by: Environmental Leader, 2013-03-28 14:37:15 UTC Environmental software firm FirstCarbon Solutions and food service management company Compass Group have launched an online tool to help Compass Group chefs and managers reduce energy, water and resource use. The new Carbon Foodprint toolkit is available to all 9,900 Compass Group cafes in the US. Auburn University, Green Mountain College and software company SAP, [...]
Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology‘s Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE), in collaboration with Purdue University have unveiled a new efficient, recyclable organic solar cell made from trees—or, more specifically, from a substrate that can be sourced not only from trees but from other plants as well. These efficient polymer solar cells are then fabricated on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates to create a more sustainable solar cell that can be quickly recycled in room-temperature water.
The environmental charity Do The Green Thing tapped 23 top-tier designers to envision a poster campaign to help save the planet.
Good ads are continuously making us buy stuff we don’t want, and even stuff we don’t want to want. But unlike limited-time-only fast food curiosities and all those other dumb things we’re talked into trying, a greener lifestyle is something most people do want, or at least want to want, so you’d think it’d be an easy sell. But what, exactly, does that pitch look like? A new campaign, which tapped 20 top designers to come up with ads for various green initiatives, gives us two dozen examples.
The project was put together by Do The Green Thing, an environmental charity that’s trying to combat climate change with the powers of creativity. The group asked 23 top creatives, including names like Eddie Opara, a partner at Pentagram and one of our 100 Most Creative People in Business, and Patrick Cox, the man behind the logo for the London 2012 Olympics, to create posters for various green lifestyle choices--small things like unplugging unused gadgets, or walking instead of driving. In the words of Naresh Ramchandani, one of the charity’s founders and a designer himself, it was a chance to apply "one of the most powerful tools we know to the biggest problem we’ve got." And the designers were free to make the case however they wanted.
Much of the resulting work is striking, though no two contributions look alike. Guillaume Cornet, an illustrator, filled his poster with a dense, eye-catching doodle--and included a picture of the tiny nub left of the pencil he made it with. Below it bears the message: "Use your pencils to the end." The motivation? The one and a half billion Bic pens Americans throw out every year.
Michael Bierut, a partner at Pentagram, repurposed an iconic frame from the shower scene in Hitchcock’s Psycho. The tag: "Cut your shower short." Get it? For her contribution, Sophie Thomas, the co-director of design for the Royal Society for the Arts, sculpted discarded bits of plastic into a question mark, confronting the viewer with the question of why they don’t recycle more--and showing them the outcome of that inaction.
Each of the posters takes a unique approach, some of which you might find more compelling than others, but the collection as a whole hangs together in a few ways. One commonality is something you don’t see on any of the posters: statistics. Which is a little bit surprising, because the hard numbers behind climate change can be astonishing. Still, in a world awash in data, even the most arresting facts and figures often don’t make much of a lasting impact. But the thought of Norman Bates coming to put an end to our water-wasting ways? That might stick.
Made almost entirely from wood (except the seat, for splinter phobics), this design project bike has as much to fear from termites as bike thieves.
Today in bike porn: This beautiful, wooden bike designed and built by Yojiro Oshima, an industrial design student in Tokyo who created the bike for his final project before graduation.
According to the blog Bicycle Design, the goal of the project was to create a design that reaps the benefits of both a beam frame (which looks like this) and a standard frame, so the bike can absorb large impacts while remaining a firm, steady ride.
The details of the handlebars, which include antler-like armrests, and the wheels and rims, are particularly elegant. To reassure any doubters, Oshima himself left the following comment on the Bicycle Design post: "It is all hand made."
Hopefully he’ll drop a video soon of the machine in action.
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2013-03-25 14:57:14 UTC
Getting from A to B in a wheelchair is enough of a challenge in itself, without considering the hassle of stowing the chair away each time its user wishes to travel by car, plane, or train. The Morph Wheel aims to make life a little easier in this regard, by providing a wheelchair wheel which folds into almost half its original size.
..
Continue Reading The Morph Wheel folds in half to make wheelchair travel easier
by: Environmental Leader, 2013-03-22 14:23:56 UTC H&M has published a supplier factory list alongside its 2012 sustainability report. The retailer says it is one of the first and largest fashion companies in the world to take this step. The list of supplier factories covers about 95 percent of total production volume. H&M says the publication is a step towards a more transparent [...]
by: Environmental Leader, 2013-03-25 14:26:23 UTC IBM has launched a crowdsourcing project to help capture, share and analyze information about the water distribution system in South Africa. The project, called WaterWatchers, is driven by a free mobile phone application and SMS capability that will enable South African citizens to report water leaks, faulty water pipes and general conditions of water canals. [...]
The Multifunctional Bathtub has an exclusive tilt function that allows you to save water when you take a soak. Depending upon how you tilt and use the tub, you could end up saving 80% of water for foot bath, 60% of water for half-body and 40% for full-body bath. Sounds like an interesting and fun idea and I really hope it works! Roca, are you listening?
Designers: Seung Hyun Lee, il Woong Jwa, Bom Yi Lee & Jiwon Moon
The Thermo-Kettle is an electric water kettle plus thermos, which is compact and can carry around 1 liter of liquid. It is the ideal companion for your travels and is the perfect combination of a thermos and a cordless electric water kettle. You can use the cap of the kettle to brew your tea while the thermos keeps liquids warm. For a person who like to make their own cuppa joe, this is the ideal solution for me!
Polish designer Jan Kochański showcased his studio projects to us and we simply loved his unique take on furniture and product design. I loved the simple yet artistically developed Fiu Fiu bird feeder and the MobiUse – mass use mobile chairs made from paper pulp. Hit the jump to experience some innovative and thought provoking projects.
Clip is simple, portable and foldable coffee table, made of bended steel tubes and oak wood. The project is combination of minimal structure and maximum functionality. The frame was inspired by a paper clip; table top can serve separately as a tray.
Spring is a bracelet available in two different sizes and colors (red, grey sparkle). Made with laser sintered nylon or alumide, it features a complex yet charming “spring” shape, suitable for both men and women.
Cloud is light soft and sensitive and is in constant and slow motion, because of the hot air provided by hairdryer. Cloud is made of delicate foil. The project is about searching for minimal gestures that can define space, and looking for border between interior and exterior.
This design is a result of experiments with sheet materials. The armchair is formed out of two pieces of PP foam and the biggest challenge was to design a rigid structure out of a relatively soft material.
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-12 13:11:47 UTC
Part of a product range designed for retail, this is an LED spotlight great for making fresh food look fresher, adding sparkle and contrast with the ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-11 21:35:06 UTC
Desso is a dutch carpet manufacturer which commited itselfs a few years ago to go Cradle to Cradle and even go beyond that to innovate in ways to not ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-08 14:54:10 UTC
The swedish Pulplab is researching how paper can be used in cases that non-paperlike properties are needed; shock absorbing, strong, durable, insulating ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-06 10:48:34 UTC
The general perception is that staying indoor is more healthy than being outdoors. Actually it is equally harmful and can cause several respiratory ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-05 14:00:46 UTC
AGUAMIX is a completely touchless sensor-faucet, not only to start the water flow but also for adjusting the temperature by a little movement of the ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-05 08:25:51 UTC
Eco-fashion label Naturevsfuture’s name was inspired by designer Nina Valenti’s belief that there is a constant struggle between nature and future ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-05 08:24:58 UTC
Eco-fashion label Naturevsfuture’s name was inspired by designer Nina Valenti’s belief that there is a constant struggle between nature and future ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-03-01 13:41:39 UTC
The panels/tiles are made from bamboo pulp, and have the feel of solid fibreboard.
- Original colour: off-white
- Paintable with wall paint
- ...
Comments by our Users
Be the first to write a comment for this item.