Christine's Design Blog

Here is another one of my favorite projects from my Communication Design II’s sustainable design project, which I first wrote about here.

Designed by Mika Tarkela, our resident sustainable/random facts provider, this poster promotes awareness of how harmful the beef industry is — and not just to our bovine friends (click for a larger view):

From 18% of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions to 37% of methane emissions, the beef industry creates more harm to the earth than all transportation combined.

Not only does raising cattle require a lot of land and resources, but transporting all that meat to the beef-loving Americans to every corner of the country is what’s killing the planet.

After looking at all the facts, you’re sure to feel guilty (unless you’re a vegetarian), so Mika makes very doable suggestions on how to offset the damage. For example, you can buy beef from local farmers, which limits the traveling your meat will do — also, supporting local businesses is always a plus. Of course, becoming a vegetarian is always the best solution, but until then, small steps are key.

Lara McCormick, my kick-ass Communication Design II instructor, has been teaching us everyday to consider the impact our design decisions have on the environment. Sure, it’s easy to make something look cool, but making it sustainable just doubles the amazing factor of a design.

Earlier in the semester, we were given the task of designing for sustainability. Encouraged to choose an issue that spoke loudly to us, the results are recorded on REthink, a Tumblr site for our projects. Unfortunately, some of my classmates have inadvertently slacked on posting their projects, so the site is incomplete. Among those missing are Mikael Tarkela’s infographic on the harmfulness of the beef industry, Liz Man‘s Bring Your Own Mug (BYOM) campaign, and Jason Wong’s refurbished clothes. My own project, posted on the Tumblr site, was a children’s board book teaching young children how to take care of the planet. It comes with a stuffed world, which I spent a good two sleepless nights sewing.

But one of my favorites was this beautiful infographic by Nina Vo, representing the benefits of using soy-based inks and the small percentage of commercial printers who actually use them (click for larger view):

The name Soy What? was actually happened upon in a funny way. We were sitting at our favorite coffee spot, the Roasting Plant, brainstorming what to call the campaign. We found ourselves trying to find a play on words, and I admitted that I loved puns more than seems allowed, because people are apt to roll their eyes at my puns. Nina said that she likes puns, too. Frustrated, I said, ‘So what if I like a good pun now and then?’ and Nina said, ‘Soy what. That’s brilliant.’ And then we laughed. Which we do a lot, because Nina will laugh at anything and I will laugh when others do.

Anyway … soy-based inks are the way to the future. If only everyone would make the switch — why wouldn’t they, when they come in Pantone colors and print brighter? Alas, who knows why we do the bad things we do? Spread the word about soy-based ink!

P.S. The rhyme in the title of this post was a complete coincidence … but I enjoy rhymes as much as puns.