Celebrating Earth Day and Students as Citizen Designers

Graphic Design students are tasked with learning about color, typography, space, and form. It's a bonus when projects can include issues of global citizenship and environmental awareness.Students at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York worked with students at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa through COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) this semester to learn about environmental issues in each other's local communities before COVID19 closed down both of their campuses.Michael Gruia and Marcela Daloia's topic was Spekboom, a carbon miracle worker indigenous to South Africa that is more effective in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the Amazon rainforest. The local community in South Africa is taking matters into their own hands and planting as much as possible. They asked Rockland Community College students to help spread the word.You can learn more about Spekboom here: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200203-the-south-african-plant-fighting-climate-changePlease let us know if you have a student project that can help spread environmental awareness.

Citizen Designer

Throughout history graphic designers have written design manifestos and taken action to focus their energy on designing for good. Whether it’s a call to action to use our skills to create things like PSAs rather than products for planned obsolescence, to motivate designers to use environmentally friendly materials rather than toxic ones, or to create materials that support social justice efforts, there is a group of dedicated graphic designers who believe that design is meant for something bigger and better than simply contributing to the cycle of consumer consumption.In Ken Garland’s 1964 “First Things First” Manifesto, he states: “By far the greatest effort of those working in the advertising industry are wasted on these trivial purposes, which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity.”In David Berman’s book “Do Good Design,” he asks designers to consider their core values and mission and pledge to:1. Be true to their profession2. Be true to themselves3. Use 10% of their professional time to create a better place“Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility,” written by Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne, includes more than 70 essays that look to answer what it means to be a citizen designer.The recent U.S. election has created a groundswell of activism against our newly elected leader, and graphic designers are among them. Resist is a free 40-page tabloid newspaper featuring political comics and graphics that was distributed at Women’s Marches across the country on January 21. The Smudge is a new monthly newspaper created in the spirit of the underground and alternative presses of the 60's and 70's to offer a unique voice and perspective on current political issues.The Citizen Designer Pledge from AIGA NY asks individuals to vote, choose at least one cause to champion, meet with fellow citizen designers, and attend a local governance session once a quarter. The pledge goes on to outline commitments for companies as well as the newly formed organization's commitments and their dedication to solving larger problems.If you want to get involved and merge your personal values with your work, take the pledge today.Sources:http://backspace.com/notes/2009/07/design-manifestos.phphttps://medium.com/aigany/the-2017-citizen-designer-pledge-38e236e26199#.10xmnanvshttp://aigany.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e990059e83&id=b83ab08179