Sustainable design

Date: 20 July 2023
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Online via Zoom
Past event
Google (brand) signage made using sustainable materials by Sander Baumann (/designworkplan)
portretfotografie

This seminar explored sustainable design practice within the wayfinding industry, and how we can engage the public with environmental issues through graphics in the urban environment. As designers and manufacturers, we have a responsibility to develop innovative approaches that maximise economic, environmental and social benefits over the lifecycle of the wayfinding system, while minimising environmental and social costs. We can also use our skills in communication and placemaking to prompt debate about sustainability and empower the public to influence environmental decisions. Sander Baumann (/designworkplan) showcased one of his projects, a large-scale hospital wayfinding solution that used environmentally friendly materials, applying circular products in experiential graphic design for offices. Robin Howie (Fieldwork Facility) who works at the intersection of communication, innovation, and place, talked about some of the sustainable wayfinding and placemaking projects he has worked on, such as those commissioned by the Climate Emergency Department of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, including ‘Rewilding Rave’ and ‘Plants Not Pollution!’

About our speakers

Robin Howie is the Founder and Creative Director of Fieldwork Facility, established in 2010 as ‘a design studio for unchartered territories’. He studied for his undergraduate degree in Graphic Design at Kingston University, then went on to complete a master’s in Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art. Robin describes himself as a citizen, designer, photographer, writer, and strategist. He wears all of these hats in his work for Fieldwork Facility. He is a partner in West Hampstead located sustainable coffee shop Intermission. Robin has received many accolades for his work, and been nominated and won various awards. Most recently, the Fieldwork Facility team were winners in the Design Week Awards 2023, for their wayfinding project for Brent Cross Town (London).

Sander Baumann is the Founder and Director of Netherlands-based studio /designworkplan. He originally studied musicology which led to an early career organising dance / house parties in and around Amsterdam. Since 1995 Sander has worked for various signage companies, including his family’s business, bringing a sense of place to environments. Over the past 25 years, he has designed wayfinding and signage projects, including for Holland’s largest shopping centre, comprehensive city wayfinding, school signage systems, and building identification. Sander is an active member of design organisations BNO, IIID, SEGD and the Sign Design Society.

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