As part of a lecture on sustainability in design given on November 18th at the UC Davis campus, Nathan Shedroff warned those in attendance not to use the term “green” when pitching sustainable design ideas to people in business.
“It’s an impediment to the conversation,” said Shedroff.
He presented the image of a bulls-eye to illustrate the relatedness of financial, social and ecological capital. It was like a ven diagram: the financial circle nested inside the social circle, both nested inside the green ecological circle.
What happens when you say “green”? Shedroff clicked to the next slide, where the green ecological circle eclipsed the other two inner circles. People only think of ecology when the term “green” is used. It’s harder to keep your clients’ minds on the benefits of financial and social sustainability, which is what one must do to convince people to fund your design.
Shedroff offered very useful, concrete advice on form: make sure you use terms that don’t obscure vital content, so your concept can be well-received.
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