For whatever reason, the first thing that popped in my head when I saw this design work was a Steve Martin quote from The Jerk:

I’m gonna buy you a diamond so big it’s gonna make you puke.

Of course this identity design for Johnson’s Backyard Garden has nothing to do with buying diamonds. And “puke” probably isn’t the best word to use when you’re talking about the healthy and delicious foods you’d get from an organic vegetable farm. But every once in a while you see someone’s work that’s so impressive, it makes you just a little sick to your stomach.

If JBG’s goal was to compete at farmers markets, all they would have needed is a nice typeface to stand out among the sea of Papyrus. But instead, they were lucky enough to have Austin’s Ryan Rhodes on the job, who clearly went above and beyond. The identity he created would stand out anywhere, even on a blog dedicated to identity design.

I made the lettering using pieces of wood that had been inked and printed. So I tried to do some illustrations or beets and carrots and making the letters JBG with those pieces. It felt right. It reminded me of plotted farm land, or crop circles, or quilts. It was very elementary to a degree, a back to basics, building block exercise for me.

This kind of creative exploration and thorough artistry should be every designer’s goal with every project: Give ‘em something so amazing it’ll make them puke.

More images below…

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What we’ve got here is a graphic from the website of French Paper Company highlighting their production of clean, renewable energy. President Jerry French had this to say about the company’s energy:

100 percent of French’s paper production since 1922 has been manufactured with hydroelectricity generated on-site at the French Mill on the bank of the St. Joe River, avoiding the use of fossil fuels and an estimated 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Also, unlike many of the big paper conglomerates, French does not buy secondhand ‘green power’ credits from power companies for good PR and environmental certifications. French actually sells surplus kilowatts back to the local power supplier.

Very impressive. Although, it would be great if I could find more info on the paper sources themselves, and which of French’s papers (if any) are FSC-certified.

The folks at AIGA Toledo are putting on a two-day conference to talk about design ethics, sustainability and design education. The event is coming up on May 15-16. They call it response_ability:

How can we (should we?) create students who feel a responsibility to their world? How do we, as educators, instill the capacity for our students to become thinking, ethical designers?

When you think of a typical shoebox, you probably don’t think of something that’s an environmental problem. I mean, it’s cardboard for Pete’s sake. But that didn’t stop Puma from teaming up with Yves Béhar’s design studio to rethink the way shoes are packaged. This is what they came up with…

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I almost forgot how good Mike Perry is at hand-drawn awesomeness. These are a few of his “greener” works, but he’s got a lot more going on than this. I think that Bard Observer is a great example of making a two-color design really interesting. There’s a ton of amazing work up on his site, so take some time to dig through it. And if you’re into this kind of stuff, you should pick up a copy of his book, Hand Job, which is filled with it.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is using packaging made from TerraSkin, an innovative paper-like material made from stone. More info here.

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(via Print Magazine’s Tips for Green Printing: Part 1 & Part 2)

Understanding FSC

Neenah Paper had a nice presentation on the Forest Stewardship Council, the organization that promotes responsible forest management throughout the world. For a quick overview of the presentation, click here to grab a PDF.

You should also find the FSC certified printers in your area.

ChariTea & Lemonaid

This is some really nice looking packaging for a German beverage company. The drinks are all organic and fair trade, and most of the profits will be used for social purposes. Labels were avoided by having the graphics silkscreened directly onto the bottles.

I just picked up one of these new guidebooks for Denver Mountain Parks and must say it’s pretty fucking cool. Definitely one of the finest print pieces I’ve held in a while. It’s not a huge brochure, but it has plenty of information to get you started on your next outdoor adventure around the Denver area. The design by Jim Hargreaves of Barnhart, Denver was completed with amazing illustration work by Roger Beerworth to help give it the nostalgic look of park advertising from the early 1900s.

True to wilderness park values, the brochure is printed on FSC certified, 100% post-consumer paper. You can pick up a copy by going down to the Denver Parks and Recreation office, or you can simply download it as a PDF.

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This is a fantastic piece by Denver agency Barnhart to seduce a local burger joint into working with them. Highlighting the restaurant’s competition, designer Jim Hargreaves used fast-food bags, sandwich wrappers, and various junk mail to produce a one-of-a-kind mailer printed on their own laser printer and hand-stitched. With sustainable production methods in mind, they came up with a piece that has great visual impact with very minimal environmental or economic impact.

The restaurant they were going after was Larkburger, a Colorado-based company opening their first location in Denver. The reclaimed design of the piece makes sense considering Larkburger claims to be an eco-friendly restaurant using “natural” ingredients, biodegradable containers, and sustainable building materials. But I can’t help noticing the irony of a burger place claiming to be environmentally friendly. If a person is trying to eat healthily and sustainably, beef is one of the worst possible options. Especially when the cattle are not grass-fed. I appreciate the steps Larkburger has taken, but since the term “grass-fed” is glaringly absent from their list of eco-credentials, it appears they have a lot more to do.

Whatever the cattle are fed, it does not take away from the creativity of this original print piece. More photos and production insight at FPO.

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