As each year draws to a close, industry color authority Pantone selects a single hue to characterize the incoming year. 2013′s color: Emerald Green. In its press release announcing the choice, Pantone’s Leatrice Eiseman explained that ”the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum.” Cast your human eye on a spectrum of green with these six ways to the color of the year.
If you’re anything like us, staying eco is always on your mind. In honor of Earth Day 2012, here are six items that can help you continue to be kind to our environment — and create a better world around you. Read more
Designer Yves Behar spoke at last month’s CUSP conference. The talk was a long one so I’ve just pulled out the 3 minutes he spent on the SAYL chair. Especially pertinent to this “green” week are his comments on “eco-dematerialization” (try saying that fast three times!) Behar coined that term to describe the process of paring back a design to its most essential elements – stripping it back so it used as little material as possible. The result for SAYL is an elegant, affordable home office chair that is lightweight (it only weighs 37 pounds) and 93 percent recyclable. We think Gabe Wing would approve.
For more from Yves on SAYL check out this week’s post over on Discover.
As with green PCs, there isn’t much information available about the how environmentally friendly your current laptop is, but with a bit of digging, you can find out a lot about your next one. While going green is great, you also have to think about how long you’ll be able to use your next laptop. If you can keep it an extra year, you’ll not only save money but also keep the environment cleaner by consuming less. Below is the Asus Bamboo laptop.
1. Lenovo ThinkPad L420: Lenovo states that the ThinkPad L420 is their greenest laptop yet, and that’s a bold statement from the PC laptop giant, as their ThinkPad X301 was very eco-friendly. The L-series laptops are made from 30% post-consumer recycled content. The green-ness also affects your bottom line, as this laptop is supposed to save you 40% on operating costs alone. It has an LED-backlit display and power manager. It includes energy certifications from ENERGY STAR and attains the EPEAT Gold standard. The packaging is recyclable and there’s 20% less of it to go to waste.
2. Acer TravelMate TimelineX: Acer does its bit by displaying information about the eco-friendliness of their laptops very visibly. The TravelMate TimelineX meets EPEAT Silver, RoHS, WEEE, and ENERGY STAR standards to protect the environment.
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Name: Juliet Zulu
Location: Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon
Size: 1,100 square feet
Juliet Zulu, a video production company based in Portland, Oregon has created a clean, inspired work space on a budget. Zak, Jason and their team DIYed their office in about a month, using irreverent, recycled materials and a whole lot of ingenuity. When describing the studio, the words “industrial” and “man-chic” just kept popping into my mind. Although not a traditional “home” office tour, this work space is full of great ideas to pull into the home or home office.
Zak and Jason, co-founders of Juliet Zulu, wanted to create an open, honest space that inspired great work. They create videos for a range of clients, from big corporations like Nike and Intel to non-profits such as The Mentoring Project and other videos featuring local food carts. Juliet Zulu is a creative force and their space reflects their artistic vision.
What’s interesting to me is they achieved something I don’t see all that often – they used a palate of heavy darks (black concrete floor, army green military tent material, etc) and bright whites. In a time where “fresh and new” seems to connote whitest of whites, they were able to balance darker tones with light, punctuated by the neutral colors (reclaimed wood, re-purposed army tents), and wacky use of particle board. Never have I seen particle board looking so good.
Heather John returns from a trip to the stationery store…
Whenever I have writer’s block, chances are you’ll find me alphabetizing my spices, color coordinating my closet or reorganizing kitchen drawers. There is something highly cathartic about imposing order on chaos. A clean desk, clear mind, etc. Which is why I found myself roaming the aisles at Staples this weekend for office supplies to mentally prepare for a week of heavy research and interviews for a story I’m writing. Inspiration comes in all forms—and to me these tactile brown folders made from 100% postconsumer recycled paper are totally gorgeous in their simplicity and uniformity. I also grabbed a pack of Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils made from reforested California cedar—my writing tool of choice to unblock writer’s block and a favorite example of form + function.