Nothing exists outside a relationship. Everything is related in the working systems of nature, economics, or package design. A designer that does not take into account the effect delivered works will have on users, resources or society, depletes the designs potential and future viability. Systems Thinking requires that we develop the awareness and skills to define and design the functional relationships, which reduces waste and enhances, yield from existing relationships.

I was forced to wear a bike helmet when I was a kid. Our house was on a fairly busy road and my mom was (and still is) a total safety nut; a bad combination. What she didn’t know is that I tossed the helmet into the woods whenever I got beyond the view of →

Restore. Restoration. A Restorative Culture. These are terms commonly used in the field of permaculture, especially in relation to soil and water ecology as many plants are used to restore soil health and revive natural ecological function. The word recycle is also commonly used, but I would argue, not accurately used in the context of →

You know those times when something amazing has the potential to happen? When you’re just on the cusp of a significant opportunity? You know it’ll change your life; you can just sense it. In order to make it happen you attempt to control the uncontrollable by hoping, praying, asking the Universe, refraining from talking about →

About midway through the double-zero decade I decided that I needed to enhance my skills and move in a direction that would give me a possible edge over other designers and creative directors. What I got was a life AND career changing experience. The MCAD Sustainable Design Program isn’t just for people who want to →

What is it like to design for the developing world – to try to create products that will help to lift people out of poverty? In many ways, it’s just like any other design challenge, the difference being that your client may have radically different constraints than you’re used to, and perhaps you’re unfamiliar with →

“But, why?” These may not have been the very first words I uttered as a child but, much to my parents’ chagrin, these were certainly my two favorite words to say, repeatedly, incessantly. To this day, they remain a daily inquiry. Not to say it’s a bad thing, I owe these two little words a →

Green is the new black, or so they say in the fashion industry. But I’m not convinced that green can ever be regarded as earnestly as black. Black is classic, all-purpose and safe. Black is flattering and tasteful. Green is unseasoned and simple. It is natural and commonplace. But there is nothing natural about the →

After sitting and observing in my local park for several minutes, I was taken aback by the incredible number of edges that I noticed: cloud-shaped boundaries between plants, pockets of light and dark where snow gave way to dark soil beneath, trails of use and lack thereof. The more I considered these edges the more →

If you have a new idea for a business, conventional wisdom says that you need to write a 3- to 5-year business plan and then execute that plan. You want a business loan? Write a business plan. Want a grant? Write a business plan. It’s easy, of course – there are hundreds of websites and →