Master of Arts in Sustainable Design (MASD) alum, Dawn Keene, (’13) was recently featured in Graphic Design USA’s digital magazine in the article Responsible Design Matters No Matter What You Call It.
Dawn says, “…I pursued and completed a Masters of Arts in Sustainable Design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and it was one of the best decisions and experiences of my life. Committed to being a force for change and empowering others to take action, I created Studio Change, a sustainable design consultancy that inspires small and forward-thinking companies to make sustainability a framework for building their businesses, serving their customers, developing their employees and contributing to the common good.”
This past Earth Day, Dawn Keene and Studio Change worked with nearly 70 design students at Chapel Hill High School. Dawn “challenged them to ‘lighten their step’ by developing sustainability strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.”
Two key takeaways:
Students would leave Lighten Your Step workshop with:
- the understanding of a systems approach to viewing their
relationship with the rest of nature, and - taking small steps can create big change.
She reports, “The day started off with a simple slide show to demonstrate to students what sustainability is and why it is important to minimize impact in their daily activities. Students then took an interactive quiz online to see the size of their footprints and developed personal strategies to reduce it. Students were given a blank “tip” card and asked to write one thing they could start doing immediately to create change. The tips and personal strategies were incorporated into an infographic.
At the end of the event, sketchbooks were created using FSC certified paper, green-e 100 renewable green electricity and carbon Neutral Plus were given out as prizes. Pages were
trimmed from outdated letterhead backed with recycled chipboard and the coil was made from 100 PCW plastic. The image was silkscreened with non-toxic water based inks and glue.”
Dawn, we are so proud of you! Keep up the wonderful and inspiring work.
Images courtesy of Dawn Keene and GDUSA.