It's happening.

Although I am currently away from work on maternity leave, I can't help it. I want to stay involved – observing and participating in this cultural shift we are in, that is becoming ever more obvious. The above image is a slide I put together for Ci and in the background is a gigantic mindmap about sustainability + food. FOOD! From Food Inc. raising questions about where our food comes from, to Chipotle changing the nature of fast food in the USA, to Michael Pollen's new book Food Rules, to the rise of urban agriculture and people spending more time in their kitchens, I am inspired and hopeful that North Americans are waking up and asking the questions about what we are putting in our bodies and how it effects us. And then today on Oprah. Food 101 with Michael Pollan. It's really happening. The food revolution. We have a long way to go, I know this. But it's happening.

"The less we spend on food, the more we spend on health care" ~Michael Pollan

The Challenge Series

The Challenge Series tells the story of the people and the work behind the planning, designing and building of Vancouver's Olympic Village. For the past few years, I have had my eye on the site, wondering how it would all unfold, not knowing how involved I would get in learning about the site's history, policies and the development process. A crash course in urban design and sustainable community building.

Beginning last April, I began working for this project, brought on to essentially manage all the visual information for the seven chapter publication that would launch each new chapter monthly. Each chapter covered a different topic from History and Policy to Public Space and Infrastructure, Architecture, Water and Building Landscape, Energy, and Community.

There were thousands of images to sift through, collect, review, and choose. I worked with illustrators from Letterbox Design Group and Cobalt Engineering to develop schematics. I created each chapter's wireframe for publication, liaised with writers (New Climate Strategies) with respect to appropriate images for each story. I liaised with graphic designers (Mizu Creative) with respect to each chapter's wireframe, image hierarchy etc. and I put forth recommendations for the front and back covers.

All in all it was a fabulous project to be involved with– great people full of optimism and passion.

You can access all chapters here. I recommend downloading the low res pdfs for a more graphical / magazine type experience.

Ci newsletter chock full of nuggets

Ci, the company I now work for as a 'creative strategist' publishes a juicy newsletter called soundbite once in a while that shares some intelligence surrounding the SHIFT Report. I've blogged about it before - What do 5000 main stream North American's think (and behave) around issues related to sustainability and social responsibility. In a nut shell, it's way more than green green green.

Another feature on this one is a brand rivalry poll - Are Microsoft customers more concerned about the environment than Mac customers? Do people who drink Coke care more about local and organic than Pepsi drinkers? Is there really a difference between the people who buy Method and those who buy Clorox? Ci will profile the rivalry that has the most votes.

I encourage anyone reading this to sign up for the newsletter and stay in touch. This company is smart and ambitious. Two good things I like to see in an employer of mine. ( :

hello, lawrence weiner

I recently saw a Lawrence Weiner (and John Baldessari) show at the Apt. I went with Alex and Katrin which was a treat in of itself. I hadn't heard of either of the artists before this week. It was a private showing so we learned a lot about conceptual art and 'the business of. Alex asks the best questions. And since then (of course) I recognize the names. So you can imagine the delight of seeing this short video which I first saw on Kara's fabulous oliveisgreen. Check it oot.

green green green NOT

Since finishing school I've quickly made the transition to full time at Ci (conscientious innovation) where we have just conducted a comprehensive study across North America to find out what 5000 people are thinking about sustainability (issues, values, barriers, motivations, etc.), the brands they buy and the messaging that comes with it. The most relevant finding (I think) is how people rate things that I consider to be very important in terms of how i live my life (global warming, organic food) on the lower end and things like balanced life and connection with family, friends are WAY up in the high 80's.



We are getting press!.. mostly local for now (Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province), also a great story in Environmental Leader that headlines - Green Marketing Campaigns Not Sticking, and in Sustainable Brands that headlined - Why Your Green Marketing May Be Hitting the Mark. A press release is posted on Kierstin's blog with some additional insight.



I've been busy making all of this data visual.. looking at the likes of Edward Tufte and Richard Saul Wurman and Kevin Kelly. All say the same thing - "What changes the world is not information alone, but communication" - and "Understanding information is power". This means my job is not only about visualizing these loooooong data runs, but trying to relate it to real world pressures i.e. cultural relevance and dare I say... business opportunities.

!These images are © Conscientious Innovation Ltd. 2008. All rights reserved.

thinking slow

Slow design is contextual so its definition changes depending on the scale and situation. To me it means taking the necessary time to consider as many facets around who and what the designed thing (object, system, experience) will effect over time. This includes the environment, the producers and the consumers, in the short run and long run. I am making an effort to expand the time frame in which I operate so looking at projects like the 10 000 year all mechanical clock designed by the Long Now Foundation. Extreme yes, but they are actually building the thing in order to talk about applied long term thinking.

A typical intended outcome of a slow design process is to effectively slow down the flow of materials and/or pace of life. Less consuming equals less waste. Careful planning equals less waste. Taking 2 extra minutes to crush the cans and bottles from mad max and bring them up the dock equals less waste. To me slow design adds yet another layer on top of all the eco / sustainable design strategies I've been learning about through school, the green building world and my current job. I feel like slow implies a sensibility around the way we consume that is not about sacrifice but rather quality and pleasure. It also doesn't mean we have to walk every where and do every thing slowly but more about taking the necessary amount of time to understand what is often hidden behind the shiny surface and the allure of bigger better faster now. Because it's killing us.

And there's my slow rant for now. Time to go to work.

designer memories

Reinier sent this link to me the other morning. Didn't see that coming.

Dear Professor Knight,

That was an incredible experience.
Prototype prototype prototype!

Sincerely,
Sarah

i want to build a windmill

yesterday morning i got up early and spent some time watching Bruce Sterling and TED talks. wasn;t the smoothest stream but it was worth it. got me thinking again how burning man is a festival for the privileged. no doubt about it. we go there, we build it, we tear it down and then we go back to join every one else. point is keeping it local is great but we must!, (rather i don't want to) forget about out there. this is the most inspiring thing i have ever seen.

future histories: burning man 2007

Burning Man 2007 was fantastical cosmic dream. Described in three words: another world experience. This years theme, the Green Man asked us to think about our relationship to nature, and then proceeded to bring us a lunar eclipse, a meteor shower and a full on double rainbow which emerged after a severe desert sand storm. Was the weather trying to answer this questions for us? Was it trying to tell us that this complex relationship is evolving before our senses and that just like any relationship, it is reciprocal and it needs us more than ever?



I went there for a number of reasons.. some personal some professional. the latter was meant to be an investigation into people’s attitudes towards the mainstreaming and marketing of social responsibility and sustainability, both in Black Rock City and the everyday. My questions were quickly answered on the Monday night when Paul Addis preemptively burned down the man in the name of shaking things up Gonzo style. I decided from then on to simply immerse myself in the present and enjoy the culture of Black Rock City for exactly what it is. I was blown away by all of the incredible art work, burners had clearly spent much time and energy on this event. Back home, I found an article in business magazine talking about rising corporate involvement (page 66) at Burning Man. Others liken it to an inevitable disneyfication of the event. Nevada's next tourist destination. But my favourites are still the trustafarian peacocks. They pretty much rule.

Let me get this out.. . the most disappointing fact of the whole event was the poor design of the events calendar. Called the What Where When guide it was more like the What guide making it nearly impossible to locate any of the wonderful workshops being hosted on the playa for even the most skilled cartographer. Being the optimist that I am.. a combination of a 'word of mouth', 'keep it local' and the situationists 'drifter' approach to city life helped me get over this sad sad piece of design. I have decided to save the calendars for next level arts n crafts inspiration ( :


I did attend a the 4th Annual Black Rock City Gathering of the Tribes held on the day of the burn, and facilitated by my friend Sobey. The central theme looked at how we can collectively take the Green Man consciousness into the future. After a round of introductions and words by west coast movers and shakers we broke off into groups to explore this idea of our future histories. The concept is this: suggest topics on which to build the story of our future in the past tense as if telling it to our children. Topics that emerged were social networks and media, forestry, food security and toxicity, community rituals, education, safe healing spaces, gender issues, and space travel. I joined the space group which ended up getting paired with the forestry group. We all immediately agreed that this made sense. Forests in space? Why not. Here we go. Wasn’t it a grand day when we leapt up into space from BRC bringing with us infinite energy and a perfectly contained and thriving ecosystem, Ahhh voyeurism of epic proportions bringing new perspectives and notions of regeneration. I made quite a few strong connections there mostly with people from LA, and fully intend on following up with them. I would be incredibly foolish not to. General feeling is a huge push for permaculture and guilds in a very forward thinking, technically innovative and highly sustainable ways.



All week as I cycled around the playa, I kept thinking Bucky Fuller would have been proud of us seeing all of the geodesic structures out there in the temporary autonomous city, protecting us from the harsh desert elements. I was stoked to help assemble a few of them... 3 different sized steel rods that come together in 5s or 6s which form triangles which in the end forms a perfect dome. The question of bottom up or top down construction is a pertinent one and depends on the number of people there to help.

The Crude Awakening was probably the most epic art installation of the festival. A 4 story wooden reconstruction of an oil derrick with giant welded human figures worshiping the structure that saw a steady flow of curious citizens slowly climbing the stairs to take in a view of the city and desert from above. Immediately after the burning of the man, BRC experienced the largest pyrotechnic show in human history with tales of 900 gallons of jet fuel donated by NASA, 2000 gallons of propane at hand, and the full moon over head. A social sculpture emerged to simultaneously represent utopia and apocalypse and to allow us to rethink our dependence on fossil fuels in this 21st century. The next day I visited the ashes and embers, and the whole piece came together for me when I saw a crane attempting to plant a single red cedar in place of the derrick. WIRED's blog the Underwire writes about it and what follows is a conversation on the ironic or somewhat contradictory nature of this installation. Read it and decide for yourself.

Since returning to Vancouver.. besides coughing all the playa dust out of my lungs, I've been able to research the festival.. its history, politics, culture, the polemic views from both those who were present and not yet present. To me Burning Man was a chance for to redefine the paradigm, to expand and strengthen my ideas on what is and isn't possible. to experience first hand what it feels like to create something from nothing but time and energy. . to grow our tribes. It is where cultural producers and creators take responsibility for redesigning all facets of everyday life. It is a cultural vehicle for radical self reliance and expression which I fully intend to ride again.



Woot woot!

parched and indulgent

Americans spent more money last year on bottled water than on ipods or movie tickets: $15 Billion. Journey into the economics--and psychology--of an unlikely business boom. Click.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/117/features-message-in-a-bottle.html




Boom.

a is a

everything is changing again. i feel uneasy. lonely? maybe that's it. but how can that be? out on the water this weekend, i couldn't stop thinking about a is a. ayn rand. atlas shrugged. i'm thinking but i'm also just doing as i'm told. pit and that's about it. internally, i feel as though the weight of the world is on my shoulders as the huge freighter enters english bay carrying about 2ooo containers of ?? i phones and shoes? and yet i haven't really done anything, objectively speaking, to make an difference in the passionate quest I say I am on. towards sustainability. toward the enduring ability to sustain ourselves aka to not fuck things up for the future.

so. much. waste.

i want to send the madmax crew this link. on the bottled water industry. we go through so much of it.. and really why can't we just bring our own? why can't we recycle the bottles? why don't we want to? why must i fish through the garbage at the end of the race to sort the recyclables from the garbage. why do i find half a dozen half empty bottles hidden in all the pockets? why do i feel like its inappropriate to send the adults some intelligence?

change

what we need is a compelling vision for the future. is that too much to ask?

world studio
world changing
change everything
change design
design boom

breakthrough

radical simplicity also sounds nice.

this semester i've lost my day planner, my hat, 2 scarfs and some mitts.
all have returned.

yay!

what is art?

art is expression through a specific set of skills.
art enhances those who create it, and inspires those who experience it.
art happens when interior truth meets exterior world.
art is always (we think) trying to recreate nature.



is this a luxury or a responsibility?

art is inviting and has the potential to take you our of (or put you back into) the everyday,and towards a new ways of understanding what is possible and what it means to be human here there now then and into the f u t u r e.