101 Things Designers Can Do to Save the Earth is a website I found through a link on the School of Visual Concepts website. The wordpress site is one big list of exactly that, things designers can do to save the Earth. While I appreciate that a lot of the items on the list don't exclude non-designers and are things that anyone can do to save the Earth, the design specific items are particularly relevant and helpful. For a taste of the site I'm listing a few of my favorites here:
118. The Designers Atlas of Sustainability: by Ann Thorpe is a more philosophical look at how designers can work in harmony with sustainable design.
117. Forget Ink Use Seawater: Curb a UK media agency's guerilla ad campaign where sidewalk stencils made with seawater promoted the London Aquarium. Seawater takes longer to dry, giving the ads a 20 min. lifespan. This is a favorite of mine not only because it uses resources that are renewable and non-destructive to the environment, but also because as a guerilla campaign I think it is more effective than a traditional ad, like a billboard. With increased impact, it's even more green because resources aren't being wasted on design that doesn't effectively promote the cause.
115. Ecofont: Verdana, except the letters have holes in them, like Swiss cheese. Thus saving 20% of the toner currently used. This is a barely noticeable difference making this an great opportunity to ease reluctant clients into sustainable design . Genius!
There are many, many more ideas for ways to "go green" on this site. I suggest giving it 20 min. of you're normal web surf wanderings for worthwhile inspiration.
