Re-nourish 01/13/2010
 Re-nourish.com is all about doing just that, re-nourishing the environment, using the power of design. (special attention graphic designers!) Many designers want to know the environmental impacts of their projects, but don't have the right resource to turn to. Re-nourish is such a resource, that tells us all about making better design decisions for a better environment, and calculating the environmental cost each project has. Some of the useful tools on their site are the project calculator and the paper finder which help you get an idea of how much you are wasting or saving. There is also the Sustainable Graphic Design Standards page, where you can fill out their online application and they will assess how sustainable the project is. As explained, "There is currently no universal, reliable set of sustainability standards available to graphic designers, their clients, or consumers—no way to know, quickly, whether or not a project, or a studio, is legitimately sustainable. As a result, studios struggle to educate clients about their environmental efforts, clients don't know where to begin the decision-making process, and everyone ends up either confused, mislead, or just disgusted with the whole business." Yes, how true. Designers are often too flummoxed by the whole process to advise clients correctly. Dispel confusion by a good read-through of Re-nourish.com. Do read their Introduction to Sustainable Design, which dispels the myth that sustainable design is difficult, or clients won't want it. A must read is the Sustainability Design Roadmap. This tells us how we can actually be more responsible and take better design decisions, right from the start of a project. And its pretty simple to do. There is also a good amount of information on greener paper, greener printing, greener ink and greener materials, for all of us designers who were foggy about these issues. As said on their site, under resources: print design, "Without most us even realizing it, print design has been traveling an unsustainable path for years, relying heavily on virgin wood fiber and toxic manufacturing processes. This path seemed to make good business sense because it cost less, and it was easily accessible. But the pulp and paper industry is now the fourth largest industrial polluter in the United States; paper takes up 26% of our country's landfills, and uses 40% of the world's wood harvest. (source: Green Press Initiative) It's pretty clear by now that the real costs of remaining on this path are just too high.More and more, though, print designers are taking small steps along a new, more sustainable path. We're discovering that small changes become large when multiplied by thousands of other designers making similar decisions. Need an example? Given a typically tight budget to produce a catalog, two University of Illinois design students assumed that recycled paper would be cost prohibitive. But using the Re-nourish Project Calculator, they discovered that if they trimmed just 1/4" off the book height they would save around 1,000 press sheets. This saved them $3,000, allowing them to specify a high quality, 100% recycled, FSC-certified paper. With a little design thinking, they saved 9,717 gallons of water, 13 million BTUs of energy, 942 pounds of solid waste and avoided 2,255 pounds of greenhouse gases. Now imagine what you could do with the right tools." Modern packaging is another thing that is eating into the environment at an alarming rate. As they say, the greenest packaging is no packaging at all. This can be extremely feasible for some products, such as T-shirts, which can just be rolled up and secured with a product tag. Of course the 'no-packaging' approach cannot work for many products, and in those cases one needs to be more aware of materials, re-usability, and mode of transport. While we may not have a network of greener printers here in India, there are other simple steps to ensure that a project is at least somewhat sustainable. Do have a look at their Case Studies page as well. Definitely read their Glossary, also explaining Eco logos (those little things you may see on sheets of paper, products, packages, and you don't know what they really mean). Re-nourish is a great site to visit, and read through thoroughly because it makes sustainable design accessible to us all. It tells us how simple design decisions can go a long way in creating positive impact, and its really just a question of designers changing their way of thinking, of being aware and alert, and willing to change, during the design process. Sooner or later (hopefully sooner) sustainable design will form a core part of design curriculum worldwide. Till then, we can take the help of such exhaustive resources such as Re-nourish. As said on their site, "Now imagine what you could do with the right tools." By Armeen Kapadia Add Comment Wat-a-filter! 01/06/2010
 Every year millions of children die of water-borne diseases. A scientist from Australia has developed a filter, that's as easy to make as it is to use, with clay, coffee and, believe it or not, some good ol' cow dung. He created this technology in 2005, and it has never been patented, so that it is used freely wherever required in the world. Tony Flynn, an artist, potter and materials scientist at the Australian National University (ANU), realised that water-borne diseases such as diarrhea destroy numerous lives, especially in the developing world. Most water filters consist of a hollow ceramic vessel filled with charcoal. These filters are usually imported from foreign countries, and out of reach for the people who need it the most. This filter uses normal clay, found freely anywhere in the world, mixed with coffee. The clay on its own is too dense to allow water through. When the clay is mixed with coffee in equal parts, and fired, the coffee creates holes in it, making it porous. Firing of clay is an expensive affair requiring a kiln, and Tony knew this would not be practical. Wood too, is not always easily available. He realised that cow manure is the ideal material as a dung fire burns at 950˚C, perfect for baking clay. After around an hour of baking in the dung, the filter is ready to use. When tested the filter removes between 94.6 and 99.8% of e-coli in water. The tiny holes of the filter are too small for bacteria to go through. However, particles from the clay itself, and some viruses can pass through the filter. "It's not a golden bullet but it's a bullet nevertheless. It will help where there's nothing else available." Mr. Flynn elaborates. According to the ANU, 'the organic materials are burned away during the firing process and create small passages in the filter that allow water, but not pathogens, to pass. This filter effectively removes 96.4-99.8% of E. Coli in water.' This invention was born out of a World Vision and Potters for Peace project in East Timor, to rehabilitate a small potter community, Manatuto, that had been displaced by the constant violence of East Timor's civil war. The idea was empower the potters to make their own filters, and maybe even sell them for income. The simple materials, and the firing with cow-dung ensures this is a 'zero-technology' process, available whenever needed. Tony Flynn sums it up,"“Everyone has a right to clean water, these filters have the potential to enable anyone in the world to drink water safely." By Armeen Kapadia Happy New Year with Project H 01/04/2010
 Now its not that often that you come across someone who says 'We believe design can change the world.', as there is a hard-core cynic in a lot of us, but Project H is one initiative that does believe in it. 'Project H Design connects the power of design to the people who need it most, and the places where it can make a real and lasting difference.' Project H is a California based non-profit. Project H is a team of designers, builders, thinkers and doers, working locally to improve the quality of life for the socially overlooked. Project H consists of design initiatives for humanity, habitats, health, and happiness. Its really worth reading their process, as stated on the site. Here it is in brief: 1) There is no design without (critical) action. 2) We design WITH, not FOR. 3) We document, share, and measure. 4) We start locally, and scale globally. 5) We design systems, not stuff. These pretty much sum up the holy grail of design, or atleast charts the future course of design. Project H is the brainwave of Emily Pilloton, a designer who in January 2008, decided it was time to quit her job 'designing the superfluous', and create something more meaningful to the world in general. You can read more about Emily here. Don't miss reading the Manifesto page on the site. An extract, "...here’s the brass tacks reality: We need to challenge the design world to take the “product” out of product design for a second and deliver results and impact rather than form and function; to reconsider who our clients really are; to turn our tightly-cinched consumer business models and luxury aesthetics on their heads; to get over “going green;” and to enlist a new generation of design activists. We need big hearts, bigger business sense, and even bigger balls." You can read more about Project H here and here. And definitely take a good look at their projects. Design to inspire in 2010 and beyond. By Armeen Kapadia Eating off leaves 09/11/2009
 VerTerra dishes Michael Dwork, founder and CEO of VerTerra, was inspired by the Indian leaf plate when he visited India. Since then he has been constantly refining that simple organic plate. On similar lines, VerTerra focuses on producing more durable and versatile single-use products. The products can be used to bake in the oven, store in the fridge and reheat in the microwave. VerTerra is rooted in the Latin phrase 'Veritas terra' or 'true to the earth'. The VerTerra dinnerware is made from fallen leaves that they borrow and then returned to the earth. The methods that Verterra uses to produce its quality dinnerware is sustainable. Most of VerTerra's dinnerware are made in South Asia by creating hundreds of fair-wage jobs. The company claims that their craftspeople are well-supported financially, provided healthcare and safe working conditions. Their top priority is to be true to the earth. Although water is used to clean gathered leaves, no trees are cut, and over 80% of the water is recaptured and reused. The dinnerware is 100% free of chemicals, lacquers, glues, bonding agents or anything toxic. VerTerra has won many awards for its innovation. The products are stylish, versatile and compostable. The dinnerware is light and looks like a beautifully grained piece of wood. It is rugged and feels almost like thin bamboo. But it is the strangeness that is so attractive. The thickness of the plates gives no hint them being disposable products. They replace paper or plastic plates in over 500 parties and events across the globe. It takes about 62 days for a plate to fully decompose. A set of eight 6-inch plates retails for $4.99. Via its website, customers can directly buy VerTerra products. Critics haven't been able to report anything negative even after abusing the plates and bowls. VerTerra's products are so good that they are now the official serviceware of the Statue of Liberty. Price is a crucial factor that stops people from buying such products. In recent years, the cost of their products have been cut by 50%, making them as affordable as disposable products. Their factories use 10% of the energy that most recycled paper plate factories use. The leaf-scrap that is left while making the plates is crushed into powder and provided as fertilizer to the farmers who send leaves to VerTerra. A manufacturing plant only produces around 2-3 regular trash bins worth of waste in an entire month. Michael Dwork regrets the fact that all items are put in recycled plastic shrink wrap for hygenic reasons. He wishes there was a way around that use of plastic, but it is necessary. There are no other heat and water stable materials that will ensure that customers get the product in a sanitary condition, but he will happily entertain suggestions. The only complaint that he has got in 9 months of selling is that people feel bad throwing them away since they feel so sturdy and look so attractive. These products are the biodegradable, aesthetically pleasing dinnerware and they are as green as it gets. Do see the interview with Michael Dwork. By Sanjay Basavaraju Objects reborn 09/10/2009
 Waffle Iron Heights © David Trautrimas Photography, old cast-off machines, and a shockingly new sense of scale combine to form unique pieces of art in David Trautrimas' work. He creates a fictional world, with old junky stuff most of us wouldn't look at twice. The objects, in their new surroundings look amazingly like real architecture in actual townscapes. You can almost imagine little beings working, living and sleeping in this slightly dreary new world. David collects old objects, photographs them, then digitally re-creates them into these little worlds. On the computer he adds trees, fences, doors and windows, that will make the old gadgets come to life. The gadgets themselves are a range of old kitchen mixers, hole punchers, waffle irons, staplers, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines and other household objects. There is a fantastic sense of juxtaposition, and abstraction, which leads to totally unexpected results. The dramatic deconstruction, and then re-construction blends the lines between the oddly familiar and totally bizarre. No object is too old or too ugly. In this new place, they all become homes and offices, belonging both to the future and the past. They make a new architectural style, and gives the old and forgotten renewed purpose. Why do everyday things like this fascinate humans so much? Probably because a drastic change of context and surrounding almost change the object itself. What was garbage, is now art. David is pretty much a full-time collector, always on the look out for old household objects that he can transform. The more scratches, dents and missing parts, the more beautiful it is to David. He sifts through garage sales, e-bay auctions and flea markets to find them. He confesses to being an 'obsessive junk hunter', even taking apart his own Toyota to complete a piece. He is technically adept enough to dismantle a piece, extract and replace the bit he needs, put it back together, and still keep it in working condition. When he gets the junk back home, he shoots it against a white neutral background. He then roams the city again, taking thousands of photographs of lawns, buildings, driveways, trees, lights and sidewalks, all of which will form the visual database that will surround the objects. His attention to detail, the placement of the trees, windows, the realistically airy sky, all contribute to creating the urban, industrial ambience of the piece. More than his photoshop wizardry, its his ability to imagine the piece of metal in a parallel universe that makes his work unique. Have a look at the range of 'factories' he has created, and take a look at the rest of his work on his site. By Armeen Kapadia  Automobile factory © David Trautrimas  Cooler factory © David Trautrimas  Fan factory © David Trautrimas  Staples factory © David Trautrimas Target's ClearRx 08/11/2009
 Target's ClearRx When Deborah Adler was a MFA student at SVA, she studied a variety of prescription bottles as part of her thesis project. She concluded that the round, amber bottle design was not user friendly. It didn't help users understand how to take their medication. She also concluded that the information is inconsistent across kinds of medicines. As a solution to the problem, she arrived at SafeRx. It all started when Adler's grandmother accidently swallowed pills meant for her grandfather. To avoid such scenarios in the future, she decided to design the bottle herself. She focused on label, color-coding and information. Target took keen interest in Adler's concept. In collaboration with Klaus Rosburg, a Target industrial designer, she took the concept to the shelves. The packaging design ClearRx is patented. The result was a more intuitive pill bottle and information system. The label is now easy to read. The information card is removable. The color-coded rings helps easy identification. The redesigned warning icons make sense. The system's primary goal is to clearly present important information to the patient. With Rosburg, she worked on the shape of the bottle. Adler originally worked on a bottle design that looked like a semi circle, but later it was rejected for the difficulties it presented in fitting a child-proof cap. Rosburg eventually designed an upside-down bottle that has two flat sides and rests upon its cap. Rosburg also helped Adler refine her color-coding concept aimed at making it easier for different family members to keep track of their medicines. The name of the drug appears prominently on the spine, and a card with information about side effects slips into a slot aimed at keeping it with the pills. Target is already manufacturing the bottles in its signature red. It is an irony, that in an industry where information is key, it was ignored until now. The ClearRx bottle was also a part of the MOMA SAFE exhibit. Hopefully there will be more such designs in the future. Do check this link, which kind of summarizes Target's design perspectives. By Sanjay Basavaraju Paper made from poop 08/10/2009
 Promotional products © poopoopaper.com We have heard of eco-friendly paper, recycled paper, paper made from waste fibres and the rest of it. Here is a paper, that’s literally made from waste material. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company Limited is making paper, and some really nice gift items, all from elephant dung. Asian elephants are found in India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Borneo. Elephants are mostly domesticated, and very few remain in the wild now. In Sri Lanka, the elephant has been under threat in recent times, though it was revered in Buddhist tradition. Elephants are often killed and wounded when they come in contact with human habitation and destroy crops. An eco-friendly solution to this problem is the manufacture of paper and paper products from elephant dung. Farmers can now co-exist with the elephant, and have a mutually beneficial relationship with them. Elephant dung is in constant supply, and can easily be collected by the villagers. An elephant produces about 100 kgs of dung per day. An elephant eats coconut leaves, jackfruit leaves, palmyra leaves and other vegetation rich in fibre. Around 60% of this fibre leaves its body undigested. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company collects naturally dried dung from national parks, and brings it to the paper-making factory. The dung is then rinsed with water, leaving only the fibrous material behind. The fibres are then boiled thoroughly to ensure that they are perfectly clean and smell-free. Colour can also be added at this stage. Natural fibres from banana trees and pineapples are added to strengthen the paper. The fibre is spread over a mesh, and left to dry in the sun for a few hours. And then your poo-poo paper is ready. Visit the Poo-tique to see the range of products the company makes. These make attractive and useful gift items. The company was started in 2002, and now has distributes products in many countries worldwide. Initially their products were expensive, but they worked to modify the production process, and today they have a great product line, with a positive ecologically responsible message. As the site says, they are products with a purpose. Such paper is also made in Thailand. An end product becomes a base of manufacturing for another product. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company is ‘Number one at number two’. Do see the video below. 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 The Braille Tyepwriter 08/04/2009
 The Next Generation Perkins/APH Mechanical Braille Writer Braille, an essential communication system, needs communication devices to make it more usable and accessible. One such device is the Next Generation Perkins/APH Mechanical Braille Writer, designed and developed by the Perkins School for the Blind and American Printing House for the Blind. In the end of the nineteenth century several different tactile reading and writing systems were in use. They depended on the slate and stylus, tools developed by Charles Barbier and Louis Braille. The slate and stylus allow for a quick and consistent method of embossing Braille writing. David Abraham, a wood-working teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind, first produced the original Perkins Brailler, a Braille typewriter, in 1951. It has since been used in over 170 countries worldwide. A Braille typewriter has six keys, each corresponding to one of the six dots of the Braille code. It also has a backspace, a space key, and a line space key. Prior to the invention of this typewriter, it was relatively difficult and cumbersome to write Braille. The Next Generation Perkins Brailler, developed in 2008, is more ergonomically designed, requiring less force to type. It is also smaller, lighter, and quieter. The redesign of the Brailler started with exhaustive international user research, among those who use and know the Brailler best. The product designers, along with engineers, questioned children, adults and teachers in the US, Malawi, South Africa and India, across all age groups. Through the research, they also gained other insights such as the need to erase a Braille error without scratching it out with your nail, or a wooden eraser. The ability to adjust the margins without reaching to the back of the machine was necessary. Users wanted to read what has just been brailled without supporting the page with one hand and reading with the other. It is more environmentally friendly, comes in fun colours, and is has tactile design elements. The Next Generation Perkins/APH Mechanical Braille Writer is one of the forty-seven silver award winning ideas at the IDEA awards. You can read more about it’s new features here. Do see the video below, which explains the redesign. By Armeen Kapadia |   Every monthSeptember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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