Look for Third Thursdays by Ben Knight every third Thursday of the month. Ben was born, raised, and had his formative education in New York. He is a practicing design manager (Pratt DM alumni, 2008) who has had an enormous amount of creative work experiences in various institutions, in many contexts, throughout the world. For over 6 years he has been working full time as a staff member for the United Nations in NYC. Contact: Studio@BenKnight.net
Is That Pizza Box Really Sustainable? A D.M. Perspective.
Many of you may have seen this video on the Internet. It was on the American TV show 20/20 in mid-June; I found it on Dan Pink’s website/blog a few weeks ago. At first I thought it was a great idea. On further inspection I began to think of the product life cycle: origins, package use, and final resting place of the cardboard. These are the some of the things I was wondering: What type of cardboard is it? What types of inks were used? Where is the cardboard going to end up after it is used as a plate? Is the cardboard off-gassing toxins? Are the cardboard toxins going into the pizza? Would a non-cardboard compost-ready material be possible? Would it be more cost effective to use a different material? Who made the pizza box? http://bit.ly/24FBx
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQBjJjpkjl0[/youtube]
These sorts of questions are ones that a Design Manager is consistently thinking about. While these design initiatives are to be applauded, it is often the designer who misses the big picture and process that can be elusive. This is where the design manager excels and has the knowledge, skills, and practice to further enhance value at all levels. Design Managers can take a good product, service, or process and make it an extraordinary and sustainable: thus benefiting the planet, profit and, of course, people.
