Hi, I’m Addie, the Graphic Design intern at Design Interface this summer. I am currently a student at the Cleveland Institute of art studying Graphic Design. There are so many opportunities in the design field and as thinkers, makers, and creators, we need to push the idea of exploring new options for sustainable design even further…because, well, plastic is still being produced. 

Something I think a lot about in my practice is how  we will change the way the design industry is impacting the environment. I’ve come to think that it starts with the material and the decision to find alternatives to harmful substances commonly used in packaging and product design. Pushing past plastic and exploring more eco-friendly, compostable, energy-saving materials that we can find in the natural world. By mimicking mother nature we are able to guarantee the preservation of the planet and allow for the earth to reclaim its land and water. 

Emeco, a chair and table company based out of Pennsylvania, has been changing the way we look, and sit on materials since 1944. They have developed new materials such as Reclaimed wood polypropylene and Eco-concrete. Both of these materials are substances that take the idea of recycling and push it even further. Lets keep this idea moving and continue creating beautiful, harmless things.