Social Studies: Educating designers in a connected world

From my Issues in Design class evaluations, there were comments that I am more knowledgeable about issues of the world than issues of design... [to whom it may concern, I take that as a compliment]. If that is truly the case, the people who decided on the theme for this year AIGA design educators' conference were probably thinking on a disparate educator, someone like myself...

This conference addresses the social life of design. Graphic designers work with clients, institutions, users, and communities to make things happen in the world. Yet education often focuses on the individual voice. How are we preparing students for a lifetime of working with and for other people? How are our students connecting to the world?

I'll let you draw your own conclusions about how closely my assignments relate/d to the issues to be discussed in this conference. For the purpose of this blog, I wanted to share the links to the sessions on Sustainability.

Sustainability # 1 has a presentation on Package Design and Sustainability!!!

Sustainability # 2 features Eric Benson—the professor who critiqued your archives, and who will be looking at your process blogs—presenting on how future design education will be one that empowers the designer to become proactive in educating and advocating for positive social changes that can sustain our craft within a new green economy.

Challenge: Design a sustainable/repurposable tea packaging

Hi everyone!

My name is Natacha Poggio and I'm an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Design at Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. This blog will serve as an account of the assignments I created for my classes, which revolve around my commitment to design ethics and sustainability in design education.

Currently, this blog will post updates regarding the second assignment for the senior course Design Problem Solving, the project challenges students to design a sustainable tea packaging. I usually save bookmarks related to Sustainability and the Tea packaging assignment to my delicious account. Please, check them out.

Here are the guidelines for the Sustainable Packaging Design project* that my students are currently working on:

• Design the packaging and brand suite (3 varieties) for "awaken" tea company.
  
• Design the logo for "awaken" and basic stationery.
• Create a 3D mockup of the packaging concept (digital or physical)
• Document in a process blog the progress made through the five weeks the assignment entails.
• Packaging must have limited impact on the environment, i.e.; has to be sustainable (recyclable, biodegradable, water soluble, repurposable)
• Consolidate in a powerful presentation the brand application, packaging comparative analysis of competitors, and SWOT.

Awaken Tea is targeted to environmentally-concerned young professionals (green advocates who think green, shop green, live green). In the 25-40 years old niche, this audience is health conscious, and interested in organic and eco-friendly products and activities.

The project was assigned on Wed. Sept 17th and it will be due on October 27th, 2008.

*This project was "recycled" from a course created by Professor Eric Benson, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.