Thanks to everyone who came out to the CEO for Change Launch party this past Saturday at People of Resource. I got a lot of great advice from design professionals in Atlanta. For more information and photos please visit www.ceoforchange.com.

Below is the CEO for Change video made by Jason Travis:

I started this project back in February. It is so wild to think about how much its evolved in the past 9 months!

All project information will be available at CEOforChange.com soon!

  
Above is Shelton Davis of Repurposed Goods and Kevin Shankwiler, Professor in the School of Industrial Design at Georgia Tech.

Here is mine   All of these photos will be available on the website soon: www.ceoforchange.com

This side project I’ve been working on for the past few months is finally materializing! Read more about it below. There will be a Launch Party in Atlanta in a few weeks, more info about that to come!

CEO for Change is about reaching out to CEOs of top consumer products companies in the US and convincing them that industrial designers can transform their products to be more sustainable and innovative. I want to reach the CEOs of companies like Kellogg or Frito Lay where it’s hard to tell whether they are aware of the differences between designers and packaging engineers.

How can companies transform a product to be more sust…ainable? They can (a) alter the material to be recyclable/biodegradable (b) monitor their energy and material use (c) reclaim it from consumers and repurpose it …

Or my favorite option (d) utilize industrial design and redefine your product. It drives me CRAZY that so many companies do not know what industrial design is!

As an industrial designer, I’m setting the bar high for better and more sustainable products on the market. Companies cannot put out any more excuses, just great products. A major goal of this project is to inform more people about industrial design.

So, how am I reaching out to CEOs, you ask?

(1) I have created “CEO for Change” booklets that I am going to mail directly to 50 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. These booklets will be available for purchase at this event ($10 for professionals, $5 for students)

(2) With the talent of Jason Travis, we have created a brief “CEO for Change” video to tell my story. The video will premier at this event.

(3) With your help! If you support this idea that industrial design is an integral part of creating better and more sustainable products, come out to this event and spread the word. If you work for a company that you think doesn’t value design in its products, feel free to give them a “CEO for Change” book.

I am using Ponoko to rapidly prototype them, can’t wait for them to arrive in a few weeks!

I hadn’t used Solidworks in a while… it felt good!

Sorry for this delayed post. Here is a photo I took of my “Unplug” prototypes from the Southern Design Concern’s “Fixed” Event last month at The Sound Table. The venue was fantastic and there was a great vibe at the show. I’m really happy with how the display turned out.

For more information about the Southern Design Concern, meander over this way.

I’ve been so busy working on this side project about how industrial design is key in creating more sustainable products. Updates on that one soon!

Update on my “environmental socket protector” concept — here is a paper prototype of what one set (two covers) would look like.

I am working on getting a few of these laser cut this week…

Check back for progress!

Random project I worked on this weekend: a pop-up book light.

A book binding converted into a light with an accordion-felt star that pops up when you open it. This is just my first prototype; I really need to get my hands on a sewing machine. I’m also still working on the electronics that go inside. All of the inside pages that I gutted out will be recycled.

I love the opening action that is so inherent to books. Sort of like opening a gift. Opening a new experience. Opening a new adventure! So, I wanted to create a fun spin on “opening” with this pop-up surprise.

I can imagine this light sitting on a book shelf, and being retrieved for a variety of uses. I’m going to hook it up with a rechargeable battery pack and some bright white LEDs. Since its portable, it could be useful camping — a new take on campfire stories perhaps. Or a really fun, interactive children’s toy. There could be cut outs in the felt to make all sorts of silly characters.

Stay tuned for another prototype soon.

It’s crazy how much plastic shrinks. Look at how cute these shrunken plastic bags are!

I always struggle with the huge gap between disposable products and valuable ones. It doesn’t make much sense that some disposable products (like plastic bags) are made out of a material that do not allow itself to really be properly disposed of (proper disposal being in a closed loop of course ).

It is so fascinating that a man-made material like plastic is associated with cheapness…  when its chemical make up suggests the exact opposite — robustness. Plastic has so many favorable properties (ex – waterproof, doesn’t degrade) to make a robust, valuable product. Why are so many disposable products made out of plastic?

Is it because of plastic’s low manufacturing cost? Or it’s aesthetic properties? Probably a combination of both.

I’m experimenting with molding plastic bags into a new form (like over a glass cup in the photo above). When melted, the plastic bag takes on this really interesting translucent, fibrous texture. As cliche as it is, I think it could look pretty cool as a light.

I think I just found a project to work on this weekend…