22 July 2008
I recently received a recent press release on the Greener by Design Conference that just occurred in Washington D.C.. The author of the press release sent me a link to the results of the key panel ending the conference. What was the result? The same old hemming and hawing you hear at every green design conference. Boring! I’m a bigger fan of case studies myself. What are designers actually doing? There were no concrete examples given in the synopsis I was sent, so I am left to assume designers are spending too much time complaining about clients.
However, I must applaud Greener by Design’s mission. There is no doubt that sustained dialog on the subject of green design will ultimately lead to changed consumer perceptions.
If I were to have my hand in the Greener by Design conference development I might look to the TED conference for inspiration. TED has done an amazing job of bringing together truly inspiring speakers who aren’t squeezed into the panel pigeonhole. Rather, each speaker presents an elementary school-like show and tell of any crazy idea they may have had. The result is you are left with possibilities rather than complaints.
