That’s the central question of SHIFT: A Green Salon, a quarterly pecha kucha AIGA Portland holds as part of its sustainability initiative. SHIFT aims to “share and inspire sustainable design”, which is precisely what the 10 speakers did at Ziba Design’s auditorium last Thursday evening during their respective 5-minute presentations.
The presentations ranged from execution aspects of design to more conceptual issues. On the execution end,
- Austin Whipple deconstructed parent, press, and print sheets. The size of the project affects its environmental impact; standard sizes rule.
- Katrina Scotto di Carlo walked the audience through the designs for Supportland, a loyalty program, and introduced her three As of marketing: authenticity, a story, and a rad product.
- Dallas Roemelling described three sustainable materials for outdoor banners.
- Elaine Volpe promoted SCRAP, a local nonprofit that “inspires creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing education programs and affordable materials to the community”.
- PJ Portlock talked about water-based inks for textile apparel and graphics.
- Ken Tomita introduced a bamboo iPhone case and the story of creating its upcycled packaging.
On the more big-picture end of the content spectrum,
- Daniel Eckhart advised on how to avoid greenwashing. Customers can smell “the stink of authenticity”, so you should opt for specific language over props like leaves or bamboo shoots and for work quality and results over eco-grooviness.
- Michael Etter shared information about re:active, a nonprofit design-and-arts education program for teenagers.
- In the evening’s most thoughtful presentation, Jonathan Bean encouraged designers to rethink what’s normal by focusing on how people use products, not what needs products satisfy. Shifting people’s routines and habits will make for more sustainable design.
- In the most entertaining presentation, David Vanadia offered an incidental case study for some of Jonathan’s points. On the example of disposable razors, David demonstrated how companies and design can change culture and its concepts of beauty.
All in all, a great, no pressure event, with great content. I’ll link to the video from the event here when it becomes available. It was also the first event I’ve seen where bringing your own mug would get you bottomless free beer. I look forward to the next SHIFT: A Green Salon in May. Before then, there’s a quarterly Green Salon Meetups in March.
Kudos and thanks to AIGA Portland!
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Image credit: jcestnik
Update 4/7/10: Watch all presentations from this event.
