown here)
and project manager Matthew Miller, who will be behind the wheel
for the duration of the tour. The Adobe Foundation, Sappi
Paper, and C2 LLC (Creative Capital) are providing financial support.
Sustainable Branding
The leading brands of the future will be sustainable brands. At
least that is the premise of this summer's Sustainable Brands '10,
a three day event planned for June 7-10 in Monterey
CA. Entitled “The Power of And,” the program is said
to focus on a new kind of thinking, a new group of collaborators,
and a new set of tools. Attendees expected already include
representatives from Ben & Jerry's, Hewlett Packard, HSBC,
Starbucks, IDEO, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel, UPS, Kaiser
Permanente, Coca-Cola, Method, Nestle, Pfizer, Toyota, and
Unilever. Early sponsors include Dell, SAP, Domtar, Fast
Company, EcoBonus.org, Citizen and Cohn & Wolfe.
It's Good For You
AIGA Charlotte has launched a series of events, “Eat
Your Greens,” to help designers and clients take a
more environmentally-sustainable approach to their
businesses. “It's basically to start conversations
about how to get sustainable paper, ink, printers,
packaging, manufacturing, distribution, and shipping,”
says Member Director Rachel Martin. The first event in
January sold out quickly. April is next up. In addition to
helping designers make their own businesses more
sustainable, future “Eat Your Greens” events
will focus on approaching clients about adopting similar
practices.
Neenah Paper FSC Webinar - February 23
A free webinar hosted by Neenah Paper on what FSC Certification means to
designers, printers and their clients.
http://www.neenahpaper.com/webinar/index.asp?sr=GDUSAFSC
Graphics of the Americas - February 25-27
More educational sessions and bonus opportunities than ever to help
graphics professionals stay ahead of the industry curve at
the 35th anniversary show in Miami.
http://www.gdusa.com/eblasts/2010/100114-goa/msg.html
Surtex Show - May 16-18
SURTEX is packed with the latest trend-on artwork, designers
and licensors from around the world. A chance to license your
art and design. At the Javits Center in NYC.
http://www.surtex.com/
Think Global Buy (Design) Local
Toledo is the latest city to participate in the Urban Forest
Project. Local artists and Bowling Green State University
graphic design instructors Jenn Stucker and Amy Fidler helped
bring the project — which will celebrate the 40th
anniversary of Earth Day in April with 50 banners created
by area designers — to life. Each banner uses the tree
to give artistic expression to the idea of the
environment. “Cities such as Baltimore, Denver, San
Francisco and Albuquerque have participated in this project
since it originated in Times Square, New York in
2006,” Stucker said. “It's huge that Toledo will
now be among these cities.” She notes that it has
become common for local businesses to purchase graphic
design from artists in major cities, rather than from local
talent. She hopes the project will remind Toledo companies
of the talent right in northwest Ohio.
Communicate Better
Consumers have an appetite for more green products, but the
demand is being undercut by a shakey economy. This according
to the latest quarterly update from the Green Confidence
Index. A partnership of GreenBiz.com, Earthsense, and Survey
Sampling International, the index is at 102; 100 is the
baseline. The goal is to measure Americans' confidence in
how leaders and institutions are addressing environmental
issues, the adequacy of information to make informed decisions,
and green product purchasing. According to Chief Research
Officer Amy Hebard of Earthsense, “Consumers cite
perceived price premiums for green as their most frequent
reason for choosing conventional over green products.”
Hebard says that to overcome this — now hear this,
marketers and designers — sellers need to create
“more effective communications that leverage the power
of the retail experience or get inside the consumers' head
to understand which drivers are relevant to whom.” Other
ideas: reduce prices, demonstrate comparability to conventional
products and leverage the buying power of consumer groups. The
Index is a subscription-based service.
American Inhouse Design Awards is the premier showcase
and recognition program for outstanding work by inhouse
design / marketing / communications departments. The deadline
for entries is March 18. You can request a printed from by
emailing awards@gdusa.com. Or
you can download an entry form immediately at...
http://www.gdusa.com/contests/aida.php
A Holistic Process
Wendy Jedlicka's book, Sustainable Graphic Design: Tools, Systems
and Strategies for Innovative Print Design, is accurately dubbed a
“the graphic artist's guide to sustainable design.” The
author's goal is to help designers view graphic design as a holistic
process. It is a big picture approach to design seen from the
viewpoints of the audience, the creative vendor, their suppliers,
and society as a whole. Chapters are written by a wide range of
sustainable design pioneers and practitioners — including
graphic designers, creative managers, marketing consultants,
environmentalists, researchers, and psychologists — providing
critical information on materials and processes. Case studies
illustrate and tie concepts together.
Radiating Ripples
LaRocca Branding & Advertising has designed a logo for Pete
Seeger's brainchild, Clearwater, the Hudson Valley's pioneering
environmental organization leading the clean-up of the Hudson
River. It celebrates Clearwater's 40th Anniversary and move to
their new location in Beacon. A series of blue C's standing for
“Clearwater” depict radiating ripples of the ongoing,
far-reaching, environmental changes the company has affected, not
just on the river but the entire valley. Mark LaRocca is a thirty
three year veteran of the industry; his company is now
headquartered in Rhinebeck MY.
NOW- 2010 People To Watch
- Students To Watch
- Designer-Friendly Companies
- Salary Survey
COKE'S SUSTAINABLE OLYMPICS
Zero Waste and Carbon Neutral
1500 Clean Energy Coolers
Hybrid Delivery Vehicles
Cafe Furniture Is Salvaged Wood
Menu Boards Of Recycled Materials
Uniforms Made Of Recycled Bottles
Coke's PlantBottle 30% Plant-based
Compostable Coffee Cups And Lids
Carbon Offsets For Travel And Transport
Green Teams Clean and Recycle Litter
Environmental Pledge For Athletes
Torchbearers Are Green Essay Winners