Peak Oil – Designing sustainable society

The Herd – lyrics

One of my favourite bands is The Herd. They are an Australian Hip Hop band based out of Sydney and make up the founders of the successful label ElefantTraks.

Anywho been listening to their second release album (Its been around for a while now) titled ‘An Elefant never forgets’ and have been finding the lyrics quite relevant to sustainability and consumer society and why we aren’t adopting the philosophy of ‘think global act local.’ So my point being try to get a hold of the track “Superweeds” off this album and check it out.  You can preview a bit of the song here but I’m afraid you only really get the intro, listen to the lyrics and see what you think.

Cheers

The Hunter Collector Brain

Couldn’t resist the option to animate this week.
We have all spoken/read about design tools (Elements and Principles) used to evoke certain things in certain people, appeal to them, shock them etc. But I have never really thought about the human brain and its programmed biases as the target of my communications. Makes obvious sense though.

Designer Ethos & Consumer society.

Is it needed? Do we have to buy these machines? Could society consider hiring or lending instead of feeling like they need to own everything.

Is it a status thing?

If society is to survive global warming. We need to shift our consumer behavior to sustainable behavior. Currently designers fit into the problem of consumer behavior generating the images, products and brands we like to buy and “Own!” This could be changed through taking up an ethos toward greener design. What type of clients you work for, green production techniques for print: organic inks, papers etc. Digital, Does it have to big and huge file size. Can we reduce the energy used in production of digital media?

I feel that one thing talked about at the panel which was interesting was the concept of communities as a power for change politically. I feel that community could provided a simpler solution. In downsizing of communities from the mass expanding URBIS to smaller self sufficient networks of knowledge and skill where long distances of travel are not required to obtain goods and services will dramatically shift the consumer behaviour amd reduce environmental impact. Travel will always be needed but this could be a simple way of minimizing the impact created by the un-sustainable metropolis.

Sustainability change as the communicator (1a)

click here for full size.

As the communicator becomes mindful of their own behaviours and attitudes within the industry as to their impact on the environment, this could possibly result in a shift of the designer’s process to provide change through mindful actions for a better future.

Sustainable design?

Sustainability is a hot topic brewing in the minds of many across the globe. Is it going to happen? When will it happen? What are we going to do about it? What will designers do about it?

Some may think; what can designers do about Global Warming? Maybe there is nothing that can be done. I’d like to think that creative minds hold the freedom to think, dream and achieve a sustainable future. But first we must become sustainable designers ourselves.

Sustainable design is something that as a Multimedia Designer I’d never really thought of. We don’t use masses of paper or plastics, or inks so whats the issue? Besides the fact that as I write this blog I’m running duel LCD 20 inch monitors chewing up the electrical juice and heating the planet!

In the last two weeks the word PRACTISE has been mentioned to me a few times and has had me thinking in facing this challenge instead of starting at the top of the problem, it might be worth becoming mindful of design practises and their current impact on the environment. I feel now that designers sit on the line as a major contributor to the problem or acting as the contributor of the solution.