What can €6.50 buy?

Striking ads from the Dutch aid agency Cordaid. Small irony that they were created by advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi, who helps market similar consumer products similar to the ones used here to exemplify the disparity of our world.

via Houtlust

A billboard I don't hate?

This billboard for South African Nedbank actually has solar panels on it that generate electricity for the kitchens of a neighboring elementary school.

Full details and more pix at Houtlust.

Whose Fault?

I just spotted this ad on an environmental website and had to laugh at the audacity. Gee, thanks for letting us take care of your waste problem.

EcoGeek

EcoGeek is nother excellent addition to the green blogging world. They compile green technology stories from across the blogosphere and also provide original articles like "Ask the EcoGeek".

Thanks Jessica!

Extreme Green Guerrilla

What do Extreme Green Guerrillas do? Eat roadkill and kill themselves at age 40 among other things. At least that's what Royal College of Art design student Michiko Nitta proposed as part of her graduate project dealing with the future of environmentalism. Get the full details along with diagrams and photos here.

(Shown left, a Rattit: a mutant hybrid of Rat and Rabbit that EGGs will enjoy eating)

via We Make Money Not Art

ALR in 1000 Retail Graphics

My company's logo design for Metamorphosis Mind + Body Boutique, a holistic spa in Richmond, VA is included in the new book 1000 Retail Graphics from Rockport Publishers.

Day of Silence

I tried tuning into one of my favorite internet radio stations this morning only to be reminded that it is one of thousands that are protesting an upcoming drastic royalty rate change with a Day of Silence. The change, which will go into effect July 15 (and be retroactive to January 1, 2006), could cause many small, independent broadcasters to shut down. A list of participating internet stations (including some of the largest like Yahoo! Launch, Rhapsody, and Pandora.com) can be found along with more details in RAIN (Radio And Internet Newsletter). To let your elected officials know your feelings about the rate change go here.

Czech Dream

What happens when you trick a city into thinking you're building the first big box store in the region? Apparently you get that the crap beat out of you. At least that's what happens to the people behind the documentary Czech Dream (which is now playing in select US cities). Color me intrigued to find out the whole story...



via Stay Free

Making Waves

A new BBC documentary about Hawaii and the environment, called Message in the Waves, caused a city in England to ban plastic bags after resident and filmmaker Rebecca Hosking set up a screening. From a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, which follows the continued downfall of the cheap disposable plastic bag used by grocery stores (500 billion of which are used annually worldwide):

Dumbstruck by what she'd seen off the Hawaiian coast during her year-long filmmaking trip, Hosking set up a local screening of her film and invited the town's 43 shopkeepers to come see where plastic bags end up.

All but seven of them showed up. At the end of the viewing, held in a local hall, Hosking called for a show of hands in support of a voluntary ban on plastic bags. Every single hand went up. The rest of the town's shopkeepers quickly followed suit. On May 1, Modbury won bragging rights as the first plastic-bag-free town in Europe.

Read the entire article here.

Watch the trailer clips from the Message in the Waves here.

The Yes Men do it again!

Oh if only I could've been at the Gas and Oil Exposition 2007 in Alberta earlier this month where the collected audience of fossil fuel bigwigs were treated (unknowingly) to another brilliant prank by the Yes Men. Despite the fact that they're much more recognizable after the major release of a documentary chronicling their previous stunts (including announcing the closure of the World Trade Organization) the Yes Men still managed to make a major presentation about turning dead bodies into a new fuel source called Vivoleum and distributing candles supposedly made from a dead Exxon employee before finally being escorted off by security.

Read more of the story on Wired's Blog and also on the Yes Men's site as well.

via Boing Boing

The Future of Design?

Opensource Productdesign is an online forum that presents a new working environment for industrial designers that embraces the Open Source movement and proposes a democratic means of creation. The currently listed projects are only in idea/research phases so it'll be a little while before we see how successful the model will really be. Does this have an application for graphic design as well or is this a potential for too many cooks in the kitchen?

Thanks Christian!

What Conservative Majority?

A new report from the media research group Media Matters for America gives evidence that the idea of a conservative majority in America is in fact false. "The Progressive Majority: Why Conservative America Is a Myth" includes a range of issues:

• The role of government - Americans support an active government that tackles problems, provides services, and aids those in need.
• The economy - Americans support increasing the minimum wage and strong unions, and believe the wealthy and corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes.
• Social issues - Americans support legal abortion and embryonic stem cell research; opinions on equal rights for women and gay Americans have grown dramatically more progressive in recent years.
• Security - Americans support a progressive approach to national security, emphasizing strong alliances and diplomacy over the indiscriminate use of military force. On domestic security issues, progressive approaches to crime and gun control enjoy wide support.
• The environment - By enormous margins, Americans favor strong environmental protections, a core progressive belief.
• Energy - Americans support energy conservation and the development of alternative fuels.
• Health care - Americans clearly favor universal coverage and are more than comfortable with government solutions to the health care problem.

Read more about the report here. Or download a full version here(PDF).

Retired Weapons

Retired Weapons is an ongoing art project of Japanese designers Yuji Tokuda and Junya Ishikawa which features images of a wide range of "retired" weapons with flowers growing out of them. A recent exhibition in Milan included a life-sized inflatable tank with a flower growing out it's bent gun barrel as well. Their interactive site has downloadable graphics which the artists encourage folks to share.

via Rebel Art

B Corporation

B Corporation is a new organization promoting a higher level of responsibility for businesses that want to be considered green. To be considered a B Corporation businesses must meet a comprehensive set of social environmental standards, plus institutionalize stakeholder interests. The organization is still in it's early stages, so it will be interesting to see if they can set a standard that is recognized and has an impact on the business world.

Eyes of a Stranger

“Upwards of 90% of the images of the majority world that are seen in the western media are produced by white photographers from the USA or Europe. This results in a one dimensional view often driven by a negative news agenda or the need to raise money.” -Dave Clark, Senior Lecturer in Photography, Bolton Institute, UK

With that in mind Kijiji Vision was formed to help indigenous photographers share their own vision of the world they live in. The organization, which offers its support services free of charge, also runs the commercial stock photography library MajorityWorld.com as a means of distribution.

via Boing Boing, thanks Meagan!

Good Posters

While you've missed your chance to participate in the Good 50x70 poster design competition, which encouraged students and professionals to create posters on five pressing social justice issues, you can see the co-winners and shortlisted finalists, juried by a group of well-respected folks, for each category here:

• AIDS
• Environmental Damage
• Human Rights
• Undersdevelopment
• War

Profits from sales of catalogs of the posters will go to the charities that supported the competition.

Thanks Marc!

Designs on Democracy

Members of Tumis Design and Design Action Collective will be holding a workshop on socially conscious design at the U.S. Social Forum on June 30th in Atlanta Georgia:

What is the history of graphic communication in the social justice movement? What is our role now?

How can we effectively use graphic communication to get our messages out in a way that reaches the hearts and minds of our communities and society at large?

What choices do we make in representation in our designs? What images and language do we use? How do we help in creating a message of diversity and positivity?


Join Favianna Rodriguez of Tumis Design, and Nadia Khastagir and Sabiha Basrai of Design Action Collective in a colorful presentation and discussion of the pressing topics facing progressive visual communicators.

This workshop is for emerging and experienced graphic designers, communications specialists, students and artists who work with social justice organizing efforts.

The U.S. Social Forum, a conference for social justice activists, runs June 27th through July 1st. For more info go HERE.

Skull-A-Day

I've got a backlog of stuff to post here, but you'll have to forgive me if I'm not as prolific as usual. I've started a new art/blog project that's been keeping me busy: Skull-A-Day. Yep, I'm making a skull image every day for a year. I hope you'll check it out. More juicy socially conscious design posts soon, I promise.

Cereal Killer

According to a recent New York Times article Kellogg will begin phasing out marketing unhealthy cereals to children under 12 over the next year and a half. Having tie-ins with licensed characters will be limited to healthier cereals as well. The self-imposed changes follow the threat of a lawsuit from the Center for Science in The Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The plans for a lawsuit have now been dropped. From the article:

Susan Linn, the co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said Kellogg’s decision to stop using licensed characters on sugary food was particularly significant. “Until now the industry has absolutely dug in their heels,” Ms. Linn said.

In the last several years, health officials have repeatedly warned that the steady stream of food ads aimed at children is contributing to the number of overweight or obese children, which has soared over the last four decades.

Some countries have banned advertising of nutritionally questionable food to children altogether, and some members of Congress have suggested that federal regulation may be needed in the United States, too. The food industry has promised to bolster its own self-regulation.

Read the entire article here.

via Consumerist

Instant Karma

Amnesty International has created a new online widget as a means of further spreading their message about the violence in Darfur. The Instant Karma Mixtape, which can easily be added to MySpace, Facebook, blogs, and personal web pages, allows folks to listen to and buy the Instant Karma benefit album, as well as sign a petition, and learn more about their campaign all in one place. You can get the source code here.

Spotted in Washington, DC: Rap Snacks

I went up to DC last week to attend the Socially Responsible Business of Washington (SBNOW) 2007 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Symposium. On my way back to the train station I spotted this bag of "Honey Dew" flavored Rap Snacks at a street vendor.
From the bag I learned that:
A. Rap Snacks are "The Official snack of Hip Hop"
B. Rappers don't like Trans Fats (though are apparently fine with a host of preservatives, artificial colors and MSG.)
and
C. Reading is fundamental (though there was no elaboration on this point).

File Under Irony: Fakes Are Never In Fashion

Harper's Bazaar has decided to tackle the issue of counterfeit goods with a new campaign: Fakes Are Never In Fashion. And how do they plan to let folks know that it's not OK for people to make money off of something they didn't pay for or create themselves? They're having a T-shirt design competition! That's right, they've asked people to create art for them without getting paid. And the "winners"? Well according to the site they get...nothing! OK I guess they get the honor of seeing their work used by a corporation (after assigning all copyrights to them) for limited-edition T-shirts, limited-edition boxed sets, featured in upcoming issues of Harper's Bazaar, posted online, and downloadable into desktop wallpaper.

In the spirit of the competition I've decided to create my own design (shown right), but rather than submit it to them I've gone ahead and made a Cafe Press store to sell them myself HERE. Any profits will be donated to Creative Commons.

Thanks Mica!

Propaganda Critic

Aaron Delwiche's site Propaganda Critic, was created to continue the pioneering work of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis, which promoted critical propaganda analysis from 1937-1942. The site, which has been online since 1994, provides an overview of propaganda techniques and gives historical and recent examples. There's also a page of links to classic propaganda films hosted on the Internet Archive.

via Social Design Notes

The Joy of Balloon Hats

I've been obsessed with the Balloon Hat project for many years and am hoping their recent foray into web video (despite being sponsored by an alcohol company) will expose this great bit of art/activism to an even wider audience. This introduction explains what it's all about...




More videos can be seen here.

Those Pesky Trees

Stay Free! Daily points out the latest trend in outdoor advertising: cutting down trees to increase ad visibility...

The latest rash of tree deaths is in North Carolina, where about 50 trees have been killed in the past seven months.

To make matters worse, a bill proposed to combat the practice sets fines at $2,000, even though replacing 50 trees would cost the state over $607,100—over $12,000 per tree!

Get the details from Scenic America via their downloadable factsheet(PDF).

Shameless Commercialism part II

If you enjoy the site, you'll love the shirt! I've made a new Another Limited Rebellion T-shirt (and mug) from the lovely calligraphy created for me in Istanbul. And hey, I get a whopping $2 dollars if you buy one, so just consider it an over-sized tip jar if you like. You can get 'em here.

And you can still get an old school ALR tee here.

To Carbon Offset or Not To Carbon Offset

I've been debating the merits of carbon offsets and whether they are really helping to encourage greener living, or just encouraging people to throw money at a problem rather than acting differently (especially as I have been reviewing green hosting options). So I was happy to discover an article about just this topic in the current issue of Mother Jones (May/June), "Practical Values: Paying for My Hot Air" :

Because air travel is my biggest vice, I started by plugging a year's worth of flights into various online travel calculators. The cost of redemption for 34,000 air miles: $168, according to NativeEnergy; $160.89 per MyClimate; or $64.95 on TerraPass. When I added up my total carbon footprint (air travel, auto, and home energy), the price tags ranged from $180 to $408 per year. Why would anyone spend $408 when she could choose a $180 offset instead?

"As a tendency, the cheaper the program, the more likely it is that the quality is not very good," says Wolfgang Strasdas, who recently completed a study on carbon offsets for the International Ecotourism Society. Strasdas judged carbon-offset companies on three main factors: how credible they are, how they spend your money, and how they calculate emissions. The latter accounts for the major discrepancies in price, especially regarding air travel.

Read the entire article (along with a handy carbon offset comparison chart) here.

Murdered in Mexico

My friend Nash sent me this note about a friend of hers who was murdered while helping to protect forests in Mexico. Please be sure to visit the petition she mentions at the end:

From february to the begining of may I was in charge of a project for the Greenpeace forest campaign. This project took me to the forest every weekend, I worked with several volunteers as well as with a group of indigenous people from one of the communities there, people who are aware of the importance of the forest for all of us, that have been working denouncing illegal loggers as well as developing susteinable projects to preserve their forests. We were compiling data for a scientific study on the impact of deforestation. The work was hard but it was good work and we made very close bonds with them. Last may 15th, one of our indigenous partners Aldo Zamora was killed by illegal loggers and his brother Misael who also worked with us was injured. You can imagine my shock and pain, and for all of us who worked with him. We know who the killers are but til today they´re still free.

So I ask you to get into this link and sign, so we can keep pressuring tha mexican goverment to capture the killers:

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/makingwaves/archives/2007/05/activist_murdered_in_mexicao.html

Image: Aldo and Misael

Bloomin' Business Card

I love this design for a business card that grows from Jamie Wieck.

via BoingBoing

Plant The Piece in Gatherings

Gatherings, a blog for an LA based mission driven event planner, has a nice mention of the Plant The Piece/Swords Into Plowshare art project I worked on.

Greener Technology

Green Tech is a new online guide to sustainable technology from CNET. Articles include 25 Ways To Go Green, Earth Friendly Downloads, Online Tools for Staying Green, and more.

Thanks Cory!

WiserEarth

WiserEarth is a new community-driven resource on non-profits & NGOs. It functions both as a directory of and forum for international organizations working on social and environmental issues. The site was created by the Natural Capital Institute, which is also working on a business oriented companion called WiserBusiness.

Spotten in Istanbul part IV: Graf11st

Sadly I missed seeing the Grafist: 11th Annual International Istanbul Graphic Design Week events by a few weeks and the main exhibition by mere days, but I did manage to get a nice tour of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts School, which hosted the event, courtesy of designer Esen Karol.

Thanks again Esen!

Community Supported Consumptiton

SustainLane is a new community based online directory of green products and services, where you can search for reviews and/or add your own. While still in it's early stages (a query for Sun Screen pulled up only 3 items), it has the potential to be a great resource for folks who want to know more before they shop.

The folks behind SustainLane also provide sustainability rankings for the 50 biggest US cities; as well as government focused site; and even an animated series called The UnSustainables.

Spotten in Istanbul part III: May Day

May 1st, 2007 marked the 30th anniversary of a deadly May Day rally in Istanbul. While I missed this year's events by a few weeks (which ended with 1,000 detained activists and at least 23 injured), stickers like this one promoting the rally, remained on walls throughout the city.

A Fair(y) Use Tale

Disney characters explain Copyright Law and Fair Use in this entertaining Fair(y) Use Tale created by Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University. It's also available for download via the Fair Use Project at The Center For Internet and Society at Stanford University.


via Mica

Toxic Art Supplies

Co-op Ameria's: Real Money has an article on the potential toxic hazards of art supplies and how to identify and avoid them. They also provide a list of resources including a couple of recipes for homemade paints and dyes. Read the article here.

Spotted In Istanbul part II: No Logo in Turkish

When I went to Istanbul, I had no idea what to expect, so imagine my pleasant surprise when I discovered that the terrific cafe/juice bar around the corner, Cuppa, has a bookshelf that features a Turkish edition of No Logo, the book that I use extensively in my class Design Rebels.