Come see MSLK’s eco-art installation, Take-Less, at Brooklyn’s Dumbo Arts Festival on September 24th – 26th!

We’re pleased to be a part of this amazingly creative event once again, building on the success of last year’s event. Our project can be seen on Washington Street, the center of all the action for DUMBO’s annual art festival.

The event itself is described by the event planners as a showcase for: “touchable, accessible, and interactive art, on a scale that makes it the nation’s largest urban forum for experimental art.”

For over 55 years, the I.D. Annual Design Review has recognized the best in graphic, environmental, product and furniture design. We are very proud that MSLK’s own Sheri L Koetting has taken her place among a jury of the field’s leading practitioners. Her voice and sensibility played a large role in the winners chosen this year in the graphics category. Viewing everything through a lens of sustainability, Sheri not only examined the purpose and aesthetics of each piece, she questioned its material usage and life expectancy.

You can see all of the winning pieces on view now until September 10^th at the AIGA National Design Center. Read more to view some of the winners and what Sheri had to say about each of the pieces.

During a recent trip to Boston, I had the pleasure of seeing a small gem of an exhibition at the Boston Public Library called Away We Go, featuring travel posters from the 1920’s-1940’s. At that time, these works must have been extremely enticing to viewers with their scenic views of far-off places and new modes of transportation: cars, airplanes, and luxury ocean liners.

Today the posters are still as bright and adventurous as they once were (at least in my opinion). So, if you are a lover of travel, transportation and/or mid twentieth century nostalgia, it is a must see if you are in town. If you can’t, don’t worry, the library allows you to browse their entire poster collection online at Flickr! Read more to view some more of my favorites.

Brooklyn seems to tbe the epicenter of New York City’s most forward-thinking green initiatives. Whether it’s urban farms, green roofs, farm-to-plate initiatives, or green buildings themselves — it’s got it all.

MSLK is proud to be partnering with Brooklyn Ecopolis, a non-profit 501(c)3, community-based education and resource center aimed at promoting access to sustainable products, services, and innovations for healthy living.

Take-Less, the third in MSLK’s trilogy of Eco-art installations, debuted on Governors Island on June 11-13.

Like 2663 Urban Tumbleweeds and Watershed, we set out to raise awareness to the senseless over-consumption of plastics in our everyday life. We set our sights on take-out containers. We found it sad to think that the containers that the meal you had delivered to you (in 30 minutes or less) will be around for hundreds of years, especially when there are alternatives out there.

I recently visited the Met to go see the bamboo installation that I’ve been hearing so much about. And it was not a disappointment! Big Bambú is an art installation created by the brothers Doug + Mike Starn. The impressive structure on top of the roof of the Met is already 100 feet wide and will continue to grow upwards as the artist work on it over the summer, their goal is to reach 50 feet high. If you’re in NY I highly recommend going for a visit, if not have a look at these photos!

Busy. That’s one word to describe things at MSLK these days.

While we have the benefit of working on many inspiring projects for our clients, we’re also hard at work on Take-Less, the third in a trilogy of what we’ve come to call eco-art installations. In an effort to be greener, we’re using our talents to focus people on the sheer volume of plastic we all consume in our daily lives. Whether it’s plastic bags, plastic water bottles, or the durable and resilient plastic containers we use for a moment with our take-out food — this cheap plastic comes at a cost.

We love it when people think outside of the box, literally! The Sportlifestyle company Puma has been working together with the branding firm Fuseproject to create a whole new take on the shoebox. Their final product turned out not to be a new box at all, but a “clever little bag”. This redesign uses 65% less cardboard than a regular shoebox and the recyclable bag will replace standard retail bags. We hope that other companies get inspired by this eco-friendly attitude. Great initiative and great design, Puma!

Two direct mail promotions ended up in our mailbox. One a poster whose message revealed itself when opened, the other a had its concept on the outside. Both appeared similar at first glance, yet a closer look revealed two different techniques.

However, one seemed to be more effective.

With all the 3D hype James Cameron has been getting with Avatar, you might think that the only 3D experience is to be had on screen. Too bad, as the effect is gone the minute the film is over, back to our dull existence. Well, it turns out that the world of 3D is alive and well, and there’s a new revolution going on that appears as though it will could change the very products we purchase, the houses we live in, the foods we eat, and even the way we heal our bodies. What is this new revolution?

3D printing.