ALR designletter [4.1]
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Welcome to the fourth year of the ALR designletter. We are still aiming for a bi-monthly schedule and we've resolved to give it our best effort this year! We hope you had a safe and healthy holiday season and we wish you the best in the New Year. As always we welcome your comments, suggestions, criticism and/or praise. Thanks for reading.
Noah Scalin, founder
ALR design
socially conscious graphic design
http://www.ALRdesign.com
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[01] ALR NEWS
Design Rebels, the socially conscious design course taught by ALR's founder Noah Scalin at Virginia Commonwealth University, is the subject of a recent article on Richmond.com. Read about the class and it's final project at http://www1.richmond.com/education/output.cfm?ID=2786032&vertical=Education
Also please note that the ALR office will be closed for vacation January 16-22.
[02] UPDATE
You may recall a mention several newsletters back of a contest to win a free Flash animated film by socially conscious marketing firm Free Range Graphics. Well, the winner was GRACE (Global Resource Action Center for the Environment). Their prize takes the form of a clever movie parody that deals with the horrors of factory farming called: "The Meatrix". Within days of its release the film spread worldwide, with over 2.5 million people having viewed it so far. See it for yourself at: http://www.themeatrix.com/
[03] CALENDAR
Designers interested in the impact their work has on the world are invited to attend the Designs on Democracy conference March 26-28th at the University of California, Berkley. The event, which was organized by the Rukus Society, Change The Game and The Design Action Collective will feature three days of speakers, workshops, panels and more. Topics to be covered include: "Lessons from Madison Avenue: How the 'other side' successfully Spins and sells their lies" and "Communication strategies for building a grassroots base". For more details go to http://www.designsondemocracy.org/
[04] WAR & PEACE
Anti-war protestors respect the job our soldiers do and we want the troops home, where they are safe, not fighting unnecessary battles. While the big effort to get them home continues, one small way to help them today is by donating your frequent flyer miles to Operation Hero Miles (http://www.heromiles.org/). Soldiers who have been given Emergency Leave and R&R by the Pentagon are only provided transportation to four major airport hubs from which they then have to pay their own way home. Hero Miles, started by Congressman C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D), coordinates the donations with major airlines to provide a means for completing their trips free of charge. While it doesn't get them back for good, it is a start.
[05] ACTIVISM
When Ben Cohen lost control of Ben & Jerry's, the activist ice cream company he helped found, he didn't give up the fight. Instead he returned to the world of grassroots political activism. His new organization True Majority works to amplify the voice of individuals on a variety of social issues…and it won't make you fat! Learn more and sign up at http://www.TrueMajority.com/. Be sure to check out the unique "window shade" pen they have for sale. It's an amazing tool for activists.
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Known as the alternate Nobel Prize, the Right Livelihood Award is given each December in Stockholm to people and organizations that work to create a more balanced world. This past year's winners were the South Korean Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, SKEM the Egyptian humane business organization, and two social activists from the Philippines: Walden Bello and Nicandor Perlas. Learn more about the recipients, see who won in the past and propose future nominees at http://www.rightlivelihood.se/
[06] DESIGN
When design firms create books they are generally mere self-promotional fluff. Chen Design Associates, however, decided to do something more substantial for their latest release. Peace 100 Ideas, represents a teaming up of CDA with Dr. David Krieger of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (http://www.wagingpeace.org) to visually express his list of 100 ways to enact peace in one's life. The advice is mostly simple and many ideas can be followed immediately ("laugh more") though some bigger more specific requests are thrown into the mix ("oppose violence in children's media"). The book is made from 100% recycled materials and 10% of the profits from it will benefit Dr. Krieger's organization. Peace 100 Ideas, which has also spurned a gallery exhibition in Pasadena, CA, clearly illustrates what is possible when designers make a point of working with their ethics in mind. Copies can be purchased directly from Chen Design Associate at http://peace100ideas.com/
[07] ELECTIONS
The butterfly ballot debacle of 2000 proved that bad design can indeed affect the world. The folks at the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) want designers to take the lead in creating a more accessible and accurate voting system. Thus they helped start the non-profit Design For Democracy, which works with election officials across the country to improve the processes that facilitate our democracy. Find out what this non-partisan organization has already done and how you can get involved at: http://electiondesign.org/
[08] HEALTH
The multi-million dollar prescription drug industry doesn't want you to take the most effective drug they make…placebos. According to a recent article in Mother Jones magazine ("Is It Prozac? Or Placebo?" Nov/Dec 2003) the sugar pills used in clinical trials as a control actually performed as well or better than many drugs on the market. One researcher, using the Freedom of Information act, discovered that of the 47 trials conducted for the six most widely prescribed anti-depressants (Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Serzone, and Celexa) only 20 of them showed any measurable difference from the effect the placebo had. Read the entire article at http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2003/11/ma_565_01.html
[09] MONEY
Is your financial situation not to your liking? The folks behind Global Rich List want to help you gain a little perspective. Their site http://www.globalrichlist.com/ shows how you fare next to the rest of the world. For instance it turns out that someone making a $20,000/year salary is actually among the top 11.1% of the richest people in the world! Their clever site also encourages donations to the poverty fighting organization CARE International.
[10] PRIVACY
John Ashcroft and the USA PATRIOT Act are not the only things that should give privacy rights activists cause for concern. Several retail stores and manufacturers have begun testing a new technology that uses low power radio signals to track customers in stores without their knowledge: Radio Frequency Identification chips (RFIDs). These chips, which will replace bar codes, continue to work even when the product is brought into your home and could be used for other surveillance purposes. Wal-Mart plans to have all of it suppliers put RFID tags on their products by 2005. (source: The Observer UK 11/30/03)
[11] MEDIA
Naqoyqatsi, which is a Hopi word meaning roughly "life as war", is a film that simultaneously questions modern technology while being the product of it. Without dialogue or a linear narrative the film ties scores of mesmerizing images to the equally mesmerizing music of Phillip Glass. In one sequence digitally animated religious symbols spin by and are eventually replaced with corporate logos. In others familiar looking historical stock footage is digitally modified into poetic new forms. This third installment in the Qatsi trilogy by Godfrey Reggio explores the issues that we face in an increasingly digital world and allows viewers to meditate on how it is affecting their lives. An excellent resolution to a powerful series. Look for it at your locally owned video store or read more about it at http://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/
[12] (DIGITAL)BOOKSHELF
Where is our society headed? Science writer Marshal Brain proposes both dystopian and utopian options in his online story "Manna". The tale, which follows one minimum wage worker's life through a future where computer automation has reached its logical end, is both terrifying and illuminating. Brain's conclusions may be hard for technophobes to swallow, but the story is engaging and the questions it proposes about work and freedom are hard to ignore. Folks interested in Open Source programming and minimum wage issues will find it particularly interesting. Read it here: http://MarshallBrain.com/manna1.htm (thanks to list member Scott Burger for passing this along)
[13] LEXICON
Neuromarketing (Verb) – The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other neuroscience technology to discover more about how consumers relate to products and find subtle ways to influence their decision making process. The folks at Commercial Alert (http://www.commercialaert.org), a media watchdog group recently issued a letter of concern to the president of Emory University. It seems the neurosciences department in their hospital has taken on a project from The BrightHouse Institute for Though Sciences, a division of an advertising agency whose clients include Coca-Cola and K-Mart. Commercial Alert believes this work goes against the mandate of Emory whose mission is to "create, preserve, teach and apply knowledge in the service of humanity". (Source: Organic Consumer Bytes12/03)
[14] NOSH
Need proof that genetically modified (GM) food may not be as healthy as the manufacturers want you to believe? Consider this: a new type of potato created by the food giant Monsanto is no longer considered a food by the FDA because of the pesticides it contains. Thus it was subjected to no food regulations and instead was given the OK for consumption by the EPA. (Source: Christian Science Monitor 10/31/02)
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The ALR Designletter is a semi-regular update on the activities at Another Limited Rebellion design, the world of socially conscious design, and beyond. You are on this list because you have worked with, contacted, or have a personal connection to ALR design. The names on this mailing list will never be sold or given away. If you no longer wish to be on this list, just respond with "REMOVE" in the subject section and there will be no hard feelings. Back issues can be found on our web site in the ISSUES section.
Sources are listed when information was found in one specific location. However, articles are not quoted verbatim in this newsletter. The addresses provided below are to encourage further reading and support of these fine publications and information services:
Christian Science Monitor: http://csmonitor.com/
Mother Jones: http://www.motherjones.com/
The Observer UK: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
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