Member Since:
26 Jul 2010
Last Activity:
10 months, 1 week ago
Eric Benson @ericbenson ?
MemberEric Benson is an award-winning designer, educator at the University of Illinois, published author, activist and international speaker on sustainable design theory and practice. He received his BFA in graphic and industrial design from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1998 and his MFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006 (with a concentration in design and social responsibility). His work professionally has been focused on creating enriching digital experiences on the web and environmentally friendly print and packaging material. Benson has provided digital and print work for such clients as: Credit Suisse First Boston, MADD, Texas Instruments, Toyota, the Vanguard Group, and Whole Foods Market. His research is available at www.re-nourish.com, which is the industry's first truly independent online toolkit for sustainable graphic design. By providing reliable, accessible sustainability tools untethered to commercial interests, Re-nourish empowers graphic designers to implement sustainable decision making in their day-to-day work, helping sustainable graphic design become what design is, not merely what it "could be."
Eric Benson's Website:
www.re-nourish.com
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Eric Benson wrote a new blog post: Designers and Architects Meet a Sustainable Farmer 10 months, 4 weeks ago · View
During the fall of 2011, I had coffee with a Professor from Architecture where we hatched out a plan to use our respective spring 2012 courses to create a functioning farm-to-market produce cart and related farmer’s market awareness campaigns for the Sustainable Student Farm on the University of Illinois campus. We had received a small grant [...] -
Eric Benson wrote a new blog post: Sustainable Design in South Dakota 11 months, 1 week ago · View
Teaching sustainability to a new group of students always brings to attention issues with my teaching style, pace of content delivery, and strength of the project parameters. In other words, every time I teach this topic, it’s a learning experience. Typically I’ve assigned projects that last around 4-5 weeks where the first two class periods [...] -
Eric Benson wrote a new blog post: Creating a Better Graphic Design Competition 1 year, 3 months ago · View
“Clever work wins awards; smart work wins clients.” – Eric Karjuouto, founder, SmashLab I recently had the distinct pleasure to judge two competitions that focused on printed and digital design that was moving towards sustainability and social responsibility. As the entries were stirring, I was, at times, a bit unsure about how to specifically judge the environmental and [...]
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Eric Benson wrote a new blog post: Print versus Digital: The Scuffle in the Studio 1 year, 3 months ago · View
(Co-authored by Eric Benson and Yvette Perullo) Which is greener, a printed or digital piece? Naturally it depends on who is being asked. Talk to a paper manufacturer and he will certainly support printed communications as much more sustainable. Ask the CEO of a web hosting company and she will make the case for digital work. In a [...]
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Eric Benson wrote a new blog post: New Standards to Define the Sustainability of Our Design Work, Studios, and Print Partners 1 year, 4 months ago · View
Why do We Need Standards? Author and activist Paul Hawken argues that our natural resources are “the foundation of our economy.” Without our water, timber, air and land our economy would cease to function. Communication designers must realize the importance of designing with people and the environment top of mind. They can do so by minimizing their [...]
