Design Done Differently: Empax 03/12/2010
 empax.org Branding, graphic design and advertising are usually not associated with non-profit ventures. Non-profits have to compete at the same level as everyone else in the marketplace, and they need to avail of the same expertise available to everyone else. Empax is one such graphic design firm, who work for non-profits. In their own words "We create media, sites and other tools that our clients can operate and expand on their own, thereby offering the most cost-effective solutions available. Long after our client work has ended, these tools will continue to empower our clients’ communications as their organizations grow and evolve." Empax is exemplary. They work 'exclusively for The Good Guys'. They usually work for clients, but if they feel strongly about a cause, or sense a design opportunity, they work on it on their own too. The logo and visual language to them, is a way to represent an abstract concept to people. Good causes need to be communicated well to people, to translate into positive action. Non-profits need design strongly, as they depend on donors, and other factors beyond money. You can see a list of who they work with here. There's the pro bono work they did for Israeli President Shimon Peres. They created two booklets concerned with the Israeli environmental situation, and 32 specific actions the President could take to reach specific environmental targets. The President has adopted their points, and putting recommendations into practice. There are numerous other case studies such as Sound, Hunts Point, and Hide And Seek. They deal with health, education, sustainability, social action, community building, and more. You can also take a look at Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection. Of course the question on everyone's mind is: Is doing such work economically viable for them, because at the end of the day, we all have to eat. They do charge their clients, but as they also have to pay rent and salaries, they are happy if anyone would like to sponsor their work. Sponsorship enables them to charge their clients less, and gets you a mention on their donor roll. They are on the look out for talent (=people) and they need stories (=clients). Empax appears to have taken design beyond colour and form, to its new role, and probably an essential one for the future. If design is to continue empowering humankind tomorrow, it has to rise to the challenges of today. And they aren't just about choosing the right typeface anymore. Its challenging for graphic design or advertising to translate into any kind of social or behavioral change. (not including consumerism) How many 'save the trees' posters actually save trees? If graphic design can nudge positive social change or empowerment, then its breaking new ground. By Armeen Kapadia Add Comment Esthetically fashioned 03/03/2010
 © fromsomewhere.co.uk  © fromsomewhere.co.uk  © elvisandkresse.com  © christopherraeburn.co.uk The British Fashion Council has an eco sensitive initiative known as Estethica, now in its seventh season at the London Fashion Week. This initiative, one of the first of its kind, has seen some rapid growth, from 13 to 18 designers. It encourages ethical designers competing in the mainstream. Some of the designers are reusing materials you wouldn't look twice at, and creating great looking stuff at that, while others are focussing on naturally grown materials, and fair trade. Take a look at the work of Elvis and Kresse, the people who seem healthily obsessed with waste. Some of the material they work with includes old fire-hose, coffee sacks, parachute silk and more. See their products, bags, belts, wallets, and they looks as good as new, if not better. Their packaging too, is made of re-used material, with product labels that are printed on the back of used Air Traffic Control Strips. Another designer doing some pretty nifty work is Christopher Raeburn, who makes parachutes into must-possess jackets and the like. The jackets are made from military parachute fabric, and looking at them you wouldn't believe it. The lines of the parachutes are transformed into trendy outer wear. From Somewhere have been creating women's wear since 1997, from the waste created in the designing phase such as proofs, swatches, cut-out left overs and ends of materials. Each piece is individually unique, but they are still reproducible in large numbers. Each piece is made from high-quality left-overs of the fashion industry, things that are usually unwanted and ignored, but still beautiful and usable. Run by Orsola de Castro and Fillippo Ricci, their strategy is simple and brilliantly effective. Use the fashion industry production surplus and leftovers, completing the circle of creation and consumption. Incidentally, Orsola and Fillippo are the co-founders and creators of Esthetica. Izzy Lane Ethical Fashion creates woolen garments that mostly come from their own sheep, and the Shetland Collection is entirely undyed as the natural colour of the wool is best. The shoe collection is totally animal-friendly with no animal derived products used. Izzy Lane is also concerned with creating the entire garment exclusively in Britain, and use what little is left of their textile industry. Kayu is an ethical and ecologically conscious line of accessories, the high-point of which are sunglasses handcrafted from bamboo. Their clutch bags are made from a women's cooperative and feature natural materials such as shell and straw. Founded by Jamie Lim, Kayu funds one sight-restoring surgery for each pair of glasses sold. There are other designers here too such as Sonya Kashmiri, who only uses a special tanning process, and Minna, who re-use old lace, and design waste to create stylish pieces. Nina Dolcetti shoes are outrageous and hand-made, yet create minimum waste, and avoid tanning. Estethica labels selected for 2010 are here. A great initiative that can create new paradigms in the industry, and encourages designers to be more ethically and ecologically conscious. By Armeen Kapadia The Footprint Chronicles 08/06/2009
 Mini-site: The Footprint Chronicles Patagonia is a California based clothing company that mostly makes outdoor clothing. It was founded in 1972 by Yvon Chouinard. Since its inception it has been considered a socially responsible company. Since 1985, Patagonia has donated $25 million to over 1000 organizations. It commits 1% of the total sales to the environment. Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. – Patagonia's Mission Statement Patagonia adheres to minimalist style. Its approach to product design is always simplicity and utility. Apart from focus on the design principles, it is also deeply concerned about the steep decline in the overall health of our planet. It is one of the few companies that is aware that it creates pollution as a by-product. It is working steadily to reduce those harmful impacts. As an employer it promotes Fair Labor and Environmental protection where its products are made. Its employees are paid fairly and enjoy good benefits. Patagonia only designs, tests, markets, and sells its products. It pays other factories to produce the fabrics and do the actual cutting and sewing. Factories to which it gives contracts for production are reviewed for both product quality and working conditions. It works with factories that get a positive review on the basis of product quality and working conditions. It has an active factory assessment program, since 1990, that keeps scorecards based on performance in different areas. It has an active third-party audit program, since 1994, that initiates discussions about change. There was a time when it lost track of who it was doing business with, and what working conditions were like in many of its factories. To resolve this problem, it has an active employee education program that focuses on factory workplace issues and work efficiency. It also trains its staff in social responsibility issues. In order to understand the social and environmental impacts of its supply chain, Patagonia has launched The Footprint Chronicles. Since Patagonia designs, develops and markets clothing, it has attained an environmental conscience. The Footprint Chronicles is an interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of its products from design through to delivery. The sheer transparent approach which they have adopted is heart-warming. They are aware that there is still no such thing as sustainable business and they are working towards it. If you select any of the products in the site, you can actually see the location trail on the globe. When you hover over every location, you can get information (photos and/or video clips) on what happens in every step of the process. For every product, you can see four mouse-overs — energy consumption, distance travelled, carbon dioxide emissions and waste generated. For example, if I select the Puckerware Shirt (Available in spring 2010), I can see that the fiber was acquired from Turkey, that is spun, woven and sewn in Thailand before it is shipped to Nevada in the US. If I want to know how far the Puckerware Shirt has traveled, it shows that, "Every Puckerware Shirt travels a total distance of 13,550 miles from origin as polymer raw material through garment delivery." The best part is it is equated to relative concepts such as this, "Every Puckerware Shirt travels the entire length of Nile river (4,132 miles) three times." Patagonia also is a co-founder of 1% for the planet. This is an alliance of businesses that, like Patagonia, commit at least 1% of their total sales to the environment. Patagonia bears the ultimate responsibility for the social and environmental cost of every product. Hoping many companies will emulate its efforts. If you have time then read these essays and the blog. Great day! By Sanjay Basavaraju Cycle folded 08/05/2009
 © www.eyetohand.com "I couldn't find a folding bicycle I liked. I wanted something that could take a bit of punishment and that you could have fun with. So I made one myself." That is the explanation that Dominic Hargreaves gives for his latest invention, the Contortionist, which seems to be the ultimate folding bicycle. Folding cycles are common in many countries, where people often take cycles on trains, or buses. Folding cycles make traveling easier, and encourage people to take their cycles out more. The Contortionist bike bends and folds to fit into the circumference of its 26-inch wheel with ease. After that, you just have to hold the pullout handlebar section, and roll it around behind you, unlike other folding cycles, which need to be carried. 24 year-old Hargreaves graduated from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, and completed his post-graduation in the Design Products course at the Royal College of Art. He says "I wanted a bike for everything, one you could use in the city or off road without compromises, but would also fold up within the circumference of a wheel." The bicycle frame uses a set of pivots, and a lockable universal joint, in the front fork. Hargreaves has already won an award for his earlier bike related invention, a parking device by which cycles can be hoisted up in the house, or on a wall, out of the reach of thieves. Hargreaves thinks that the final production of the folding bike model shouldn’t cost more than $400, and three German car firms (names not yet disclosed), have already expressed interest in manufacturing the Contortionist. It is up for this year's James Dyson Award for innovation. Do see the video below to get an idea of how this amazingly flexible cycle folds into itself. By Armeen Kapadia Furniture once flew 08/03/2009
 Ejection chair  Partition  MotoArt searches boneyards for old plane parts to recycle into furniture. They use B-25 rudders for desks, and 747 jet engine cowlings for beds. MotoArt believes that it is preserving aviation history with functional art. The junk is looked at as marvelous engineering components from yesteryear that gives much joy, as well of a feeling of being a small part of aviation. Much of aviation scrap hits the smelter's furnace so that it can be recycled into metal that can be shipped to either India or China. Dave Hall and Donovan Fell started MotoArt in 2000 out of their garage to create high-end furniture out of old aircraft parts. They have designed a range of products from beds to chairs to desks to lamps, and to photo frames. They feel that they are giving these parts from historic planes a second life. What comes across through their work is sheer passion and belief. MotoArt is now a multi-million dollar business. It all began with an art exhibition where they showcased Fell's polished B-17 bomber propeller sculptures. By selling the whole show, they realized the potential in considering it a full-time job. As their grey cells began to work on this project full-time, they started experimenting with parts such as rudders, cowlings, seats, fuselage, nose and tail stabilizers. It takes 220 hours to turn a single 747 cowling into a chrome receptionist's desk. GE commissioned MotoArt to design and build a reception desk for their New Qatar facility. For this, they split the engine cowling into equal halves, doubling them up into an impressive 19 feet long reception desk. Boeing International commissioned MotoArt to design and fabricate a high-flying simulator as a marketing strategy to create interest in 787 Dreamliner. It debuted at Air France's 75th anniversary party in Paris and now tours globally. Inspiring stuff! Watch the YouTube video below. By Sanjay Basavaraju The curious case of Nissan designers 07/24/2009
 Nissan's aging suit Nissan motors is thinking for the future. After 25 years, there will be more elderly citizens driving cars. The problem is that most designers working directly on car design are young. To simulate what it is like to be a 70-year-old person, designers are donning an 'aging suit'. The suit gives designers the mobility and faculties of a driver twice their age. Money becomes the message 07/23/2009
 Billboard made out of Zimbabwe currency  Zimbabwe currency as flyers We know that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe because of one man's stubbornness. That man is Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwean, a national daily, commissioned the the Trillion Dollar campaign which communicates Mugabe's effect on Zimbabwe's economy. Recently, Zimbabwe launched a 50 billion dollar note, which bought its bearer two loaves of bread. By March 2009, the price for two loaves of bread had jumped to 7.5 trillion Zimbabwe dollars. Campaign: Trouble Makers 07/13/2009
 Wppt Contraceptives If a contraceptive is named Wptt, one wonders who would be buying it. But it sells in China. For the first time I see a communication that radically shifts its focus from the cliched messages such as pleasure, safety and fear. Wit with Smart Grid 07/08/2009
The aspect of wit in communication is missing in many commercials. The latest commercials for GE's Smart Grid reminds us that wit exists and can be effective in communicating messages. How does one convince citizens to use renewable energy? Twirl to shoot 07/07/2009
Sony has a new camera, which does not require any batteries. The Sony Odo Twirl and Take hand powered digital camera, when rolled on a hard surface generates enough power to take a photograph. |   Every monthSeptember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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