Design and Chemistry

It is estimated that over 90% of production materials do not end up in saleable products and 80% of products are discarded after a single use. This is causing us to rapidly consume the planet’s resources including metals, minerals, clean water and fossil fuels. Sustainable chemistry technologies are being used to reduce the impact of [...]

Reframing the ‘Design Solution’

During Monday’s educational session Greengaged welcomed sustainable design reader Dr Tracy Bhamra, from Loughborough University.
Bhamra began her presentation with an overview of her sustainable design teaching and expressed how she believes that “a sustainable design module needs to be something that everyone has to think about and not considered as a separate niche.”
At Loughborough [...]

A Design Challenge Like No Other

Early on Monday morning, Greengaged’s penultimate day kicked off with an informative discussion about the future of design education. Speakers included Tracy Bhamra (Loughborough University), Ian Capewell (Practical Action), and Emma Dewberry (Open University).
First to speak was Emma Dewberry, Senior Lecturer in Design for Sustainability at the Open University. After a brief introduction to her [...]

Greengaged Update

Well, it really has been an amazing first week here at Greengaged, with a whole host of leading voices taking the opportunity to discuss and challenge the role of design to positively effect our environment. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has attended so far and we look forward to [...]

The Joy of Not Being Sold Anything

Image Credit: Greengaged
As part of the greenwash debate on Friday evening, Sophie Thomas (thomas.matthews) showed the above image. It really makes you think twice about our consumer culture, when the general public recognise the beauty of a blank billboard.

Sustainable Design for Print

Did you know that recycling one tonne of paper can save 7000 gallons of water, 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4000kw of energy!? On Friday afternoon, non profit enterprise Three Trees Don’t Make a Forest held a three hour sustainable print and paper workshop to explore how [...]

Greengaged Visits Powerday

In the second part of the Greengaged event, “Wasted Talent”, the twenty-five piece group of designers, writers and academics arrived at Powerday waste recycling centre on Thursday morning. We were warmly met by Chris and John from Powerday, who after a brief introduction split us into two groups for an informal tour around the facility.
The [...]

Greengaged Exclusive:
Cradle to Cradle Revision!

In November 2008, Professor Michael Braungart will launch a new UK edition of ‘Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things’, the prolific and best-selling manifesto “calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.” Greengaged are excited to announce that the new edition will be published by Random House, and in [...]

Best Practice:
Remarkable Products

Following an introduction to her work as Design Week’s green columnist in the early ’90s and the publication of the first green graphic design book, “The Graphic Designer’s Greenbook: A Handbook and Source Guide on Design and the Environment”, Anne Chick (Director of the Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University) took the opportunity this week [...]

A World of Rubbish

“Its dirty, its dusty, it smells. Welcome to the world of rubbish!” In the most innovative excursion of the Greengaged week, here we all were on Thursday morning at Powerday waste recycling plant. What an eye opening reality for designers to witness. A full review of the trip coming shortly!
If you were on the trip [...]

Is it Legal to Recycle Design?

As a designer, not only can you use resources that are renewable you can also re-use other people’s material such as packaging or photographs. But, how can you avoid legal pitfalls, how far can you go when re-cycling designs and materials?
Earlier this week, in Greengaged’s answer to the British pub quiz, Sarah Johnson of [...]

Designer As Agent of Change

On Wednesday night at greengaged we welcomed Pio Barone Lumaga from LOFT Bookazine in Stockholm for an inspiring hands on session, exploring design, psychology, innovation and emotion.
Using a quick thought experiment, he encouraged participants to break down our existing thought patterns in order to unlock creative potential and allow for real change. Using examples from [...]

Green Your Studio!

Sophie Thomas and Nat Hunter of Three Trees Don’t Make a Forest took to the Greengaged stage on Tuesday afternoon, to offer designers their insights, opinions and advice on how to make their studio’s greener. The workshop was engaging, and the advice realistic. Where to start? Make a list, calculate the carbon footprint and expenditure [...]

Best Practice:
thomas.matthews

On Tuesday September 16th, day two of greengaged kicked off with a series of best practice case studies from leading design practitioners. The first series of events, focused on Communication and Graphic Design, began with a presentation from Sophie Thomas, director/co-founder of thomas.matthews.

Sophie introduced the work of thomas.matthews, explaining that with a touch of humour, [...]

Sustainable Terminology

Many discussions over the past three days here at Greengaged have questioned the validity of the word ’sustainability’. What does it really mean today? Do designers have differing perspectives of its definition and meaning? And possibly more importantly, do the public listen and how do they react when they hear such terminologies: green, eco, sustainable [...]

Thinking Beyond the Possible

On Monday 15th September, John Wood, Goldsmiths University and founder of Attainable Utopias and Malcolm Smith, Design Director for Arup Urban Design held an insightful discussion here at Greengaged. The Joined-up Living seminar explored integrated urbanism and cross disciplinary thinking for the future.
John took to the stand first and introduced his work at Goldsmiths University [...]

Join the Greenwash debate!

In the climate of economic down turn how can we create behaviour change in consumers who are bombarded by advertising and bored of green wash? On Friday evening, a panel of leading speakers will debate; “Should we believe the hype? Green Marketing, spin and substance.”
Chaired by Lucy Siegle from The Observer, speakers include:
Ed Gillespie, Futerra
Sophie [...]

What Do You See, in 2058?

Following London United’s inspiring workshop Imagine 2058, we would like to encourage you all to take yourself on your own journey to the year 2058. So, take a moment to relax, close your eyes and walk around the city… 50 years from now. What can you see?
What does the city look like? What sounds are [...]

Imagine 2058

At 6.30pm on Monday 15th September 2008, as a full moon rose over Covent Garden, John Grant, Aladin and other members of the 11 strong London United collective took to the greengaged limelight for their first ever workshop, “Imagine 2058″ - a journey through time.
London United’s Aladin took centre stage to a circle of thirty five [...]

The Greengaged Skip

To celebrate the launch of Greengaged, event organisers (left to right) Sophie Thomas (co-founder, thomas.matthews), David Kester (CEO, Design Council), Sarah Johnson of [re]design and Anne Chick (Director, Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University) took a ten minute rest in the Greengaged Skip!
In prime place outside the Design Council in Convent Garden, the Greengaged Skip [...]