Let's Talk Shades of Green and Great Design

Hello Readers!

To echo Penny’s first post, welcome to Design Green, where we as writers hope to inspire conversation about great green design. We’ll be putting up posts, and we hope that they’ll serve as catalysts for you, the readers, to talk, reply, criticize, applaud, and even argue. Let’s talk about what it means to be green, what it means to design well, and what great design really is. Let’s showcase products worth talking about.

At the risk of boring you with background details, here’s a bit about me: I was trained in architecture and product design, I’m a freelance design journalist and the former Managing Editor of Inhabitat, and the founder of industrial design nonprofit Project H Design, which supports, inspires, and delivers humanitarian product design initiatives.

You might be thinking, "Humanitarian? What’s that got to do with green?" But my opinion is that great design is great for everyone and everything- the environment, the end user, the manufacturers, the designer, etc. We can’t stop discussions of green design at "what is it made out of?" But rather, we’ve got to look at design as an opportunity to make impact- whether it’s as simple as making your kitchen rituals easier on the hands, or buying furniture made in a socially-responsible way. Let’s talk about all these shades of green.

I’m excited to be part of this discussion, and can’t wait to hear your voices too. I tend to be thoughtful yet critical, so I’m guessing you’ll have some things you’ll want to respond to. And of course, feel free to send us your thoughts, ideas, and musings on green design.