Designers Accord Town Hall 2012: Seattle Recap
by: Core77, 2012-10-22 23:30:00 UTC
The second Seattle Designers Accord Town Hall was held October 11th at Carbon Design Group's studio. The event was organized by Carbon, Modern Species and AIGA Seattle. The theme of the night was "Are We There Yet?" reflecting the seemingly endless journey of designers striving to produce sustainable results for willing clients. The evening kicked off with refreshments and networking, and then moved on to the main events. Linda Wagner, of Carbon, and Gage Mitchell, of both Modern Species and AIGA Seattle, shared the emcee duties. Four speakers delivered short presentations to address the topic from their perspective (industrial design, graphic design, architecture, or business), before continuing the conversation in breakout sessions.
Ashley Arhart
Creative Director of Consumer Experience at Hornall Anderson
Ashley gets props for bringing, well, props. Her message for the evening was that sustainable design is only successful if the consumer likes it. Case in point was the incredibly noisy Sun Chips bag. Compostable, yes, but hearing it in person drove home the problem—nobody wants to broadcast that they're snacking. Ashley went on to ruffle every print designer in attendance by declaring the book is dead... as an object of information, but alive as an object of desire. To bring this home, she used the example of Wantful, a company that allows you to create a beautiful personalized book filled with a curated selection of gifts from which a recipient can pick. By blending digital and print, Wantful delivers a richer, more meaningful experience. And meaningful experiences are vital because, the success of a product is determined by how it connects with people. (Ashley also wrote up a great detailed post about her breakout session which you can find here.)
Kirk Myers
Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at REI
Kirk's job is to design business systems that provide sustainable outcomes. One of REI's greatest successes in this endeavor came from partnering with other outdoor apparel manufacturers like Patagonia and Timberland to create the HIGG Index, which measurers the impact of their products. By working together, these companies were able to give their vendors an assessment tool and a very large incentive to use it. Kirk pointed out that the true focus of any company is whether or not a customer will buy a product. A sustainable product isn't sustainable at all if it doesn't sell. Method is a company that gets this in spades. They aren't successful because they create sustainable products. They're successful because they create better products with a combination of design, functionality, and affordability that makes them stand out. Sustainable products must be better all around.
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WASTED ISSUE!
by: Ecofriend, 2012-10-23 10:00:01 UTC
Waste is a big mess. Hypes of dung lying in a society, the dust burying the home furniture and even the environment is digging deeper under the garbage it has got piled up for itself, the waste with no place to go is screaming to be used. Manifested reforms are being used. People are said to cut down on usage and even asked to keep a check on the dispose at their home level. The basic and most effective ways of getting the no waste is to consider nothing as waste. It does not mean to have a home for all the un-necessary things at your place but that of giving a new look of usefulness to it.
The most effective and ancient way is:
RECYCLE
Give an analytical glare at the trash bin of your house and pick up all those can, newspapers, plastic bottles etc and get your novelty side out. These can be used as the pen-holder, lamps, decorative pieces and a lot more depending upon the creative eye you have. Giving the newspapers and other reusable material to the recyclers and old clothes, toys and things which can be used but have lost your interest to needy people rather than throwing.
REUSE
Reuse or multiple uses will help in acquiring the zero wastage agenda. From things as small as of a plastic bag, carrying your own bags for shopping in order to prevent the plastic piles at home, using a bottle or can for the purpose of storing water, pulses etc which you through after emptying it. using the water left after doing the dishes for plants.
REDUCE
It is the most effective method. Reducing or shunning the use of environmental degrading agents like plastic, CFC etc can not only make these go extinct but also give you a safer and gem free ambience to live it. Start from your perfume, get your car checked for pollution regularly and use CFC free refrigerators. All these steps if taken by all can at once bring a huge change.
SMART USE
methods like car pool and use of public transport can not only make your transportation bills go smashing on the lowest floors, save the environment and cal also get you some good people to interact with. One can get the organic products, efficient lightings and even depend on the alternative sources like disposable utensils, electricity generating solar and thermal plants. Use of buckets instead of showers
Modern Mini Washer
by: Yanko Design, 2012-10-19 07:01:46 UTC
Designed for compact spaces, Washa|part is a small (and way cute) wall-mounted washing machine that enables users to do their personal laundry at home even though they might not have room for standard units. The concept relies primarily on steam to release particles from clothing, and even sprays detergent onto items in the form of a fine mist to better suit the steam operation. The beltless, gearless design is also super quiet- great for small apartments where larger washer/dryers can be deafening.
Designers: Buse Üstün & Fulya Pekserbes
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(Modern Mini Washer was originally posted on Yanko Design)
Related posts:
- Modern Additions in not so Modern Homes
- Water Recycling Washer & Dryer
- Shape Changing Plate Washer and Drier
It's a Mud Mud Mud Mud World
by: TreeHugger Design, 2012-10-22 15:15:00 UTC
Rammed earth design goes mainstream in the Financial Times
Printing products at home is “cheaper than shopping”
by: Dezeen, 2012-10-21 00:07:28 UTC
News: consumers can save money by printing products at home rather than shopping for them, according to Janne Kyttanen, co-founder of design studio Freedom of Creation and creative director of 3D printer company 3D Systems (+ interview). (more…)
Winners of the Dutch Design Awards 2012
by: Dezeen, 2012-10-22 14:15:10 UTC
News: this animation by filmmaker Christian Borstlap celebrates fashion house Louis Vuitton and has won the award for best Dutch design project at this year’s Dutch Design Awards (+ movie). (more…)
Marianne Nielsen and Anne Tophøj: Elitist Folklore
by: mocoloco, 2012-10-19 13:53:57 UTC
For their shared exhibition at Copenhagen Ceramics Marianne Nielsen and Anne Tophøj are investigating why and how we value the dish, the table and the flower, universal expressions of culture and nature.
Colorful Well Proven Chair is Made from Recycled Wood Waste and Bio-Resin
by: Inhabitat , 2012-10-22 14:38:37 UTC
London-based designers Marjan Van Aubel and Jamie Shaw have developed an intriguing material that can be used to create sturdy, lightweight furniture from waste. Their Well Proven Chair, which looks rather like an amorphous, organic mass mounted atop four wooden legs, is made from the new moldable material, which is made from wood waste and bio-resin.
Read the rest of Colorful Well Proven Chair is Made from Recycled Wood Waste and Bio-Resin
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Post tags: "green furniture", eco friendly chair, green design, Jamie Shaw, London designers, Marjan van Aubel, recyclable materials, recycled furniture, Well Proven Chair, wood waste
Fireclay Intros Runway Collection Eco-Tile
by: Jetson Green, 2012-10-18 23:52:00 UTC
California-based Fireclay Tile today announced a new collaboration with designer Kelly LaPlante to create a line of eco-friendly tile. The Runway Collection has four custom patterns inspired by fashion: Cravat, an interpretation of houndstooth, Chaine Femme, a nod to interlocking chains in jewelry and belts, Chaine Homme, a masculine version of Chaine Femme, and Corset, which is inspired by corsets and lace-ups on footwear.
Runway Collection is available in the clay bodies of the Debris Series (25% post-consumer and 47% post-consumer recycled content) or Vitrail Series (no recycled content; no chemicals or off-gasses) in “any of Fireclay’s 224 vibrantly hued, lead-free, all-natural ceramic glaze colors,” according to a statement by Fireclay Tile.
Plus, Fireclay Tile products may contribute toward various LEED credits, depending on your order. Their tile is made in a few locations in California, and with respect to The Runway Collection, tile is order per square foot with blends available in a maximum of three glaze colors.
As a bonus, Fireclay Tile is running a Project Backsplash contest with the release of The Runway Collection. Upload a photo of your “funky kitchen backsplash” by November 16 for a chance to win $5,000 in tile, $1,000 toward installation, and the design services of Kelly LaPlante.
[+] More about The Runway Collection by LaPlante and Fireclay.
Credits: Fireclay Tile.
Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:
- New Glazed Brick for Eco-Friendly Design
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- Crush: 100% Recycled Content Glass Tile
And then there were 15: James Dyson Award 2012 finalists announced
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-10-19 08:01:08 UTC
This year’s James Dyson Award provided potential entrants with a
pretty broad brief – develop a problem solving invention. The international jury has now whittled down the 501 entries received from university students hailing from 18 countries around the world to 15 finalists. We take a look at the projects still in the running to claim a slice of the £20,000+ (US$32,385+) prize pool up for grabs... Continue Reading
And then there were 15: James Dyson Award 2012 finalists announcedSection: Good ThinkingTags: Competition,
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