“Save resources!”
“Protect the environment!”
“Save our planet!”
Sound familiar? For decades people have been promoting environmental protection as more and more of them are coming to realize that the way we, as one species, use our resources will eventually and inevitably lead to our very own extinction. However, these slogans are all over the floor now. They just fly into people’s heads from one ear and come out from another – nothing really gets absorbed in the process. In other words, those who really took environmental protection into action and are actually trying to make a positive difference are still the minority.
As artists and designers, or simply as human beings, feeling and being responsible for the planet and our situation is more than significant. Being ‘too cool’ and indifferent will not cause obvious, instant problems for sure but it is a juvenile act concerning our future. It is unarguable that we are a selfish species, of course making it through our own lives now is so much more important than the well-beings of our future generations: who cares if the human beings go extinct? I will not be there to suffer anyways.
People only do things that are beneficial for themselves, in a short run. Since artists can create arts that influence minds and designers can design arts that people use, artists and designers actually have control of people in their hands. Therefore they need to know how to ‘hide’ the ‘switch’ in their works. To do this, artists and designers will have to do a lot of research, for example on the age group and demands of their ‘audiences’. Then, along with one of the most important characteristic of an artist/designer – creativity, they combine environmental protection and demand satisfaction in their work.
Another crucial characteristic is that the artist/designer needs to know how to sell their work. Why look at this piece of art? Why use this design? Or to be more direct, how to make promotions on environmental topics eye catching, memorable and effective?
A step from these three characteristics, which cannot be present without another, designers need to have a background in different fields such as mathematics and science.
For instance, when designing a building, not only do designers have to think about the exterior and interior design, but they also need to take numerous elements into consideration like materials, lighting, ability to preserve heat, and location, the list goes on. The material needs to be strong, and non-pollutive, even the process of producing it should be environment-friendly. It would be the best to get as much natural lighting as possible during day time and use as little electricity as possible to light up the interior at night. ‘Location’ can branch up to soil property, local climate, and its surroundings. If the building is built in a hot area, it needs a design that remains cool indoors while requiring little or no air-conditioning; on the contrary, if built in a cold area, it will need a design that preserves heat at its best so that less electricity is used to heat up the space.