Better Living Through Sustainability

Since “Reuse” comes before “Recycle” I just thought I would ask if anyone wanted [most of] the first 3 volumes of Believer Magazine … There are some duplicates for some reason, and a few newer ones in there too.

My dad used to take our lawn mower to the small engine repairman. Here was this guy in his garage-turned-shop surrounded by mowers, outboard motors, dirt-bikes, and various unidentifiable mechanical contraptions — and he knew how to make them all work! I respected that when I was a kid. I respect that now as an adult. Few others these days seem to. My father (and most of my childhood friends’ fathers) seemed to know either how to fix something, or that person in town best suited to fix whatever they could not. What I wonder is: where that knowledge is now?

Well, this responsive/adaptive web design topic has been being discussed for quite some time now (The initial post that sparked it all is nearly a year old). So, while I may not be giving you too much new to think about, the reason I post this is that it feels like the ideology that drives the desire for making “adaptive” websites is part of the sustainable ethos I try to disseminate on this site. The idea of flexibility and adaptability are included in my Sustainabilitist principles. It is also my preference that a website just be smart enough to show what it needs to show to the people viewing it based on the device they choose.

Hearing about one more product made of a new, sustainable material and/or produced thanks to clean, green energy without any other thinking applied to the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing models is going to give me an aneurysm. Considering any object “sustainable design” purely because a material was changed for a less-bad option is ludicrous. Sustainability isn’t about slightly improving the status quo, it is about actual change.

Okay, I am really tired of hearing how Solar and Wind are non-carbon solutions. Listen you have to BUILD the things. That takes energy. It takes mining. It takes environmental impact. It takes transportation. It takes diesel. There definitely is still going to be carbon-dioxide production in the process of making, transporting, and installing solar panels, wind turbines, and small scale hydro devices. Now, I am not saying that I don't prefer these solutions, and that they are definitely to be desired over Coal-fired power plants. I'm just saying we need to stop pretending that these things don't also have a manufacturing footprint. That is all, rant over.

As a designer, my job is to make stuff. Usually a lot of stuff. Ephemeral stuff. Often stuff that soon becomes trash. As a sustainabilitist, I want to make and consume less stuff. How do I reconcile these two extremes? Making better stuff, adaptable stuff, non-replaceable stuff is part of the solution. Another is asking the question “Does this make the present (& future) measurably better?” For most stuff, my designs included, the answer is no. But, for sustainability's sake, the answer must be yes.

I noticed today that the acronym I am using for this site, BLTS, can be easily misconstrued as something different … This epiphany came to me while working on some different versions of a Better Living Through Sustainability identity update. I had a giant BLTS up on my screen, trying to figure out something clever to do with it, when my girlfriend, Nancy, walked by and said “I love those.” I of course then said, “what, my website?” And Nancy said, “no, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwiches.”

So, Sustainability for Graphic Designers ended up getting canceled due to lack of interest. This has ended up being fine, as I have a ton of work to do, but I was looking forward to discussing the issues on my mind with a room of others. Instead, along with all the client work, I'm working on some updates to a presentation I gave last month at the AIGA response_ability conference about vernacular principles and how to apply them to contemporary sustainable design. Check back in the near future for links to the R_A stuff, as well as my updated materials.

I'm teaching a class at MICA over the summer—as long as enough people sign up—called “Sustainability for Graphic Designers.” Here is the course #, time and description, as well as a link to MICA's continuing studies registration page. [note: they apparently are calling it sustainable graphic design … but that won't be exactly what I've envisioned the class being about]

---------------
Sustainable Graphic Design (GD214)
3 credits — $1080
Meets 5/21/2010 – 6/25/2010 on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday from 12:00 PM to 4:45 PM.

Sustainability is an all-encompassing topic with pragmatic, conceptual, and aesthetic implications to both society and the environment. This course is intended to be an introduction to the various facets of sustainability and how sustainable principles can be applied to design. We will explore current trends, theories and ideologies (ranging from the realistic to the fantastic) along with practical design needs (the fundamentals for specifying more sustainable papers, inks and printing). In covering the basics of sustainability, we will not forget our critical, artistic eye—sustainable design must still be good design.
note: Degree seeking students may take this course in place of Graphic Design I with chair's permission.

learn more &/or register here:
http://bit.ly/cigwVh

I throw away too much—I don't compost anything (though I blame my landlord for this, it is purely an excuse). I gave up fairly quickly at attempting to convince my landlord to do any of the things I say I believe in. My showers are too long. I gave up my car and ride a bike, but don't convince others to do the same—& I also take rides from people all the time, oh and I fly around the country and still rent cars when “necessary”. I am a terrible consumer. I buy new things. Stupid new things. Not even all sustainably grown, manufactured, etc. things. I still buy random things made in random factories by random people with random, potentially questionable labor and materials. I don't really shop at thrift or 2nd hand stores anymore.