GE Caulk Singles is a brilliant example of balanced form and function. The single-use disposable packages of caulk eliminates the need for messy and frustrating caulk guns and tubes. The idea is both smart in its application and more environmentally conscious by cutting down on needed packaging. Definitely a product i could see my dad using with a smile.
Momentive Performance Materials developed this package.
The Ministry of Environment in Japan put out this handy infographic on how to wrap products using the furoshiki (the traditional wrapping cloth.) Great way to use eco-friendly packaging in a fresh way. I could see this leading towards a really cool projet.
This quarter I’m in an illustration for designers class. It’s like being back in Art school for many reason. the class structure is delightfully loose. Sometimes we’ll start with some extremely high paced, high stress, artistic situations or games that we will then critique. We’ve used a basket of scarves to design a new line of fashions, we’ve had story time were we sat in a circle and had to act like 8 year olds while the teacher read to use her favorite illustrated children’s books. The teacher also gives painting tutorials and has introduced some fun painting tricks that I’d never seen before. I’ve learned a lot in a very short time. I’m sure there will be more work to post but for now I wanted to show you the results of the first assignment.
Assignment 1:
Build a rocket ship out of garbage.
it must be made completely out of recycled materials, it must be painted, it must be hanging on the ugliest hanger you can find, it must have stars, it must have a flame, it must have the planet saturn, it must have at least one window…there were a few more rules but I’ve forgotten them. It was crazy and it took a lot more time than i’d like to admit
heres what I made…excuse the photography.
If I could have figured out how to photograph it I would have but mine also lit up from the inside…which was a cooler effect than I’d anticipated.
Fantastic article this morning from the New York Times that touches a lot of important topics…one in particular that I’ve been trying to convert into a blog post since I saw the film Wall-E last weekend. Besides being one of my top two animated films of all-time the movie is amazingly timely in message and approach. I’ve linked to the article Wall-E for President because the NYT’s says it way better than I could. I’d very much recommend not only going to see this movie but also to take someone with you. It’s a very poignant film that triggers discussion in all the right places. Don’t believe me check out the often harsh RottenTomato.com that gave the film an unheard of 96% approval rating. Thats amazing and so is this film.
Op-Ed ColumnistWall-E for PresidentSO much for a July Fourth week spent in idyllic celebration of our country’s birthday. This year’s festivities were marked instead by a debate — childish, not constitutional — over who is and isn’t patriotic. The fireworks were sparked by a verbally maladroit retired general, fueled by two increasingly fatuous presidential campaigns, and heated to a boil by a 24/7 news culture that inflates any passing tit for tat into a war of the worlds.
if (acm.rc) acm.rc.write();Let oil soar above $140 a barrel. Let layoffs and foreclosures proliferate like California’s fires. Let someone else worry about the stock market’s steepest June drop since the Great Depression. In our political culture, only one question mattered: What was Wesley Clark saying about John McCain and how loudly would every politician and bloviator in the land react?
Unable to take another minute of this din, I did what any sensible person might do and fled to the movies. More specifically, to an animated movie in the middle of a weekday afternoon. What escape could be more complete?
Among its other attributes, this particular G-rated film, “Wall-E,” is a rare economic bright spot. Its enormous box-office gross last weekend swelled a total Hollywood take that was up 20 percent from a year ago. (You know America’s economy is cooked when everyone flocks to the movies.) The “Wall-E” crowds were primed by the track record of its creator, Pixar Animation Studios, and the ecstatic reviews. But if anything, this movie may exceed its audience’s expectations. It did mine.
As it happened, “Wall-E” opened the same summer weekend as the hot-button movie of the 2004 campaign year, Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Ah, the good old days. Oil was $38 a barrel, our fatalities in Iraq had not hit 900, and only 57 percent of Americans thought their country was on the wrong track. (Now more than 80 percent do.) “Wall-E,” a fictional film playing to a far larger audience, may touch a more universal chord in this far gloomier time.
In The Food Revolution, John Robbins calculates that a vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat eating diet requires 4,000 gallons per day. You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year.
for more fascinating information on the water crisis and what you can do to lessen your water footprint check out this fantastic site.
CONGRATULATIONS BLUE IRIS…you are color of the year
The Pantone color forcast was just recently announced. I’ve seen this report before but I’d never given it much thought before today. I’d figured it was more or less and arbitrary stab at what colors would be hot this year throughout the many faces of design. Being grounded in the fashion industry it was interesting but I hadn’t yet grasped the impact it has on what I do. So I’ve been doing some reading and I am interested in what I have been discovering. Apparently the color forcast is based on more than just the willy nilly opinions of the worlds fashion gurus. Political, ecological, economical impacts are all taken into consideration and in many ways the colors seek to define the attitude and personality of the coming year. Of course, this is speculative in many ways and should be taken with a grain of salt but it still brings up some interesting ideas.
In past few years green has gotten bigger and more impactful as concerns over the environment steadily increase. Green has so saturated the market, in fact, that it has become overdone. This is the reason for this season to go blue…purple even. Accourding to Graphic Design Magazines color issue the switch to blue is a natural progression. Environmental concerns are still a big deal and green just isnt’ cutting it anymore. Blue is the next best things. It’s cleansing, and pure…represents water and the clean open sky. Below is color approximations for the spring and fall seasons. I’m most surprised by how muted and subtly beautiful they are. I really like them. They may be shifted by the color of your screen…but it will give you an idea of what may be in store.
I have this Uncle. I see him about twice a year. He’s a cool guy but recently he’s been giving me a hard time about my decision to pursue design. He wonders what motivated me to sink deeper into debt so that I can learn how to “sell people crap they don’t want.” My initial reaction was that he obviously doesn’t get it. First of all I’m not to be confused with an “advertiser” (which at the time would have said squeezed through a grimace). I would have defended my still intact soul and my dedication to making the world better through logo sketches and well rehearsed diatribe on the importance of form and function. None of this did anything to change his opinion. It’s been a few months since the last time I spent any time with my Uncle but I think things have changed and that I may have a different answer the next time we talk.
The design/ad world is tarnished with a (quite possibly well earned) stereotype of deciet and trickery. We are blamed for urban landscapes cluttered with screaming, sunbleached billboards, Starbucksosaurus’s and
Head-On commercials. It’s a Cool-aid that many have tasted, including myself. Especially, in the world of education, it’s easy to get caught up in empty brand-ification where logos are pretty, taglines witty but consequence is inconsequential
So there we go… as they say, admittance is the first step to recovery. This, however, is not what motivated me to want to be a graphic designer. Even the paycheck…(which will definitely be a perk) has little to do with checking myself into this tricky, nut house of an existence. So why then do I want to go into design? Simply put, I want to go into design because there are so many great opportunities for me to do start some amazing new perspectives. There are so many old problems that need new answers, especially these days. Over the break I want to read Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. The book is “a manifesto calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.” Not a book about new ways to think but a book that helps you think in new ways. Things are changing and this is an exciting time to be a designer…despite what my uncle may think.
Another reason to love target. I stole this article from a sustainability blog. I like that Target is being green but I’m also happy that they got rid of that horrible clamshell packaging that you can’t open. Yeah Target!
Target Stores Reduce PVC Plastic Packaging
Minneapolis-based Target has used its size and buying power as a way to get suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging.
The retailer targeted suppliers using the often tough to open “clamshell” style packaging asking them to switch to greener options.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, earlier this year Target asked its packaging vendor for Ipod carrying cases to replace its clamshell packaging with a recyclable cardboard package with a small plastic window. The change in packaging will prevent an estimated 5,000 pounds of PVC from ending up in landfills.
About 18 months ago, Target pushed its seven private-label packaging companies to get rid of excess wraps. The result: Packages for more than 500 items, from dog leashes to toy rocket launchers, have been redesigned to be less harmful to the environment. In about 100 instances, PVC plastic was eliminated from private-label packages.
Target’s biggest competitor Wal-Mart is taking similar steps. The retail giant has pledged to eliminate all private-label PVC packaging by 2009. The company also has set a goal of producing “zero waste” by 2025; which means that, through recycling and packaging reduction, Wal-Mart will eliminate all waste flowing through its stores and offices.
