Spotted in NYC: Public vs. Private Property

I stepped out of a subway on Sixth Avenue and saw this marker at my feet. It divided a wide sidewalk that otherwise was indistinguishable from blocks around it.

Spotted in NYC: Corporate Anti-Graffiti

Graffiti is illegal, even when corporations do it, though that never seems to stop them. But maybe Spike TV is trying to avoid trouble by creating their new guerrilla marketing ads by removing dirt on the sidewalks on New York City. I think folks living in the city would actually appreciate the ads more if they finished the job of cleaning the sidewalk, but the ads will probably stay there until someone else decides to clean them. [On the same trip that I spotted this I actually saw an old adhesive plastic street ad that the city just painted crosswalk lines on top of!]

Call for Entries: Socially Conscious Design Competition

The San Francisco AIGA's socially conscious design competition Cause/Affect is accepting submissions now through November 9th. From their site:

cause/affect is a biennial graphic design competition which celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society and communities.

All work entered in the competition must promote or support social good and actively engage in enriching our lives. It can raise awareness about a cause or condition. It can celebrate an arts institution or event. All we ask is that it doesn’t contribute directly to the profit of a commercial organization.

This is a competition for do-gooders, who do good work. And it is open to all.

More details and entry forms can be found here.

Thanks Brad!

Guerrilla Bag Activism

Morsbags is a UK based group that asks regular folks to form subversive activist "pods" to make and distribute...shopping bags! They provide a basic how-to for making a standard cloth bag, which you are then encouraged to distribute for free to shoppers at local stores as an alternative to using disposable grocery bags.

Thanks Mim!

James Howard Kunstler on Suburbia

Author James Howard Kunstler entertainingly critiques suburban sprawl at TED in 2004.





Thanks Chris!

Planting Peace

Planting Peace is a handy new resource from the folks at the Organic Consumers Association. It collects news stories about the intersection of the anti-war, environmental, and organic activist communities in an attempt to forge a better alliance between the groups.

Service-Learning: Design Rebels

The course I teach on socially conscious design at Virginia Commonwealth University, Design Rebels, is designated as a Service-Learning class, which means the students are required to have a level of direct community engagement as part of their education. Last year the class was featured in a presentation at the annual Service-Learning conference. A short video from that presentation (which includes an interview with me about Design Rebels) can now be seen online HERE.

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You

The first of a five-part series (that appears to be from 2004) called "How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You" created by Peter Jennings...



Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

via Mercola.com

21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle

The current issue of Co-Op America Quarterly gives a quick overview of recycling options for just about everything you can think of (from Appliances to Tyvek Envelopes) in "21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle". It's pretty basic, but if you know someone who is just getting becoming more environmentally concerned it's a good starting place. Get the entire list of 21 things here.

Read A !#&% Book!

This is the controversial parody PSA rap video "Read A Book" which has been running on BET recently... NOTE: This is really, really not work safe (language-wise).

Gimme Shelter: NYC November 13

New York based animal rights group Rational Animal is having their annual concert, Gimme Shelter: Rock & Rescue NYC, on November 13th. The poster was designed by Andrea Purcigliotti and her partner Tony Barber...who just happens to be the bassist from the Buzzcocks! If last year's line-up is any indication it should be a killer show. Tickets and details should be available on their site in the next few weeks.

Anita Roddick 1942-2007

Say what you will about the Body Shop, but there is no denying that the store's founder Dame Anita Roddick was a pioneer in the world of socially conscious business and a tireless activist with a true interest in doing good in the world. Our condolences to her family, she will be missed.

Read her obituary in the New York Times and via BBC News.

Save Shareholder Rights

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently considering changing the rules that would limit how shareholders can influence corporations. Save Shareholder Rights! (a project of The Social Investment Forum and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility) provides information on the issue and a form for submitting concerns to the FCC and your Senators during the brief public comment period.

Sign of the Times

Via Crooks and Liars.
Thanks Jessica!

Small (Business) Is Beautiful

A recent article in Ode Magazine "Small Is Successful" talks about the benefits of staying small in the corporate world and features the story of how Clif Bar owner Gary Erickson resisted a profitable takeover by Quaker Oats:

...rather than feeling on top of the world about this dream deal, Erickson was uneasy. "I stood in the office waiting to go out and sign the contract," he recounts in his book Raising the Bar. "Out of nowhere, I started to shake and couldn't breathe." He told his business partner that he needed to get some air. Outside in the parking lot, he broke down in tears. And then it hit him as he began to walk around the block: "I don't have to do this. I began to laugh, feeling free," he writes. "I turned around, went back to the office and told my partner, 'Send them home. I can't sell the company.'"

Read the entire article here.

Vegetarianism vs. Global Warming

A recent New York Times article "Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change" discusses how a U.N. report from last year which stated that commercial livestock produced more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined, is being used by animal rights groups to further their cause:

"When that report came out, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other groups expected their environmental counterparts to immediately hop on the 'Go Veggie!' bandwagon, but that did not happen. 'Environmentalists are still pointing their fingers at Hummers and S.U.V.’s when they should be pointing at the dinner plate,' said Matt A. Prescott, manager of vegan campaigns for PETA."

Read the entire article HERE.

Thanks Jenny!

Food Fight!

The Farm Bill Food Battle site, gives information on the current plan to revise the allocation of food subsidies in the US and encourages folks to support a fair Bill (rather than one that focuses on giant agribusinesses). Which side of the battle are you on?...

Out of The Closet

Like every good New Yorker, I store. That is, I rent a closet where I keep all the things that don't fit into my studio apartment. And, although I was intrigued to discover that Nigerian gentlemen store their Not-Quite-Gucci bags right next to my roller skates and sewing machine, I really hadn't thought much about my rented closet. Until recently..

For the past few years, Manhattan Mini-Storage has been using a series of bold statements in their print ads which mostly came off as bad stand-up jokes. But their newest installment has taken an unusual turn and become blatantly political in an ugly yet eye-catching ad campaign. Take a look:

They are a bit sloppy for my own design sense but certainly have created something worth blogging about. Now that they are getting flak from those who disagree with the statements - they have launched a poll on their site where anyone can weigh in or even submit suggestions for new ads. What do you think, should politics be kept in the closet?