at firebelly design authenticity meets sustainability. it’s good design for good reason.

this inspiring team of designers is out there, using creativity to make a difference, to make things better. with camp firebelly and reason to give, their environmental consciousness, appreciation for cultural diversity and a sense of responsibility as designers, it’s obvious that it is possible to have a positive impact and make a living doing it. there definitely needs to be more “small studios with big hearts.” -jk-

yes. it’s okay. doing good, being a do-gooder. it’s a good thing. in fact, it’s crucially necessary. despite what ayn rand and other self-interest, greed-is-good proponents have to say on the subject. i think we all can see that being a rich jerk who cares nothing about anything but his or her own self is no way to run an economy, or a community.

in his new book, david berman calls the future of civilization our common design project. today, everybody is a designer, and in this time of unprecedented environmental, social, and economic crises, designers choose what their young profession will be about: inventing deceptions that encourage overconsumption — or helping repair the world.

so, continue on not really thinking about it.

-or-

take the do good pledge:
1. I will be true to my profession.
2. I will be true to myself.
3. I will spend at least 10% of my professional time helping repair the world. -jk-

Project M is an intensive summer program designed to inspire young graphic designers, writers, photographers and other creative people that their work can have a positive and significant impact on the world. Thinking wrong: generating a huge number of possibilities, before selecting or executing, based on the assumption that creativity, invention and innovation are good things.

an interview with John Bielenberg by Steven Heller -jk-

everything is propaganda. this just happens to be from the side of the oppressed.

land, bread, housing, educaton, clothing, justice and peace: the demands of the black panther party. a movement armed with a visual language that crafted a powerful voice of resistance both menacing and beautiful. the imagery depicted by panther artist emory douglas was the view from the struggle. and the vision for what a brighter tomorrow could look like for poor communities long neglected, discriminated against, and treated as second class by a system claiming to be built on equality and justice. these images speak from strength, for collective action.

roz payne of newsreel films came to lincoln for the blacks in film festival to discuss the black panther party and the documentary films made to give voice to the movement. grainy, black and white footage told the side of the story of those used to being beat into submission and now finding a united force for their own positive resistance (health clinics, school breakfast programs, protection from police brutality).

along with the film festival, ben jones of anti-oppression art hosted a pushpin exhibit of historical flyers, fbi documents and imagery from the party. i was requested to participate in the exhibition and created a series of posters (thick black toner on cover weight stock) from the perspective of the poor, the immigrant, the worker, those feeling the deep pain of a profit-centered health system, those struggling for equality, and those who just want the shelling to stop. -jk-

Innovative projects from around the world that demonstrate the power of design to improve lives. A call to action to anyone committed to building a better world. Cameron Sinclair, the founder of Architecture for Humanity, accepts his TED prize and discusses open-source architecture to house the world. Not only brilliant thinking, but bold actions.

I got this book as a gift a couple of years ago from my wife. It’s a moving account of many, many practical solutions to the most urgent needs in the world today. The idea of “designing like you give a damn” is such an important one. Whatever your expertise, the knowledge, technology and resources exist to make this world better, each and every day. But in order for that to happen we have to make a conscious decision to care, to jump in, feet first and say “I’m in, I want to help.” We have to give a damn, and in my journey to get to that point, this book, this thinking, played a critical role. Enjoy. -jk-

get Design Like You Give A Damn
visit Architecture for Humanity

In corporate villainy news, Blackwater is now Xe. Yes, the world’s most powerful mercenary army that brought you the huge profits of privatized war is undergoing a new “look and feel.” A new identity for a new age. I.E. post-Bush and the outsourcing of everything — that which makes the rich richer and everybody else doesn’t know about. But now that we know about the massacres, the killing with impunity, getting paid vastly more than US troops, and the utter contempt for any notion of accountability, they, of course, need a new brand. As they are heavily tied to the war effort and US presence everywhere in the world, especially in Iraq. So get ready for brand Xe. With as much money as they spend on PR, maybe they’ll drop some major coin on the redesign and it will get into all the award books, so we can oogle over cutting-edge design and ruthless militarism at the same time. -jk-

Northland Poster Collective features the art of social justice, the tools of grassroots union organizing and labor activism, and the craft of union workers. And how corporate and government policies target the health and environment in communities already impacted by racial, class and other injustices.

If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together. -jk-

With its daily roll of the latest happenings in the Good Blog, the musings of the blue in the face Good Anchor, and its ability to pull together complex events under the microscope of impeccable information design, GOOD really is a treasure to behold in both style and substance. Just how are military robots changing the face of war? Remember the Three-Trillion Dollar War? Is a plane really more fuel efficient than a Prius? You’ve lost your job, what do you do now? How much can you learn in the bathroom? Algae? Depression? Transparency? Now What? In these weird days of reexamining our lives and what is really important in them, amidst financial and ecology collapse, war and famine, culture and design, the state of our planet and its people really is, good. -jk-

Plenty to say, in black and white. -jk-

The world of professional graphic design is definitely becoming more “with it.” Through the efforts of groups like AIGA, Art Director’s Club, and The Designer’s Accord along with socially conscious networks like Design 21, there are more and more resources available to designers to connect with work that really makes a difference. Social justice, environmental sustainability, corporate responsibility; ideas like these are becoming top of mind, with the appropriate interest and effort behind them to really have impact.

When we were developing this project, it was meant to be a blast of thought. Concise and to the point, touching on a wide array of issues that are important to us. And with that, what’s important to you the viewer, contributor, participant. We make no apologies for our approach to the world — call it liberal, progressive, far left, whatever. We merely wanted to share what moves us and leave open a platform for you to share what moves you. Because as we see it, something has to. (more…)