Readymade, the book by the founders of the magazine with the same name, is a perfect marriage between sustainability and stellar book design. It features dozens of useful projects (organized by material: paper, plastic, wood, metal, glass, and fabric) most of which can be created with discarded materials from around the house. Although the publication has been out for a few years, I constantly return to appreciating the clarity of its design vision. If you love DIY and/or an amazing book with tons of projects and humorous tidbits and facts, this is the must-have for your library.

Sample Project: Shopping Bag Rug
What are you going to do with all of those shopping bags you have lying around? Why, weave a rug of course! And then, you will stop using plastic bags altogether and buy a few canvas ones.

Sample Project: Take-Out Chandelier
Why do take-out places insist on giving us plastic spoons, forks, and knives when we all have silverware? Gather up your old plastic utensils and make a chandelier out of it. And then, the next time you get takeout, insist on not receiving plastic utensils.

Before launching into the projects themselves, each chapter begins with a history of that particular material, followed by clear info-graphics explaining its chemical breakdown. This may be the first time that seemingly tedious and boring information about raw materials is made accessible and interesting. For those who want to get into the projects right away, these pages may not be that important. If you’re like me, though, you love learning for learning’s sake.

Every project contains a header, showing the time, cost, and difficulty in a quick iconographic way.

The book calls Duchamp its patron-saint, since he invented the term “Readymade”. Remember the urinal? Every so often there’s a sidebar called Duchamp’s corner that lists alternative uses for ordinary materials; in this case it’s newspaper. Readymade pushes the concept of alternative use to the max by having the book itself function as a ruler and straight-edge. (notice the spine in the main image) Even the endpapers feature 29 alternative uses for the book, humorously mocking itself, yet simultaneously reinforcing this important concept.

Our design organization, Spark, and the AIGA/NY (Association of Professional Design, New York Chapter) are coming together to host the AIGA’s first series of green events for graphic design on April 6th, 2010. As the current President of Spark and Director of Outreach for the AIGA’s Center for Sustainable Design, I will be moderating the panel discussion on “How to Lead Clients Towards Being Green.”

Aimed at principals of design firms and directors of new business, this conversation will dig into the sales process, and seeks to uncover  practices that firms large and small can implement to lead even the most ecologically unaware clients towards more sustainable practices.

Panelists include:

Senior Research Fellow Don Carli from the nonprofit Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC) will share some of the facts he has uncovered on the most economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive uses of print and digital media available today.

Cheryl Heller of Heller Communications originated the “Sappi Ideas that Matter” campaign, before the concept of doing good was even popular. She promises to share “unpopular” opinions on why as designers we should be less caught up in the rat race to make beautiful stuff. Instead, Cheryl urges that we encourage clients to create more effective forms of communication which may include actually doing less. A tough thing to do when designers are focused on landing the project at hand.

Hugh Hough of the Green Team represents the largest firm on our panel and will inspire us with initiatives they have been constructing for clients such as Coca-Cola, Walmart and Jaguar. The Green Team has identified a new group of influencers they call the “Awakening Consumers” and we’ll dig into how they are leveraging this consumer as a influencer big brands want on their side.

All in all it promises to be a lively and informative discussion that I can’t wait to share with you. Get your tickets today, as the event promises to sell out.

Tuesday, April 6th 2010

AIGA/NY & Spark present: How to Lead Clients Towards Being Green

Where: Bumble and bumble, 3rd floor auditorium
415 West 13th St Between 9th Ave & Washington St | MAP
Time: 6:30 pm time to chat; 7:00 pm discussion begins
Cost: $12 for members (with your emailed discount code) $25 for non-members
purchase tickets here

The multidisciplinary trend spotting group, Trendincite Xchange, will be making a visit to MSLK’s studios this evening for a presentation and round table discussion on the future of social media. Trendincite Xchange is an independent group of professionals in the fashion and beauty industry who meet once a month to discuss trends they see emerging in product formulations, scents, colors, fabrics, materials, marketing, retail, and overall consumer behaviors. Participants include qualitative researchers, trend spotters, product developers, retailers, independent brands, and marketing professionals. If you’d like to join our round table group tonight, or in the future, please contact us at mslk@mslk.com.

In a small victory for the environmentally friendly, The Cottonelle Roll Poll unveiled yesterday that 72% of Americans roll their toilet paper over instead of under. Surprisingly, it seems that this popular habit is also good for the environment as well. In an independent study, the blog Current Configuration reported that the mechanics of unfurling toilet paper over the top actually uses less toilet paper. In their full report, Current Configuration studied the angle of users sight lines, the number of sheets exposed, and the number of squares pulled off as a result of rolling over versus under. For those of you who roll under perhaps this is  the final reason to switch.

Recently a friend posted a simple question on her Facebook status, “Over or Under?” The comments started flying and before she knew it, she had a full-on debate. The topic was as old as the product itself: Does your toilet paper roll come undone over the top, or under the bottom? The impetus for the question comes from the new “Roll Poll” campaign by Cottonelle.

In a move that is highly effective for today’s crowd-sourced market, Cottonelle is capitalizing on the enthusiasm consumers are experiencing over social media. Everyday users on social media websites like Facebook are completing questionnaires, quizzes and polls to share with their friends everything from what celebrity they look like, to movie knowledge, trivia questions, and beyond.

Capitalizing on this activity and peer-to-peer information share is something brands are just beginning to understand. Cottonelle’s campaign takes a stab at entering this arena by posing the question in traditional media such as transit ads and asking fans to submit their vote online. We love this idea, but wish that the execution was a bit more interactive. Why not learn from shows like American Idol and ask consumers to submit their vote right on the spot via text or tweet? Why not activate Facebook debates like my friend’s post by creating an applet that allows users to to vote and share their preference via a branded feature in the home news feed. This technology is already possible and tools like this are the way of the future. All a brand needs is the appropriate hook and conversation starter which Cottonelle has already.

Cottonelle is utilizing Facebook with a campaign fan page and videos of consumers debating their preference, but this is really only the beginning of what is possible. They are also activating Twitter with two advocates, the Roll Poll Plumber and the Roll Poll Cat Lady supporting the cause for over and under respectively. We hope that Cottonelle is also using Twitter to listen to all these tweets and consumer conversations online; this data will be an invaluable source of inspiration for future campaigns.

All in all “Roll Poll” is a great campaign and kudos to Cottonelle for getting the conversation started. The future is wide open on where this debate and others like it can go from here. We predict that in the future more and more ad campaigns will look and feel like this.

The results of the poll will be finally revealed on March 7th, although it looks like “over” will win by a landslide.

Last night’s Fashion Group International panel discussion was insightful and informative, with Sheri L Koetting successfully leading the panelists through a wide range of Social Media topics. Much light was shed on innovative techniques the panel used for their clients using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to turn strangers into fans, and fans into customers with a loyal following… and turning into sales.

Highlights we learned:

• The most effective way to grow organic SEO results is through blogs. Frank O’Brien suggests partnering with bloggers who already rank highly for your key words and asking them to write about your latest campaign. His team will typically  seek out 300-500 bloggers that have a range of followers but equally high ranking.
• Virtual gifts are still a very popular tool on social media. The giving and receiving of a virtual gift is a great way to build word-of-mouth referrals and soft sell the actual product.
• Coupon codes are highly effective in social media. Every panelist agreed that special offers for fans were effective and AnneMarie Frank from mark. sited that a coupon code on Twitter typically leads to an order that is 50% larger than normal.
• Polling fans on Facebook is also highly effective and engaging. Previewing ad campaigns and letting the fans chose before something goes public has been highly effective.
• In general the content fans like to see most often is that behind the scenes sneak peek from the inspiration for the design of a product, to backstage secrets from industry experts, to “get the look” tips and tricks.
• Although Chris Dessi didn’t feel that fans were looking to buy products on social media sites, AnneMarie has seen tremendous success with mark’s new platform which allows fans to purchase products right inside Facebook. Mark’s innovative tool actually allows the customer to scan their Facebook friends to see if any of them are mark reps in order to build social business relationships.
• The brand mark has also come up with an incredibly clever concept to capitalize on the tremendous buzz a birthday creates on Facebook. Fans who create a wish list in the mark store will find that birthday well-wishers will be given an option to actually give a gift such as a $6 lipgloss when they make that birthday wish.
• Twitter is possibly a troubled platform because it hasn’t done enough to distinguish itself from Facebook. In addition it’s simply text-based news feed allows it to be a prime form for applications and spam bots. It’s been highly documented that many Twitter accounts go abandoned after 6 months. Panelist Frank O’Brien wonders…is anyone alive out there?
• However Twitter is an amazing listening tool. Chris Dessi encourages companies to take more of the 10,000 foot look at the activity happening on Twitter to gauge the overall sentiment of your brand. One of their listening tools for brands literally turns green or red indicating if the overall conversations around the brand are positive or negative.
• AnneMarie agrees from a brand perspective they find that Twitter allows them to access an entirely different audience from Facebook. Here they are talking more to busy press editors and beauty bloggers who appreciate the simplicity of the content and bite-sized news feeds. For them Twitter has replaced the desk-side meetings.
• Even the B2B platform of LinkedIn got a few nods for effective marketing strategies. Companies looking to launch a very high-price point tech savvy product might meet lots of their audience in the discussion forum available on LinkedIn. In addition, Linked In is a great place to build the credibility of the namesake behind a brand, say a doctor looking to launch a skincare line.

All in all, brands are simply afraid of social media and they need not be. Some brands are afraid of participating in the conversation and exposing themselves to negative comments. However, they are participating whether they want to or not. Fans are out there talking and often creating user-run fan pages. If a brand is participating, they actually have a higher likelihood of being able to listen and respond to the comments, thus building better relationships.

Thanks again to our panelists:

AnneMarie Frank, Director of Digital, E-commerce and Strategic Alliances, mark.
Frank O’Brien, Founder, Conversation
Chris Dessi, Director of Sales, Buddy Media

Much like snowflakes, no two MSLK business cards are alike. The reason for this is simple: we use recycled paper as the base, and wrap pre-printed stickers around them. It’s all part of our firm’s environmental commitment, repurposing makereadies — the waste from offset printing — to use as business cards.

It’s an approach that caught the attention of Marc Praquin, designer, author, and publisher of the 288 page, full-color book, “MyOwnBusinessCard – VolumeOne“

The forward of the book is dead-on:

“The most ambitious project for a designer is undoubtedly the design of its own business card. Being his own client, stepping back, finding the right balance between vision and strategy are real challenges.

These constraints explain why the results are most of the time surprising..”

Of course, the same could be said about any design project a designer embarks on for themselves: their identity, website, resume, letterhead, invoice, mailing label…. oh, the list is never ending! Yet, it’s the classic dilemma of the designer: you need to capitalize on every chance you get to make an impression. Every instance is a chance to demonstrate your talent, creativity, and to practice what you preach.

Business cards are unique in that they’re so personal, and so limited in size. Over the years, I’ve found that any sort of subtlety gets totally lost in a dimly-lit bar, or noisy networking conference. Now more than ever, business cards need to have an initial “WOW” factor, as they only seem to last just long enough to get entered into one’s digital address book. Only the memorable ones get saved.

The book is a compilation of so many amazingly innovative designs, we were very fortunate to have been included. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about a new identity themselves…

Our copy arrived with the author’s business card attached to the cover!…

MSLK’s business cards are essentially simple stickers which can be applied to just about anything…

I just read a fantastic article in Fast Company last night about creating systems within your organization which allow for spot-checking and quality control. All good stuff, and usually pretty dry stuff at that. I find that Chip & Dan Heath’s monthly articles are usually a good read, but whenever you can relate it back to David Lee Roth of Van Halen to illustrate your point, well… you’ll always have this reader’s attention. Below is s an excerpt from the March 2010 issue of Fast Company:

…Van Halen did dozens of shows every year, and at each venue, the band would show up with nine 18-wheelers full of gear. Because of the technical complexity, the band’s standard contract with venues was thick and convoluted — Roth, in his inimitable way, said in his autobiography that it read “like a version of the Chinese Yellow Pages.” A typical “article” in the contract might say, “There will be 15 amperage voltage sockets at 20-foot spaces, evenly, providing 19 amperes.”

Van Halen buried a special clause in the middle of the contract. It was called Article 126. It read, “There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation.” So when Roth would arrive at a new venue, he’d walk backstage and glance at the M&M bowl. If he saw a brown M&M, he’d demand a line check of the entire production. “Guaranteed you’re going to arrive at a technical error,” he wrote. “They didn’t read the contract…. Sometimes it would threaten to just destroy the whole show.”

In other words, Roth was no diva. He was an operations expert. He couldn’t spend hours every night checking the amperage of each socket. He needed a way to assess quickly whether the stagehands at each venue were paying attention — whether they had read every word of the contract and taken it seriously. In Roth’s world, a brown M&M was the canary in the coal mine.

Like Roth, none of us has the time and energy to dig into every aspect of our businesses. But, if we’re smart, we won’t need to. What if we could rig up a system where problems would announce themselves before they arrived? That may sound like wishful thinking, but notice that it’s exactly what Roth achieved. Surely, you won’t be outwitted by the guy who sang “Hot for Teacher.”

What I love is how applicable this is to what we do here at MSLK, whether we’re handling a large web design project, a packaging assignment, or anything else that involves coordinating teams to produce the end result. Because we are often required to write out detailed notes to ensure that our designs are executed correctly, adding in a “Brown M&Ms” type clause would surely help us to quickly spot errors quickly… saving time & money.

Thanks, Diamond Dave!

Back in 2008 our friend and colleague Yves Behar worked with the New York City Health Department to bring a new look and attitude towards condoms. The result was smashing success. The distribution of condoms has more than doubled since before NYC introduced their own brand.

Yves design of the condom wrapper and custom dispenser was a donation to the city of NY.

Recently we got wind that NY was looking to redo this successful icon in order to keep the campaign “fresh.” Their attempt this time was not to reach out to another designer for an in kind partnership but rather to open it up to the masses to create and vote on their favorite solutions.

The request was for designs that “reflect New York City’s distinctive culture and style while also promoting safer sex.” These are the resulting finalist solutions.

What do you think of the final solutions?  I found them to be clever, but not “distinctively New York.”

MSLK does not participate in competitions and often feels that spec solutions and competitions produces conceptually and graphically “thin” work. We believe that engaging a specific design team in even pro-bono work, such as Yves donation to the city, is a more effective way of arriving at a solution. Off-the-cuff, free suggestions are just that, off-the-cuff. Real breakthroughs come with polish and consideration.

Either way you can lend your opinion to the final outcome by voting here.

Skipping the plastic bag while shopping isn’t just great for the environment – the alternatives can also be so much more fashionable. Stockholm’s Stadsmission, the Swedish equivalent to the Salvation Army, repurposes clothes and fabrics that can’t be retailed into super eco-friendly shopping bags. Created in collaboration with the renowned Swedish architecture group Claesson Koivisto Rune, this line of shopping bags is marketed under the brand Remake.

The bags are constructed with strong and durable double-folded handles similar to that of a plastic bag. Since two separate pieces of fabric are used for the front and back, a whole array of unique designs can be made from different materials, patterns and colors.

Although the Remake bag is only available in Sweden, you can always opt to make your own bag. Simply cut a plastic bag in half and use it as a template on any fabric of your choice. Sew the two pieces together and voilà, your very own green shopping bag!

-Christel Fearon