Tilt

What is this?

Designers, Drinks and Social Change was created for Designers by Designers to use visual aids in communication of and work towards a healthy world. Initiated by Eric Benson & E. Rachael Baird who began a Wednesday “Meeting of the Minds” earlier this year, expansion into other groups seemed almost necessary to continue pushing their mission forward.

Each month on the third Thursday we will host a global broadcast design talk with a selected topic and a drink. There are 4 core speakers and another 1-2 guests will be invited to participate each week. We will broadcast this through Tokbox.com and everyone is invited to listen in on the call. We request that all questions or thoughts are directed during the talk to the group, but that no one other than the invited list speaks out.

This hour long talk will deal with the perils of the world and how we as designers can help to save it. Join us, move with us and let’s get our drink on to change!

The Core Speakers:

Eric Benson
Eric is a writer and award-winning designer. He has worked as a professional web and print designer for such companies as Razorfish, Whole Foods and Texas Instruments. His academic research explores how to facilitate the adoption of sustainable graphic design practices into industry and the classroom, making sustainable design what design is, not merely what it “could be.” His research as a professor at the University of Illinois is available on his website www.re-nourish.com.

E. Rachael Baird
E. Rachael Baird has been an environmental activist and a foodie since she started to walk. She has used her work as a designer to communicate global change and using food as a means to help the planet. She has worked for internationally recognized restaurants, grocery chains and convenience stores driving organic, natural and sustainable practices for consumer and planet health. Since starting TILT – a multi-disciplinary design studio) – she has further developed her ability to promote these two loves by instituting a non-profit focused on research and consumer outreach.

Elaine Esal
Elaine Asal is an architect and designer for Gensler, a world renowned architecture and interior design firm based in Baltimore. Her passion for design and graphic communication coupled with technical understanding and strategic planning skills makes her an asset on any project. She is heavily involved in the local design community as a member of the AIA Lecture Series Committee and was a core team member of the design team for the Urban Forest Project installation in Patterson Park.

Eric Karjaluoto
Eric Karjaluoto is a founding partner at the digital agency smashLAB. He is a strong advocate of strategy and pragmatism in design, and has directed projects for groups including CN, Tourism Vancouver, and Canadian Heritage. In 2007 he spearheaded Design Can Change: an effort to unite designers and address climate change. The team at smashLAB has also launched the online community MakeFive and a crowd-sourced design and marketing site called undrln. TIME, the Lotus Awards, and ICOGRADA have recognized his work; meanwhile, the agency has been featured in The Globe and Mail, BC Business, and Studio 4. Eric writes about design, brands, and experience at ideasonideas and has spoken at events for the AIGA, SEGD, and GDC.

Bernard Canniffe
Bernard Canniffe is originally from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, and has lived in the U.S. since 1991. He is the former co-chair of Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he collaborated with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health on the MICA/JHU Design Coalition, which paired students with neighborhood groups to create meaningful, powerful messages on health and wellness topics. His work has been recognized in Graphic Design USA, HOW, and STEP Into Design, and through his own practice, Blue Collar Theory, he has made presentations at the Cumulus Design Conference in Lisbon, Portugal; the National Institute of Design Conference in Ahmedabad, India; at Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam, The Netherlands; at Lees-McRae College in North Carolina; and at the P&D Design Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

• How do we increase the momentum of the greener design movement?
• Is working with corporate entities necessary? Or is just inciting change from within the profession enough?
• Who are some examples of rebel green designers?

November 18, 2010: "Greenwashing is not awesome"

Suggest a topic by filling out our contact form ››

Read our previous posts online ››

TokBox - Free Video Chat and Video Messaging