You’ve probably read about Nest by now, but if you haven’t, check them out. It’s not everyday something so ordinary and taken for granted gets an intuitive, well-designed and urgently needed overhaul (even though nobody really realized the need for it). Nest tells us that our thermostats control up to 50% of our energy bill, so why have we waited so long? Check out more about why they made it.

The Nest is a “learning thermostat,” designed to be easy to use and save money by programming itself, letting you manage it from the cloud,  and giving you tons of info and feedback to help you learn how to save even more. It’s good for the planet, and it’s good for your wallet. And it’s great design. Win-win-win.

We bought one for the office, and are excited to see how/if it transforms our energy usage. Watch for updates!

What’s an everyday product you think is in dire need of a redesign? Let us know in the comments.

When I first read this article in Fast Company Design (Why Designers Need to Stop Feeling Sorry for Africa) my reason for reading was purely because the title annoyed me. If nothing else, this article is brilliant just for its title alone! After reading through the article quite a few times, and really looking into the heart of what the author’s argument is about, I think I really agree with what he is saying.

Take, for example, the prevalence of poverty porn. We can all picture Sally Struthers on a late-night commercial with emaciated children that you can save for $10/month. This is poverty porn at its worst (or best depending on how you look at it). In fact, one of the significant challenges that R29 has faced with some of our Africa-focused clients is the volume of poverty porn among similar organizations.

‘What’s the big deal,’ some might say? People need to be moved to act, and moving images, design and media can really be effective means that justify a better end for the poor and vulnerable. Someone would see an image that moves them to give and that gift provides a better quality of life for the image-bearer.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Africa and every time I leave a slum, I can’t help but marvel about how truly innovative and ingenious our African brothers and sisters really are. From toys made from trash to home-made water-purification units; the poor and marginalized people of this world deserve much more credit than we often give them. And yet, it would be really easy to take a picture of one of these brilliant African’s and make him look desperate.

Instead, let’s look at the assets that are already present and walk alongside our African friends toward a new day of prosperity and peace. There are many ‘good news’ stories coming out of Africa. I hope that these begin to outweigh the glut of poverty porn that is commonplace in today’s world.

Here’s my hope: what if the world began to view the poor as innovators, entrepreneurs, and future leaders – this perspective swings the dignity pendulum back to the complete opposite side and paints an entirely different picture of the reality of our world’s poor. This is where we need to be, and I believe that by working together (especially as designers) this could be reality. So thanks to a blog title that got me all riled up, I felt compelled to write and share about a shift in perspective. At least it’s something for us all to think about.

Shame on us for stealing one of the few assets they may have left: dignity.

Thanks to Justin Narducci from Life In Abundance for having an ongoing dialogue (the last 5 years) with me and Rule29 on how to “see” the poor and the amazing complexities of Africa. And for being the co-writer of this post.

It’s hard to believe it’s been over four years since our very first Green 2.9 post. Since then, we’ve implemented various (successful and not-so-successful at times) strategies in our effort to be as responsible as we know how when it comes to environment, social, and financial sustainability. We believe that these three arenas work together to form a complete view of what it means to be a sustainable company that contributes to the continued good of our world – both now and in the future. And we know that we’ve just begun to scratch the surface.

A small forest, a few swimming pools, and energy to spare…

2011 was a good green year for us. As you can see in the graph above, we met or exceeded nearly all the goals we set (with the exception of  aluminum cans recycled, but that’s because we drank even less soda this year, so we’ll toast to good health on that failed goal). We recycled more than we ever have this year. Our paper usage for printed projects was way up due to some large projects at the end of the year that used 100% post consumer recycled content paper. We made a few calculations based on the savings from those projects. When compared to using 100% virgin fiber paper, we saved …

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Last week, we celebrated with our good pals at O’Neil Printing as they launched their shiny new website. O’Neil has been innovating print since 1908, and they needed a new website to showcase their ever-growing set of resources and experience.

Just like any project we approach, we step back and look at the entire company to find its stand-out qualities that makes it unique, and highlight those particulars in the design. O’Neil Printing has been in business for over a century, and we’d like to think that any business that’s been at it that long has a few secrets up their sleeve. Although we could talk endlessly about O’Neil’s quality product, variety of services, sparkling equipment, or commitment to the environment, there are two things that really make O’Neil stand out: their people and their tradition of innovating the print business. O’Neil’s people are dedicated, service-oriented, and truly care about their clients. After all, O’Neil Printing is employee-owned, so they are invested in their work and their clients’ happiness. They’re also committed to approaching projects and business from a unique and effective perspective; a process of innovation that has kept the company young after all this time. Read the rest of the entry >

The word unique is thrown around a lot. This said, in our often cookie-cutter culture it’s rarely used in the true sense. Lucky for us, we were recently given the opportunity to work with a company that encourages its customers to embrace what they love and make something completely unique.

LexiWynn owners Seth and Alexa Holzwarth came to us in 2010 as a small start-up with a single goal – build their brand to allow them to be a stronger competitor in the custom purse design market. The pair had been making one-of-a-kind handbags for their friends since 2006. They eventually began throwing parties where guests could come and pick materials to design their own bags. From the uber-trendy to more classic, the outcome of the process is always unique. In fact, LexiWynn stands by their promise that once a bag is made, no one else can choose the same materials in the same application, ensuring that every bag is completely exclusive to its owner.

As designers, we love it when people are given the opportunity to grow their passion for design, whether it is with images, typography, or in this case, fabric. Because of this, we were so excited to work with LexiWynn. We wanted to help them as they worked to promote a sense of imagination, creativity, and sophistication.

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