[Dose of Design Activism] Nine Planets Wanted!

View of props and displays. Source of the installation’s information was the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2007/2008

Design firm Zago created an installation that appeared in the United Nations Lobby. Called Nine Planets Wanted!, visitors were encouraged to interact with data about emissions of carbon dioxide in order to “take measure of the inverse relationship between responsibility for climate change and vulnerability to its impact.”


Resembling the form of a carbon dioxide atom, twelve beanbags were situated throughout the installation

Thanks to Jenna Robles, Project Manager at Zago, for the pictures.

Optimized for Energy Conversation: Utility Statements Adjusted toward Green

Image credit: Max Whittaker for The New York Times

California’s experiment with redesigned statements, issued to Sacramento residents, is aimed at helping to change minds about energy. A positive byproduct of the effort has proven to be neighborly competition: Who can lower energy consumption the most? Find out more at my latest piece for the Green Printer blog.

Previous post: Designer Scott Ballum’s Consume®econnection Project

Designer Scott Ballum’s Consume®econnection Project

Image credit: Scott Ballum, Sheepless Co.

I met Olga of Green Printer blog last year, having given some input about Design Activism. Green Printer is “a leading and funky blog on the environment, sustainable printing, and social networking.” She invited me to contribute again—this time a piece about green design topics. Her request coincided with my discovery of The Consume®econnection Project. Find out more about this year-long project and its creator.

Designer and Power-Blogger David Armano is Reaching Out for Your Help

Earlier this week, David Armano posted a plea to help Daniela, a mother of three who left a physically abusive marriage and lost her home. David has not only galvanized social media for a noble cause, his effort amplifies good design as a force of goodwill. Read more about his effort and please contribute to Daniela and her family’s survival.

[Connecting Bits] Design in the U.S. Political Scene

Detail from AIGA Design for Democracy’s Ballot and polling place design guidelines

Thoughts on Democracy exhibition’s brochure

In connection with the previous post about aspiring Kansas State Representative Sean Tevis’ visually communicative approach to his election, the AIGA, the professional association for design, showcases a ballot (above figure) with an amended information design. The evolving visible language of politics is also showcased in the Thoughts on Democracy exhibition which rallied artists and designers to create “a new graphic design inspired by American illustrator Norman Rockwell’s ‘Four Freedoms’ posters of 1943.” The intersection of the voices of design with the voices of politics helps keep both dialogues in motion.

[Dose of Design Activism] Make a Poster in The Fight Against Global Climate Change

The poster remains a formidable way to communicate messages. This September, Green Patriot Posters will launch an online competition. With the intersection of movements and posters in mind, there was the Hurricane Poster Project, a response to New Orleans hit by Hurricane Katrina.