COLAB Interview

I was recently invited to give a talk on socially conscious design & my Skull-A-Day project at COLAB at Syracuse University. COLAB is a wonderfully creative collaborative design program run by my friend Chris McCray which "was created to bring together students and faculty from various disciplines, with diverse skills and experiences, to learn how to approach problems collaboratively and share multiple perspectives while working toward creative solutions." Good stuff. As part of my visit I was interviewed by a student and the end result has just been posted online...


Noah Scalin for COLAB from COLAB on Vimeo.

I was also asked some more fun questions for their Off The Cuff series, and the answers are here...


Off the Cuff: Noah Scalin from COLAB on Vimeo.

Recent Work - Websites

Just finishing up the process of adding new work to the portfolio section of my site and I wanted to share some websites we designed that have recently gone live...

EpicTheatreEnsemble.org

StellinaSport.com

OandMco.com

And my personal art portfolio website: NoahScalin.com

Special credit should go to my friends at Top Dead Center Design who provided the programming on all of these sites.

Recent Work - Direct Mail

I'm still in the process of adding some new work to the portfolio section of my website so I thought I'd share some more of the pieces we've recently completed...

For Epic Theatre Ensemble's current season of productions:

 

For Target Margin Theater's current season of productions:

Book Review: Design Is The Problem

I’Äôve just realized I’Äôve been woefully remiss and have not reviewed what is one of the best books to come out about sustainable design in the past several years. Nathan Shedroff’Äôs Design Is The Problem addresses all manner of designers  and holds them accountable for the potential bad and good their work can do for the world. Rather than dealing with an individual branch of design Shedroff looks at overarching systems of sustainability and how they can be applied to any field. After starting with a thorough review of what ’Äúsustainability’Äù even means and how to measure it, Shedroff then reviews several popular approaches from books like Cradle To Cradle and Natural Capitalism. This section is particularly useful in how it encapsulates several complex theories and then proposes how to make use of the best of all of them. The rest of the book is devoted to breaking down all the areas in which designers have an opportunity to apply sustainable principles using the classic ’ÄúReduce, Reuse, and Recycle’Äù framework even adding a new ’ÄúRe’Äù to the mix: Rethink. Even folks who are fairly familiar with the standard terminology may stand to learn a thing or two when it comes to Dematerialization and Transmaterialization, and Informationalization! The book is rounded out with real world examples that are sprinkled throughout, along with specifics about making sustainable processes a measurable reality, and a useful selection of resources. Nathan’Äôs accessible writing keeps the book from becoming a dry textbook and his points are well-researched & applicable to people with a wide range of knowledge and interest in sustainability. A truly useful guidebook, this should definitely be in the hands of anyone interested in the impact their work is having on the world.

[UPDATE: The publisher is offering a 15% discount on the purchase price if you use the code REBELLION when you buy the book through their site.]

Design Is The Problem
by Nathan Shedroff
Rosenfeld Media
$36.00 print & digital

$22.00 digital only

Recent Work - Logos

I'm in the process of updating the portfolio section of my website with some recent work and I thought I'd share it here as well...

Energy Works is a Chi Kung, martial arts, and acupressure business based in Richmond, Virginia. The overall form is inspired by the symbols of the I Ching.

Passion Coalition is a series of community events surrounding Epic Theatre Ensemble's production of Sarah Rhul's Passion Play. The logo was built with actual tape and photographed.

Help Renourish Get A $50K Grant

Re-nourish, the excellent online sustainable graphic design resource, is in the running for a $50,000 grant to help them expand and improve their services via the Pepsi Refresh Project. Please take a couple minutes to help them get the grant by registering and voting for them HERE (voting is open through the end of February and you can vote once a day!).

Recent Work - CD Packaging

I'm in the process of updating the portfolio section of my website with some recent work and I thought I'd share it here as well...

 Soundtrack by Tony Award winner Stew for a production by Shakespeare on The Sound.

Pianist Lisa Moore's latest EP released by Cantaloupe Music.

Greening Your Nonprofit's IT - Virtual Conference

On February 10th I'll be speaking as part of the panel on Sustainable Design & Printing that's included in the online conference "Greening Your Nonprofit's IT ’Äì How to Save Environment and Money. presented by NTEN & the Green IT Consortium. Here's the full schedule:

Keynote Address (10:00 am Pacific / 1:00 pm Eastern) 
Joseph Khunaysir, Founder, CIO & CTO of Jolera Inc., will talk about how non-profit organizations are going green and the role that IT plays in that transition to sustainable operations.  Joseph authored a chapter on Green IT in the recently-released book, Nonprofit Guide to Going Green.

Breakout Track I (11:10 am Pacific / 2:10 pm Eastern)

Introduction to Green IT: What is it, what your organization needs to know
Presented by: Hank Dearden, Virsant

Creating a Green IT Strategy: What is the right strategy for your organization, how to start, what to plan for
Presented by: Jennifer Woofter, Strategic Sustainability Consulting and Jim Lynch, TechSoup

Overview of Green IT Software and Hardware: Types of software and hardware you’Äôll want to know about to green your IT
Presented by: Anna Jaeger, TechSoup 

Breakout Track II (12:20 pm Pacific / 3:30 pm Eastern)

Virtualization: What is it, what it can do for your organization, green benefits
Presented by: Peter Campbell, Earth Justice and Matt Eshleman, CITI DC

Case Studies: How Non-Profits and Foundations are Greening Their IT
Presented by: Michael Sola, National Wildlife Federation and Bill Schaefer, Care2.com

Sustainable Design & Printing: What is sustainable design, what you should know about printing
Presented by: Noah Scalin, Another Limited Rebellion, Amy Hartzler, Free Range Studios and Dave Michaels, Ecoprint

For more information and to sign-up go HERE. If you select 'GreenIT' in the "How did you hear?" field after registering you'll receive the member rate of $60!

Designing For The Greater Good

I'm happy to announce that my work is featured in the newly released book from Collins Design Designing For The Greater Good by Peleg Top and Jonathan Cleveland. The book, which features a wide-range of examples of cause related marketing & non-profit design, has 24 in-depth case studies and the Red Flag Campaign I created for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Action Alliance (shown below) is one of them!

More info and additional sample spreads can be found on the book's website HERE.

And if you're one of the first to order the book the authors will donate $10 to Haiti relief in your name! Details are HERE.

Poster4Tomorrow: Words Are Power

Today the 100 selected posters for the Poster4Tomorrow worldwide exhibitions were revealed and I'm happy to announce that one of my designs made the cut! The megaphone/gun image is one I originally created for my talk at the How Conference in Austin this past June and it seemed like the perfect metaphor for talking about freedom of speech (and a shame not to use it again somewhere else). All of the posters are really beautiful and can be seen and downloaded (and used under a Creative Commons noncommercial share-alike license) from the site HERE. Congratulations to everyone that was included!

Design Rebels: Project Winterfood

Project Winterfood, the final project of my Design Rebels students this year, had a hugely successful opening event this past Wednesday night. Despite the miserably rainy weather scores of people came out to learn more about local food, sample delicious items from local businesses, enjoy live music, and buy art to support two area non-profit organizations. The art has now traveled over to Gallery 5 for an extended exhibition through the end of December. If you're in the area I hope you'll stop by and check it out.

The exhibition focused on three foods that are available in Virginia in the winter: apples, spinach, and sweet potatoes...

Free brochures with recipes and details on the benefits of eating local...

Fee apples and information on local food options...

Dozens of works on display from students area artists...

Event partners talk with visitors about various local food options, including farmers' markets and CSAs...

A map of the region highlighted local grocery stores, restaurants, CSAs, and farmers' markets...

Free food samples dished out by two of the Design Rebels...

Work by 3-5 year olds inspired by the project!...

The Farm To Family Bus parked outside...

Live music keeping the mood festive...


Kids especially enjoyed the free apples...


Apple Cardigan by Design Rebel Kira Lantz...

The Future Is Here...Sadly

For a while now I've been developing a science-fiction project about a group of anti-corporate space pirates called League of Space Pirates. The main enemy is a giant corporation that's basically taken over everything. A few years ago my friend Charlie Bonˆ©t, who is writing material for the project, decided to create some commercials for products that the corporation might sell. For various reasons we haven't been able to actually produce the commercials yet, though I did design some logos to go with the items. Just this past week I've discovered that two of what we thought were fairly over-the-top riffs on current trends turned out to not be very far off the mark, in depressingly eerily ways...

First up is Purple Stuff. Taking today's energy drinks to the next level by making it into something more like medication for low-energy kids. The idea was that the product got different qualities as it aged and so Purple Stuff that was past its expiration date became Purple Stuff PM, which would be used as the opposite of an energy drink to mellow out hyperactive kids. As it got even older, Purple Stuff could be used as a pesticide (among other things).























Then last week I heard a story on anti-energy drinks that mellowed you out. Apparently they were inspired by a drug combination that people are calling "purple drank". When I went to research it I found that an actual Purple Stuff drink is being produced as well! Admittedly we all got the name from this classic commercial.











Next up is Organetics. Charlie's idea was that the corporation would start producing genetically altered organic food (a clear contradiction, that seemed amusing yet not entirely implausible).





So imagine my dismay when I recently got an invitation to a conference ominously called "Green BioPharma". Touted as "the first conference to address organization-wide sustainability strategies for life science companies." it's not exactly Organetics, but it certainly has a frighteningly similar ring.


Needless to say, it's back to the drawing board for these two products, but hopefully we won't be hearing about our other product idea any time soon: a memory stick that you actually stick into your body!

Crisis Folklore - Groundswell Call for Submissions

Groundswell Collective is creating a brand new print publication and they're looking for essays for the first issue on "crisis folklore":

How we imagine future stories that describe our current time period can give us an alternative glimpse of the cultures we are shaping in the here-and-now. To get outside of the modes of analysis we typically offer, we look for the future storytellers, asking what are the tales of resistance in the post-crash era? Crisis being a daily reality, where do we locate our collective daydreams? Can we accurately envision these future stories for ourselves and for others?

Texts can be expository, analytical, or speculative. We are limited in space, but not in scope, and so we’Äôre seeking (but not limited to) such subjects as:

• Counter-cultural or resistant reworkings of contemporary problems
• Shifts in the language of dissent, movement, and movements
• Sociological mis/understandings of shifts in folklore in response to crisis
• Possibilities for subversion, especially via art
• Imagined criticisms, counter-hegemonic creation myths, forecasted histories, pre-emptive sense-making, etc.

In addition to expanded reviews of events and work covered on the blog the magazine will feature critical essays and artist/activist interviews. We are seeking contributing partners/writers.

More details can be found HERE.

Project Winterfood - A Local Food Event

Once a year I teach Design Rebels, a course on socially conscious design that I created for Virginia Commonwealth University's Graphic Design department. As part of the class the students are required to create a real world group project, based on the themes of the class, that reaches into the community beyond the school. This year the class decided to focus on the issue of local, in season food. They're creating an art exhibition called Project Winterfood that will give people in the area a fun way to learn more about what grows in the area in the winter and why it's important to eat locally grown food. Here are the details from their press release:

PROJECT WINTERFOOD

What is it?
Project Winterfood is a local food resource, art exhibition, and benefit event. Project Winterfood was created by a group of VCU Graphic Design students to help share and preserve the culture of food in our Richmond community. The students who organized the event know how easy, practical, and beneficial it is to utilize local food options. With the help of some community partners, we are excited to share this knowledge with the public.

Project Winterfood will house a fascinating art exhibition made up of work that celebrates three winter foods: apples, spinach and sweet potatoes. The artwork has been donated by local artists and will be on sale during the exhibition. All proceeds from the artwork will go to benefit non-profits who are working to make a positive difference in the Richmond community.

At the event, there will be a gathering of partners involved in the Richmond area food community to answer questions and share information about local food options, resources, and benefits. Visitors will be able learn more about how they can easily enjoy food from local farms as well as restaurants that use locally sourced ingredients. The community partners include such local businesses as the Farm to Family Veggie Bus, Dominion Harvest, and many more to come, which will be included on the website as the project comes together.

During the event there will be live fiddle music, sample & tasting booths, and delicious coffee provided by Rostov’Äôs Coffee & Tea. Each visitor will leave with a complimentary take-home brochure designed by Project Winterfood. The brochure will contain information & resources as well as recipes that include the three featured winter foods.

After the event, the artwork will be on display in Gallery 5 throughout the month of December. It can be purchased during that time as well.

Why is it important?
The team at Project Winterfood is passionate about sharing and preserving food culture. It is our mission to share with others in the community how easy, accessible, practical, beneficial, inexpensive, and fun it is to utilize local food options. Project Winterfood is reaching out to everyone’Äî those who already enjoy farm fresh foods and those who have heard the phrase ’Äúeating locally’Äù without getting a chance to learn what it’Äôs really all about.

The Project Winterfood event will present seasonal winter produce in a unique way that creates a memorable, informative, and fun experience.

Event + Art Exhibition
December 2nd, 2009
7-10 PM
1509 West Main Street

Continued Art Exhibition
December 4-31st, 2009
Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall St.

More information and updates can be found on their website HERE.

The Big Book of Green Design

I recently found out that several of my recent pieces are included in the new book from Crescent Hill Books: The Big Book of Green Design. This is the latest in a terrific run of environmental/socially conscious themed books coming out for graphic designers in the past two years*, which is a welcome relief after the long drought that preceded it. The Big Book of Green Design is definitely more of a coffee table book than a reference manual, but with an intro by Re-Nourish founder Eric Benson, hundreds of visual examples, and several detailed case studies it should be a fairly inspiring resource for anyone interested in the environmental direction businesses big and small are taking. The book is scheduled for release later this month, ask for it at your local independent bookstore.

*See also my reviews of: Green Graphic Design, SustainAble, and Do Good Design.

Designers Against Climate Change - Blog Action Day

Todays is Blog Action Day and the subject is Climate Change.

For graphic designers concerned about doing their part to help the environment, there's no better resource than Re-nourish. The site has been around for several years, but it's recently been revamped and features lots of new user-friendly resources & articles about all aspects of working sustainably for designers at every level.

The site is so well respected that it's even been nominated for a Cooper-Hewitt People's Choice Design Award. Please take a moment to sign up and vote for it HERE and show the world that designers are taking the environment seriously!

EconoArts?

Is it just me, or is the logo for Center Stage, the new, controversial, arts center here in Richmond, VA remarkably similar to a well known hotel chain's logo? Just sayin...



p.s. I always thought that the EconoLodge logo looked like it was advertising that they had clean toilets.

The Socially Conscious Geek

I am part of a proposed panel at the 2010 South By Southwest Interactive conference: "The Socially Conscious Geek: Makin' Money While Doin' Good". The conference planners have received over 2,200 proposals for panels and only 300 will be chosen, so as part of the process they're asking people to vote for ones they find interesting. If you you'd like to help make sure that socially conscious design is something that's talked about at the event, please take a moment to sign up and vote for it HERE. Comments on that page are appreciated as well. Thanks!



And of course if you plan to go to SXSW I hope you'll attend (assuming it's chosen). Here are the details:

"The Socially Conscious Geek: Makin' Money While Doin' Good"
with Noah Scalin, Emira Mears, Lauren Bacon, and Leif Utne

Can you make a living as a geek without sacrificing your ideals? Definitely. These pros have carved out a niche working with mission-driven, ethical clients in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors ’Äì and want to show you how to bring your values to work while keeping a roof over your head.

Some questions we'll be answering:

1. What is a socially conscious geek?
2. How can I specialize in socially conscious work and earn a living wage?
3. What are some of the unique opportunities and challenges of specializing in socially conscious work?
4. What is the difference between non-profit and no-profit clients?
5. How do I make the transition from corporate work to working with non-profit and/or mission-driven clients?
6. What is the ’Äútriple bottom line’Äù approach to business?
7. What are some examples of alternative business models that are emerging among socially conscious geeks?
8. How is socially conscious work different than ’Äúgreen’Äù work?
9. What are some examples of clients I might be able to work with as a socially conscious geek?
10. How should I market myself to values-driven clients? Is it different from marketing to corporate clients?

LAUREN BACON & EMIRA MEARS are the co-founders of Raised Eyebrow Web Studio, Inc., a Vancouver-based web consultancy that helps nonprofits, government and progressive businesses communicate more effectively online. They also co-authored The Boss of You, a business guide for independent-minded women entrepreneurs.

LEIF UTNE is the former publisher of Worldchanging.com, an experienced online community builder, and a journalist, activist and social entrepreneur. He is currently VP of Community Development for Zanby, a software company that specializes in supporting online social communities for change. Zanby is used to support The UpTake, a web video community that among other things was heavily involved in documenting the RNC and DNC prior to the 2008 election, and was also engaged in citizen vote monitoring during the election.

Designer Tip: Work For Food

Yesterday I wrote about asking nonprofits to pay something rather than nothing when it comes to design work. However there are times when folks are truly unable to offer a cent, but that doesn't mean they can't pay you.

The age old practice of bartering is still a viable way of doing business (and not just for the folks at Burning Man). Often a company has just never thought of this as an option and if they have an obvious product or service you can use why not trade for the real (not discounted) value of your services.

I've bartered design for advertising, karate classes, massage therapy, and even produce from local farmers. Of course not every business will have something that is so obvious to offer you, however some creative thinking may find a way to put unconventional things to good use. The key is putting the suggestion on the table. You may be surprised by what people offer you.

If you do barter for design work, share your story with me, I'm interested to know how you make it work.

P.S. And even when you are working for cheap or bartering always use a contract.

Designer Tip: No Pro Bono

I've been meaning for a long while to write a long rant about the problems with designers doing pro-bono work as a way to do good. And while I still don't have the time/energy to write the whole thing out, I did want to relay an anti-pro bono technique I've been using lately...

As someone who runs a socially conscious design firm I frequently I get asked by nonprofit organizations if I know any designers who would be willing to do work for free. My response is to offer to send their request along to a short list of former students/interns that I maintain, HOWEVER I strongly recommend that they offer a token monetary honorarium (a couple hundred bucks usually) as a way to give some value to the project for both themselves and the designer.

I explain that everyone is much more committed when there's money involved (especially if it's acknowledged that it's not even close to the proper amount that should be spent). I also point out that designers (in the US) cannot write off the work on their taxes since it is considered a service and not a product.

Every time I have made this offer, the organization, no matter how small, has come up with an amount of money to offer and the young designers (who are not only in need of experience and portfolio pieces, but also in need of some actual money) are glad to get paid something.

Next time you are approached with a pro bono project (for yourself of to pass along to others) why not give this a try (and of course share the results with me).

P.S. In the meantime HERE's a good overview of the issues with pro bono from NO!SPEC.

Linkage: From Kafka Pest Kontrol to B'eau Pal Water

Yikes, where does the time go?! After heading down to Austin to talk at the How Design Conference and then opening After Life my art show at Quirk Gallery and finally a business trip to NYC, I've finally caught up with things enough in the office to return to my non-skull related blogging. First up, a bunch of links that have been sitting on my shelf that haven't quite hit their expiration date yet...


Literary reference trucks deliver books and a message about reading. (image shown, more HERE) via

SpecWatch keeps you updated on the insidious world of design competitions/crowdsourcing. Thanks @PrixMadonna

Captcha graffiti to tell if you're human or not. (image shown) via

A public bicycle counter shows that you are not the only one on two-wheels in Copenhagen.

Get a free brochure on how not to greenwash from Roughstock Studios.

You know you want a USB-powered chainsaw! via

Traitor Joe's gives you the dirt on a well-known (and similarly named) grocery chain's seafood sources. via

Bizarre attempt for a multi-national corporation to "localwash" (the local movement's equivalent of greenwashing). via

Boring flyers get free makeovers from Cardon Copy! (image shown) via

Reincarnated McMansion is going to take 1 wasteful house and turn it into 2 green homes! Thanks Stephanie!

The 3/50 Project wants to save local brick & mortar stores with your help. Thanks Mim!

Eco-Mag, a magazine about art, design & sustainability, is available as a free downloadable PDF via

B'eau Pal Water is the Yes Men's response to Dow Chemical's toxic waste in Bhopal. via

What happens when you put pianos on the street for anyone to use?

No Longer Empty turns vacant storefronts into art venues. via

Artist Favianna Rodriguez explains why is graffiti a good thing.

Eco-friendly cardboard coffins, come with the image of your choice printed directly on them. Thanks Amy!

Jamba Juice rips off Get Your War On! Thanks Kate!

Grand is turning their junk mail into self promotion. (image shown)

A newspaper in China goes from printing press to recyling bin with no stops in between.

SafeLink provides free cellphones and airtime for lower income Americans.