social and environmental graphic design

2008-07-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Benneton By Laeten Taylor

2008-07-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Bennaton Group,are in one hundred & twenty countries, It's core business is fashion with an Italian influence The United colours of Benneton is glamour orientated , Sisley brand & playlife an American college style killerloop and street wear. The group produces 160 thousand garments a year the network has 5,500. stores or more around the world generates turnover of $2 billion euro. United Colours of Benneton is a global brand well known for quality colour and fashion The brand is present in many other sectors from accessories to eye wear and perfumes to home wear to by products.Three hundred designers from all over the world create the collection, the result is the latest designs which are realized with assisted design systems fully intergrated with the companies production phases.

Oliviero Toscani was Bennetons Art director,copywriter, photographer,creative director, they worked together from 1982 till he resigned in 2000.

Italian born Toscani known for his advertising campaigns for Benneton In the 90s Toscani and Benneton co founded a magazine called "Colors"with graphic designer Tibor Kalman

Toscani,s advertising technique brought Benneton to the fore using their logo for more controversial purpose unrelated to their subject matter.He used Benneton for their logo to produce controversial photographs and articles.

http://www.benneton.com/colorpress70/press_colors_1570_eng.html

http://djaxlie.blogspot.com/2007/03/oliver.toscani.html

http://www.bennetongroup.com/en/what we make.html

http://www.benneton group.com./who we are/overview.htm

www.sisley.comhttp://www.print.duncan.tv/2006/united-colors-of-benneton-1989

cradle to cradle v cradle to grave by Laeten Taylor

2008-07-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

Cradle to cradle is a new way to think about caring for the enviroment a design strategy for growth and prosperity that does not make pollution and waste It challenges things such as recycling hybrid cars etc known as cradle to grave methods It is better than leaving the rubbish out in the street when a product turns to industry at the end of its useful life its materials are used to make other valuable products Cradle to cradle is a phrase invented in the 70s by Walter r Stahel and is a production of all materials inputs and out puts technical or biological .Technical nutrients can be recycled or reused and biological nutrient composted or consumed, where as cradle to grave refers to a company taking responsibility for disposal of goods it has produced but not putting back products into service A good example of cradle to cradle v cradle to grave is running shoes most shoes consist of highly manufactured and non enviroment friendly material like rubber adhesives and paints, but recently companies have begun creating a eco friendly shoe that adhere to cradle to cradle methods as well as being fashionable

Ideally cradle to cradle will become the mantra for product designs it is different from other green products as in that they independent third party consumers can look for c to c certified logo goods.

http:www.sustainabilitydictionary.com/c/cradletocradle.php

http://www.msnbc.msn.comid/21227970

http://www.mbdc.com/c2c-home.htm

http://www.mbdc.com/c2c_ee.htm

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talksncwillium_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html

http://www.steensenvarming.com.au/cradle.htm

Leilani : Olivero Toscani

2008-06-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Depending on whom you ask, Toscani’s odd fusion of commentary and commerce is either a clever form of social activism or blatant moral hypocrisy — arresting contemporary art as easy exploitation.

And as the "quirky", in-house creative director for the Benetton Group, Olivero Toscani has shattered every conventionally held idea regarding the role of advertising. Toscani was hired by Luciano Benetton to exclusively head the company's advertising campaign. Not an easy task. With over 7,000 Benetton stores in over 120 countries and meet an extremely specific communication goal: to produce international campaigns of global concern for global consumers. Thus, Toscani’s campaigns are international, homogeneous and characterized by universal themes. According to Benetton, the advertising has become "not only a means of communication but an expression of our time."

Welcome to Toscani's world.

Toscani's early work presented youthful images from culturally diverse nations. Colourfully dressed in Benetton attire, engaged in a variety of playful acts. By linking the varying colours in the collection to the diverse "colours" of its world customers, Toscani presented a theme of racial harmony and world peace. From these ads grew the inspirational trademark still used today: "United Colours of Benetton."

Toscani assumed a strategy in which social issues played the major role - allowing for a communication on themes relevant to everyone, everywhere. A means to draw attention to important social problems, in an attempt to promote a discussion about issues which people would normally glide over if they approached them from other channels, issues they feel should be more widely talked about.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1673663,00.htm

lhttp://maxbruinsma.n
http://diversfaits.files.wordpress.com
http://www.businessinnovationinsider.com/
http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/98_fall/theory/blouin/toscani/toscani.html

LEE: Benetton

2008-06-23T00:22:00.000-07:00

The united colors of Benetton is a successful clothing company that focuses not on plain old fashion but tries to connect with the buyer with the same mindset about their common morals and social values. By promoting their products in this way Benetton’s clothing has caused much controversy is nations around the globe, due to its blunt approach to taboo advertising.

The brand developed into the “united colors of Benetton” based on the colours of the youths around the world that the youths were designed for and began to promote things like world peace and racial equality etc.

When I first heard about the “united colors of Benetton” I thought it was some form of united racial movement charity group of sorts based on the pictures I had seen, but when I found out it was actually a clothing brand I became rather sceptical and began to think, while yes I am sure the Benetton’s care about all the stuff they promote, it could just be a way of getting all the “hippies” or “activists” to buy their products because they think it will in some way help the people in need.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group

Google image search for united colors of benetton

BRAIINZ!

GEMMA: United Colours of Benetton

2008-06-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

Oliveri Toscani and 'United Colours of Benetton' have a long history of attention to ethical values and involvement in social and cultural initiatives. Perhaps the most visible are their institutional campaigns, touching social themes of wide international significance and often in cooperation with renowned international organisations.

This statement, in a way, sums up the way in which Oliveri Toscani and 'United Colours of Benetton' market their fashion and brand to the public. The core business of the company remains in their clothing lines of which they market casual clothing marketed as the "United Colors of Benetton." Additional to this there are also three other divisions of clothing titled “Sisley” (fashion-oriented), "Playlife" (leisurewear), and "Killer Loop" (street wear.) Their products are made to suit the entire community needs, targeting all women’s wear, menswear, children’s wear and underwear.

The company is known for sponsorship of a number of sports, and for the controversial "United Colors" publicity campaign. When photographer Oliviero Toscani was hired by the Benetton team, under his direction, ads were created that contained striking images unrelated to any actual products being sold by the company. These graphic, billboard sized ads included depictions of a variety of 'shocking' subjects. The company's logo served as the only text accompanying the images in most of these advertisements.

The company suggested that they “decided to do something very controversial that people would pick up on - 50% of people thought it was great and 50% thought it was awful, but in the meantime everyone was talking about Benetton." Due to this, Benetton has faced criticism from many organizations.

Benetton Group's advertising campaigns are not only a means of communication but an expression of our time. Through their universal impact, they have succeeded in attracting the attention of the public and in standing out amongst the current clutter of images.Although their newfound ideas of advertisement have been ridiculed, the campaigns have also gathered awards worldwide. They create strong reactions which are often either brutal or simply curious, confirming once again that they are always a central focal point of debate and of confrontation of ideas.

Bibliography:

www.benettongroup.com/en/whatwesay/sottosezioni/campaigns_photo_gallery.htm
http://www.benetton.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group
http://www.killerloop.com/
http://www.sisley.com/Site/Index.php
http://www.playlife.com/
www.linkinn.com/_United_colors_of_benetton
http://www.mapuche-nation.org/english/main/benetton/main/info.htm

Kurt-Oliveri Toscani-Benetton

2008-06-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

The advertising philosophy of United Colors of Benetton is based on Luciano Benetton's belief that 'communication should not be commissioned from outside the company, but conceived from within its heart.'

The Advertising Campaigns produced by Benetton are controversial, there’s no denying it. I think this full in your face no bullshit photography from Oliver Toscani is an absolutely brilliant tool for communicating so many social and dramatic humanistic issues.
The whole association with value is so strong they are able to tie so many different themes and events into their campaign that is a remarkable marketing strategy.

People are shocked by what they are seeing in the images but at the same time have an immediate connection to what is portrait in the photos.

“Free speech and the right to express it” In the Feb 92 campaign the communication of Benetton raized much controversy and created a global scandal.
The images of a man dying of aids, a soldier gripping a human thigh bone, a man assassinated by the mafia, a car on fire, and a ship being stormed by immigrants.

All these photos were not taken for the advertising campaign but where rather subjects of the real world used for conveying the news.
It raized questions as to weather advertising and marketing for a product should actually focus on subjects other than the companys product?

But in saying this where is the rule book to say or display the guide lines to Advertising?

Bibliography
http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/history/
http://www.berk-edu.com/RESEARCH/oliveriToscani/index.html
http://www.benetton.com/html/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group
http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/10/1000207.pdf

ALEC - Toscani and his visual army

2008-06-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Oliviero Toscani and Benetton

“We decided to do something controversial that people would pick up on.”

In 1984 United Colours of Benetton contracted Oliviero Toscani to head their international advertising campaign. It was to be one of the most infamous and controversial partnerships within advertising. Benetton was always an ethically forward company but nothing could prepare the public for the onslaught of confronting imagery and humanitarian ideals. Through his billboards and magazine advertisements, Toscani explored the relationships between black and white roles in society,

gay stereotypes,

religious taboos

as well as the fragility of the environment.

Reactions to these images were mixed; many people did not know how to react even thought these were real life people in real life situations. I find it hard to fathom how we can view ads containing models in unrealistic situations with unrealistically good looking bodies photographed at unrealistic angles as the norm where as a simple front on shot of a baby post-birth can seem so out there and cause so much public outcry when it is pretty much the most natural experience on earth.

His images captured life not an emulation of it.

I don’t think Toscani initiative was to create a safe/warm fuzzy reaction within people, just a reaction. He wanted people to stop and take notice. Some argue that it was out of context for a clothing company to portray these confronting images but it is when something is taken out of its original context that people take the most notice. The public had soon had enough and in the interest of company longevity Toscani resigned. My sentiment goes out to Toscani who had the courage and talent to make the world take notice.

Links

http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/

http://socialandenvironmentalgraphicdesi.blogspot.com/

Jamie: Colors of Benetton

2008-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Oliviero Toscani and the United Colors of Benetton:

Oliviero, Italian born photographer, worked with Benetton for the good part of 18 years, to help portray the messages behind the brand. Benett

on is a well established brand that began in the late 1960’s. Oliviero helped with the advertisement of the brand with its rather controversial images. The images portrayed by both Benetton and Oliviero have delved into hot topics about race, disease and human rights.

One of the more controversial of their images was the photograph of the scene of the AIDS patient David Kirby last moments, surrounded by his family members. This photo was actually taken by Therese Frare, though he was working with Oliviero on the Benetton AIDS campaign. This image raised a lot of tension with many groups, this included the catholic society, claiming that the image related too heavily to the image of Jesus, also the advertisement raised tension with the AIDS activists, saying that it portrayed AIDS victims in a negative way.

As like many more adds by the pair, Benetton and Toscani, their themes seem shocking though needed as they are eye opening to certain problems by bringing them into the light. Benetton has helped pave the way in opening its audiences eyes to the shocking themes at hand that the modern day society seem to sweep under the mat. Their adds are fantastic at capturing the emotion, as well as the added hint of a shock value; Benetton and Oliviero have helped raise awareness to many intense issues through

their images, and continue to do so today.

Bibliography:

http://www.print.duncans.tv/2007/benetton-pieta-in-aids-campaign/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliviero_Toscani

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group

http://www.olivierotoscanistudio.com/

http://www.benettongroup.com/

Benetton and Controversy - Tane

2008-06-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

For over 20 years, one company has continually cashed in on the marketing miracle that is controversy.
Benetton has succeeded in freeing the product from its merchandising reality and given it a whole new social being of its own.
Benetton reaches its consumers not by target markets but by shared visions of morals stemming from common social values.
In this way, Benetton’s advertising campaigns have been so blunt and forthcoming in taboo issues that they have sparked outrage and interest across nations.

Since its origin as a fashion label for the young, Benetton has quickly come to realize that putting resources into brand image is a good strategic investment.
The “united” colors of its sweaters soon became a metaphor for the united skin colours of the youth from many different countries for whom the sweaters were designed. The United Colors concept spread from encompassing the different races to the ideas of tolerance, peace and respect for diversity.

The reaction to some of the more shocking images was sometimes violent. Many publications refused to print the ads. By violating the taboo of disagreeable themes and abandoning the false, comfortable world of advertising stereotypes, Benetton cracked the foundation that held up culture, language and advertising expectations.
Some groups were tolerating and encouraging of Benetton’s move to raise awareness about AIDS, war, racism etc. but they found it wholly unacceptable that the move was also a source of income for a corporation. The profits were seen as turning protest into skepticism, public message into cynicism. Lah de dah.

I believe Benetton has found the best niche in the business and exploited it shamelessly. From a business point of view, this is advertising nirvana because controversial images are cycled around tabloids and news programs are unwittingly promoting and mentioning the Benetton name.
However, I also feel a degree of skepticism owing to the fact that it’s a FREAKIN’ CLOTHING COMPANY, and if they really wanted to do something about world hunger, donate and go not-for-profit! Otherwise, we’re all perfectly aware that you’re making dosh off the worst form of brand image scamming known to man, Benetton. You know it, we know it, but hey, good on you for shaking foundations and making some conservative minds break under the pressure. At the end of the day, you are raising issues, making good money and freaking someone out!
LINKS….
production.investis.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/list/
www.benettongroup.com/en/whoweare/history.htm
www.newterritoryfuerteventura.com/deborah/benetton.htm
www.historyofbranding.com/benetton.html
www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/ 98_fall/theory/blouin/toscani/toscani.html

Leilani - Graffiti; Art or Vandalism?

2008-06-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

"Graffiti is revolutionary…. and any revolution might be considered a crime. People who are oppressed or suppressed need an outlet, so they write on walls—it’s free."

Graffiti advocates perceive graffiti as a method of reclaiming public space or to display one's art form, their opponents regard it as an unwanted nuisance. Graffiti has often had a reputation as being part of a subculture that rebels against authority, and thus, graffiti artists are presumed to be vandals and law-breakers. And yet, in times of conflict, such murals offer a means of communication and self-expression for members of these socially, ethnically and/or racially divided communities.

The stenciled image of the squatting man holding a sign that reads: "Keep your coins, I WANT CHANGE," speaks directly to the surge in street art across the globe. In a time when large institutions get larger and often hem in the ability for individuals to make themselves heard, the streets serve as invitingly blank canvases that anyone with some paint and a message has access to.

But at what cost? Secrecy and speed are the Graffiti Artists favored arsenal in avoiding the penance of expressing themselves. Jail.

However, many contemporary analysts and even art critics have begun to see artistic value in graffiti and to recognize for what it is - public art. According to many art researchers, graffiti is actually an effective tool for social emancipation or in the achievement of a political goal.

Graffiti – art or vandalism? It all depends on which side of the wall your standing on

http://www.artofthestate.co.uk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti

http://www.design-bookshelf.com/Graphics/stencil_graphics.html

http://www.graphicdesignbasics.com/2006/stencil-graffiti-capital-melbourne.html

http://www.woostercollective.com

http://www.englishheritageprints.com

http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/

Paolo - OLIVIERO TOSCANI and COLORS

2008-06-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

They were the first years Ninety when children wound in the placenta or the Sicilian women folded up by the pain of forehead to a homicide of mafia of the photographer of the Benetton flattened the road to the many television shocking spots in circulation of these times.

The experiment worked, and now it works ,demonstrating that the publicity can still be read also as form of communication turned to the collectivity. Choosing to treat social problems, with its campaigns raw and direct Toscani literally interprets the social mission of the advertising practice replacing with the perfect family of the Mulino bianco (Mill White – stereotype of a classic happy family that you see onTV advertising) kisses stolen between priests and nuns or scenes of homosexual love.

The countries of the Benetton overturn in this way the approach of the traditional advertising agency, that prefers to propose incapable reassuring and easy-going visions of the reality to arouse questions on the great social problems in the viewers. Un incorrect routine ,says Toscani, that in its photos ago of the violence and of the contradictions of the mafia, as of the war and of the death penalty, an occasion of report, turning them into uncomfortable images, able to let the people to reflect.

The countries of communication of the Group Benetton they represent only not a mean of communication but an expression of our time. They have succeeded, thanks to an universal strength, to attract the attention of the public also distinguishing in the actual universe of images.

they have picked up all over the world prizes and consents and at the same time they have aroused reactions, at times fierce, at times simply curious, confirming himself, however, always protagonists, elements of debate and comparison of the ideas.

To you the judgment bloggers... better staying to reflect before to a publicity shock or better criticizing it and to entrench it behind false moralisms?????

toscani says: "unlike traditional advertisements, our images
                                   usually have no copy and not product, only our logo. They
                                   do not tell anyone to buy our clothes, they do not even imply it.
                                   All they attempt to do is promote a discussion about issues
                                   which people would normally glide over if they approached
                                   them from other channels, issues we feel should be more
                                   widely discussed." Hence, advertising that speaks across all cultural
                                   boundaries and raises social awareness by presenting powerful
                                   human and universal themes.

Bookmarks

; www.olivierotoscanistudio.com

www.olivierotoscani.com/

www.time.com

www.ciadvertising.org

Abby - Oliviero Toscani

2008-06-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Oliviero Toscani

In 1984 The United Colours of Benetton hired the famour photographer Oliviero Toscani to head the company's advertising campaign. He had to produce international campaigns of global concern for global consumers. One of the campaigns was for anorexia and the poster below shows a graphic image of an anorexic woman. She looks as if she is starving and moving towards death. This is not the usual photo of thin women used in advertising campaigns looking beautiful to sell products.

Toscani took many photos of black and white people together. This photo below shows an angelic photo of a white girl with a black girl whose hair could be seen as styled as the devil’s horns. He is commenting on how we see black and white people differently, with the world being given a negative image of blacks.

People may be shocked by the photo of a white baby breastfeeding from a black mother as this is not often seen. He is again highlighting the separateness of blacks and whites with blacks having a bad reputation.

Toscani was interested in environmental issues and this waterbird below is covered in oil and looks very sad. It is a strong image giving out an environmental message that death is the result of our pollution. He believed that when you take an image that would be normal in a news report and use it in advertising it would shock and disgust people into taking action.

This man was to be executed and has had his photo taken by Toscani as part of a anti-death penalty campaign. Using this photo in advertising was too much for the company as American public thought that glorifying a murderer was socially inappropriate. Toscani no longer worked for Benetton after the public outcry from this campaign.

Bibliography:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-02/25/content_419566.htm

http://www.smh.com.au/news/fashion/fashion-industry-first/2008/04/09/1207420490710.html

http://sndaniele.wordpress.com/2007/10/14/gallery-del-famoso-fotografo-oliviero-toscani-per-benetton/

http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/98_fall/theory/blouin/toscani/toscani.html

http://www.verinhaottoni.com/diary/cultural/photography/002a.html

Govinda Benetton and Oliveri Toscani

2008-06-15T23:38:00.000-07:00

The famous collaboration between Oliveri Toscani, a photographer, and United Colours of Benetton, an international clothing company, has been very successful in the promotion and expansion of the brand. Much controversy was created with the 1986 advertising campaign that used strong and confrontation images based on taboos, the notion of co-existence and exploring difference and stereotypes in race, nationality and religion. Oliveri Toscani and Benetton continued to explore social issues with more and more shocking and confrontational images and campaigns.The plan by Benetton was to integrate opposites and to unite difference under a single flag, that of its own logo. But the plan often backfired causing international outrage. Protests broke out after the photograph of a newborn baby still attached to the umbilical cord was used, resulting in the advertisement being removed from many countries. The response to Benetton’s advertisements was mixed. Many people where outraged while others supported the companies bold approach.United Colours of Benetton declared that the advertisements where to make people think. Although the idea behind the campaign to promote social issues was good, I don’t believe it was necessarily appropriate for a company selling clothing. People did not want to open a fashion magazine and see a photograph of a man dying of AIDS.

Many people believed it was immoral for the company to use these sensitive images to promote jumpers and scarves. The campaigns came to a stop when Oliveri Toscani resigned after the Sentenced to Death initiative about killers on death row caused enormous outrage in the United States.

http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/history/
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/16/wv.09.html
http://percipere.typepad.com/media/2006/08/cause_celebre_o.html
http://press.benettongroup.com/
http://www.berk-edu.com/RESEARCH/oliveriToscani/index.html
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/benetton-hits-middle-age/

Josh - Toscani

2008-06-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Olivero Toscani, creative director for the Benetton Group, has shattered every conventionally held idea regarding the role of advertising. Already an award-winning photographer, Toscani was hired in 1984 by Luciano Benetton to exclusively head the company's advertising campaign.

After hours or research on Toscani and Benetton I found a series of quotes, which I think best descried himself as a thinker, creator, photographer and advertiser.

"advertising is the richest and most powerful form of communication in the world. We need to have images that will make people think and discuss."

"ad agencies are obsolete. They're out of touch with the times; they're far too comfortable. When the client is happy, they stop trying. They don't want to know what's going on in the world. They create a false reality and want people to believe in it. We show reality and we're criticized for it."

"research? we try to do the very opposite. We try to make our ads personal. If you do research, you get yesterday's results. If they did research five hundred years ago, they never would have discovered America. They would have found out the world is flat. You have to have the courage to make mistakes. Everything we do is about impulse, about guts. That's what built Benetton."

By linking the varying colors in the Benetton collection to the diverse "colors" of its world customers it came up with "United Colors of Benetton" which became the very successful tradmark.A very successful part of the Benetton Group is they don’t tell anyone to buy the clothes, instead they attempt to promote a discussion about issues which people would normally glide over. Including a dark mother breastfeeding a white baby. This caused controversy in America due to historical connotations of slavery and racism. He went on to use Aids, new life, gleefulness, and a fake Jesus to give his advertising the edge that Benetton become well known for.

bib:
http://www.print.duncans.tv/2006/united-colors-of-benetton-1989/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group
http://www.boxxet.com/Benetton_Group/Invisible_Colours_of_Benetton.1lsoe0.d

Benetton – (7)

2008-06-12T01:31:00.000-07:00

In 1955, Luciano Benetton, saw a market for colourful clothes and began the company by primarily selling sweaters that he knitted.Benetton ad campaigns were then created, that contained striking images unrelated to any actual products being sold by the company. These graphic, billboard sized ads depicted a variety of ‘shocking’ subjects such as a deathbed scene of a man dying from AIDS, two horses mating, close-up pictures of tattoos, a collage consisting of genitals of persons of various races, a priest and nun about to engage in a romantic kiss and pictures of inmates on death row. The company's logo served as the only text accompanying the images in most of these advertisements

The ads raised the company's profile with their motto as “We decided to do something very controversial that people would pick up on” - 50% of people thought it was great and 50% thought it was awful, but it made everyone talk about Benetton. “All the Colours of the world” was one of the first slogans to appear in Benetton ads, and was later altered to “United Colours of Benetton.” For the first time in the history, the slogan “United Colours of Benetton” became a commercial trademark.

The process of building the Benetton brand took place in three separate phases as the cycle of difference, the cycle of reality and the cycle of free speech and the right to express it. Benetton ads used media, design, music, cinema, photography, and publishes on the internet to show the marrying of culture and industry.

Luciano Benetton and his photographer Toscani are maybe now too clever for the European press. The “united” colours of its sweaters soon became a metaphor for the united skin tones of the youth from many different countries and as the markets expanded, Benetton became a global force in just a few years.

Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group

http://www.benettongroup.com/en/whatwesay/fabrica.htm

http://production.investis.com/ben_en/image_gallery/campaigns/?branch_id=1109

http://www.amazon.com/United-Colors-Lorella-Pagnucco-Salvemini/dp/1902686225

http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/history/

http://www.benetton.com/

http://www.print.duncans.tv/2006/united-colors-of-benetton-1989/

http://blog.camera80.ro/united-colors-of-benetton-40-years

http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/benetton-gets-in-on-micro-lending.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/benetton-group-s-p-a-adr?cat=biz-fin

ROGAN: BENETTON

2008-06-09T18:43:00.001-07:00

The Benetton group is primarily an Italian fashion label that produces around 160 million garments a year. The company prides itself on its style and quality and produces clothing under the brands ‘United Colors of Benetton’, ‘Sisley’, ‘Playlife’ and ‘Killer Loop’.

Italian photographer Olivero Toscani made a name for himself designing controversial advertising campaigns for Benetton from 1982 until 2000. Toscani would use controversial photographs of sick and dying people, along with ideas of racism to evoke emotion from the consumer. He also used his photographs for the campaign to comment on other global issues such as war, religion and capital punishment. His photographs were bold and gripping and generally the Benetton company logo would merely be placed on the piece as a caption.

Benetton and Toscani used their platform as a means of communicating ideas to the world and were incredibly effective at it. Toscani co-founded a the magazine ‘Colors’ that is also owned by Benetton to promote multiculturalism and world peace. Toscani will go down as one of the most influencial men in advertising history and to quote him when asked if he believed his advertising was art: “Sometimes advertising is art, But art is always advertising.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.ericjlyman.com/adageglobal.html

http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2000/04/17/toscani_int/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliviero_Toscani

http://www.answers.com/topic/oliviero-toscani?cat=entertainment

http://operachic.typepad.com/opera_chic/2007/12/united-colors-o.html

http://www.olivierotoscanistudio.com/

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1673663,00.html

http://www.benettongroup.com/en/home.htm

http://www.benetton.com/html/index.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton

Rosalind - Toscani

2008-06-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Olivero Toscani and United Colours of Benetton’s campaign used societies concerns whether environmental, ethical or racial in a confronting and sensationalistic manner. With memorable images Toscani managed to appeal to society, particularly the white-collar work force as they could afford the high street fashion.

Benetton was not just an ordinary knitwear company it had developed a pulse it was alive with ideals, ethics and standards, which appealed to the public. When you wore a Benetton item you where then making a statement and identifying with these ethics and ideals.

These ads were at times extremely controversial and could cause public outrage, which would always compel everyone to take notice of what the giant knitwear company was up to now.

It has been said that some of Toscani’s campaigns have a religious zeal and art- historical references. The dying aids victim resembling a classic lamentation, the father a mourning disciple and the two women as Mother Mary and Mary Magdalen.

Life and death, beginning and end, this is not just advertising it is symbolism of topical images, exploring moral problems in everyday existence.

Toscani was very clever, it was never just about fashion and what we wore, it was about the world and being aware of its problems whether good or bad. Although at times he may have gone a little to far - Olivero Toscani “I am not here to sell pullovers, but to promote an image.”

Bibliography

http://photographic-rhetoric.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
http://dir.salon.com/story/people/feature/2002/01/09/colors/
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/susie_orbach/2007/09/size_matters_1.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2002/may/27/mondaymediasection4
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/?s=professed
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/amp-l/2000-October/005408.html

JADE:benetton

2008-06-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Benetton is present in 120 countries around the world with a strong italian character.
The Group has a total yearly production of about 160 million garments and a distribution network of more than 5,500 contemporary stores, mainly managed by independent partners, generating a total turnover of over 2 billion euro.

The advertising philosophy of United Colors of Benetton is based on Luciano Benetton's belief that 'communication should not be commissioned from outside the company, but conceived from within its heart.'

As a fashion label for the young, Benetton has understood that putting resources into the building and promotion of its brand name was a sound strategic investment. The “united” colors of its sweaters soon became a metaphor for the united skin tones of the youth from many different countries for whom the sweaters were designed. The United Colors concept spread from encompassing the different races to the ideas of tolerance, peace and respect for diversity.

Benetton made its most incisive technical move in the early 60s, when it developed a procedure for the dyeing of finished garments rather than unwoven fibers. With this technique the company could react much more quickly to fashion trends, in a market where responsiveness is the key. The manipulation of colors therefore became one of the hallmarks of Benetton’s identity and industrial culture.

The Benetton Group has been involved in a series of cultural, social, artistic and sporting activities. Some of these, such as the Benetton Foundation, which focuses on issues relating to the preservation and promotion of the local culture and landscape heritage, reflect the strong links, which the Group has traditionally maintained with its territorial roots.

Benetton Group has never used RFID technology nor have microchips (smart labels) ever been present in the 140 million-plus garments produced and sold throughout the world under its brand names, including Sisley.

http://www.benetton.com/html/index.shtml
http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/history
http://www.berk-edu.com/RESEARCH/oliveriToscani/index.html

ART or VANDALISM?

2008-06-09T04:08:00.000-07:00

Jamie Graffiti: ART or VANDALISM?

Graffiti began to emerge in the late 196’s to 70’s

, beginning to be thrown up on the walls around New York City. Each artwork displays a message to the greater community, whether it is about influences of the time or a form of artistic expression. Many laws have been introduced to prevent the art form being displayed in our streets. In recent times, in Australia, new tougher laws have been introduced, these being fines up to $26 000 dollars in fines and up to 2 years in prison also up to $550 dollar spot fines for carrying a spray can.

Graffiti has many different styles, those being tags, stenciling, and wall art, each of these styles having their own attributes. Tags are seen as a bold

statement to display ones name as an almost signature fashion, stenciling is very popular when it comes to quickly displaying a fine piece of art to convey a message, while very fine wall art displays the skills of the artist. A prominent artist, who has made a name for himself through his graffiti and fine art, this being Mike Giant. He has become a very prominent artist in all of his art styles, though his graffiti really shows his talents.

The idea of graffiti being either being art or vandalism comes to the individual. Some love it while others try to ban it. It seems that it has been this way since its beginning in the experimental time of the lat 60’s. see it as art or not, there is always those out their to push the boundaries of what art is, whether legal or not.

Bibliography:

http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2003-graffiti/

http://www.mikegiant.com/bio.php

http://www.mikegiant.com/graffiti.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti

http://www.graffiti.org/

Abby - Graffiti

2008-06-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Graffiti – Scratch it and it spreads

Graffiti is the art or it can be words that are painted, stencilled glued or sprayed in public places. It is usually colourful. It is often on outside walls or shopfronts. It can also be put on trucks and trains. It is often done in a hurry as it is against the law and police might come.
Graffiti is often art. The drawings are a type of art. Some graffiti looks messy and takes a lot of effort to clean off public places so a few special areas should be allowed for graffiti artists to promote their work (below shows a laneway in Melbourne which is famous for graffiti as art). They could also have their own billboards.

Gang crime member, Mario Condello, had his face as graffiti in Hosier Lane as social comment.

Graffiti also comments on social situations such as making anti-war statements. Below a billboard showing the then Prime Minister is being defaced as political comment.

Below are the tags of KAB101. Tags show the artist’s name. KAB101’s tags usually have strong colours and are bright signifying that it is an important word. (Some are in black showing a gothic influence). The fonts Kab uses are varied showing the ability to write in different styles. The tags are spray painted.
The bottom tag contains more drawings with the death skeleton dominating the graphic in the foreground perhaps watching the people passing. The bright coloured font contrasts with the dark scary death and bats.

I think graffiti is used for art and artistic purposes. It comments on social issues and is usually found in the streets.

Bibliography:

www.melbournegraffiti.com/

http://www.graffiti.org/kab101/index.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv-reviews/rash/2006/04/21/1145344264233.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-gangster-the-politician-and-the-drug-deal/
2006/02/11/1139542445582.html

http://studenttravel.about.com/od/melbournephotos/ig/Melbourne-Street-Photos/
Melbourne-Street-Art-Graffiti-.htm

ROGAN : GRAFFITI HANDSTYLES

2008-06-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

Graffiti burst onto the streets of New York in the late sixties and early seventies not long before it was taken to the subway system. It began with kids writing their nicknames and the neighbourhoods they were from across the city, everywhere they could ‘get up’. Taki 183 was the first known graffiti writer in NYC, his ‘tags’ or ‘handstyles’ as writers refer to them became widely known throughout the city and have been recognized for introducing graffiti the world.

Graffiti evolved from these tags to throwups with more dimensions and colors and from there graffiti pieces were created on the streets and subway cars. These pieces carried with them characters and imagery and the letters were manipulated to give them a certain flow. However, without handstyles none of the elaborate graffiti you see today would exist.

Handstyles are the building blocks of graffiti, without a good handstyle a writer will never be considered a good writer or ‘burner’ by his or her peers. Tag styles have evolved all over world with certain regions being renowned for their specific styles. The ‘Cholo’ style that originated in California, was introduced by Mexican gangs and is still replicated to this day. Below are many examples of the ‘Cholo’ tag style as demonstrated by world-renowned artist ‘Mike Giant’ whose graffiti and tattooing skills have translated across into hugely popular fine art.

Tags are bold and very effective when done properly, a good handstyle is just as effective and holds as much artistic merit to me as an elaborate piece with 50 colors. Tags are simple you only get one chance to get it right, they are done under pressure and must be placed well and done with a degree of respect.

Like with any art there is the good, the bad and the ugly. A bad handstyle is not easy on the eye and generally is looked poorly upon by the general pubic. The same goes for a poorly placed tag, it is not appropriate to tag certain things and often young or people who have no knowledge of writing graffiti or have just found a spray can defile private property and this does not portray graffiti in a respectable light. That being said the public is still unbelievably ignorant to the art of handstyles to which graffiti art on a whole owes everything.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.12ozprophet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98953&page=69

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAKI_183

http://www.at149st.com/taki.html

http://www.zephyrgraffiti.com/otherwrt/taki183.html

http://www.artcrimes.com

http://4hiphopelements.tripod.com/graffiti.html

http://www.graffiticreator.com

http://www.thecityslums.com/zhandstyles.html

http://handstyles.wordpress.com/

http://yaknowuwantit.freeservers.com/photo3.html

LEE: Graffiti, good or bad? the eternal struggle for artistic street justice.

2008-06-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Graffiti, while officially considered illegal, can be put into two different categories. Some people think of it as an expressive form of art, it art and others think of it as vandalism.

Both of these sides have differing views on graffiti. For example the section of people that believe that graffiti is a form of vandalism often only look at the downside of graffiti, which is mainly the cost of removing the graffiti and use this for a focal point of why graffiti is bad, which when you think about it, is kind of contradictory as if it was not removed, no money would be spent removing it, thus making it ok in the eyes of a lot of nay-sayers who dislike it entirely because of the large chuck of cash it takes out of our pockets to remove it.

With the huge bad rep graffiti gets on TV in the news etc, there are still a lot of people out there who think graffiti is another art form, places like Melbourne and Brisbane are ripe with street art subculture.

There are several types of graffiti, these are Stencils, paste-ups, tagging, throw-ups and pieces. It is mostly tagging and throw-ups that get graffiti such a bad name because it is most associated with gangs and violent behaviour, where as paste-ups and stencils have slowly become accepted more as an expressive art form rather that vandalism but is of course still illegal.

Graffiti artists are accused of wanting “fame and power, or graffiting just to be rebellious.

This is partly true but in reality the artist wants fame for their graffiti name, not themselves, they don’t want the attention to come back to their normal lives. Rather show off their artistic expertise to other street art enthusiasts through their alias under which they sign their works.

The ‘war” between wether graffiti is good or bad will continue for a long time yet before any outcome is reached, if one ever is. But it is more likely that graffiti will continue to be looked down upon by the general public for a long time to come.

Sources:

http://www.graffitihurts.org/learn_more/facts.cfm

www.graffiti.org

Google image search "paste ups" and "stencils"

Mostly from my own brain.

Kurt - Graffiti-

2008-06-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

I Lived in Europe from 2001 to 2007 and in that time have been fortunate to travel to many great and beautiful countries like Ireland,England,Sweden,Denmark,Germany,Austria,Switzerland,Croatia,Greece,Italy,France,Spain,Portugal,Czech republic and several others. One of the most amazing and graphic memories that i have from all of these places would have to be the street art and graffiti.
As i am a big fan of Hip Hop music and culture I was regularly at Concerts and Hip Hop Jams, where not only music and dance was involved but also Graffiti and Art.
In countries like Germany and Austria these jams are so frequent and popular they attract thousands of people of all ages at a time, and the best part of it all was the area set up for the artists. I also found that in most of these countries there were so many legal walls and places for graffiti artists to paint that there really was not that much illegal tagging and spraying going on, of course around the city centers and train stations there where heaps of paste ups and stickers but most of it was really intelligent graphic work that was pleasing to the eye, so it really seamed like society was accepting this culture and all that it stands for a great deal more.
There are a number of graffiti artist in the world for example Loomit from Germany or Fafi from France who do graffiti for a living they get payed for it and are successful artists, this itself says it all.

Links
http://www.loomit.de/
http://www.graffiti.org/index.html
http://www.stare.at/graffiti/
http://www.fafi.net/accueil.html
http://www.bombingscience.com/

ALEC: Graffiti-Vandalism with a hint of propaganda and a dash of social commentary

2008-06-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

"Graffiti; an education for the public by the public.”

Quote – Alec Brown

Graffiti started in the early 70s inside the subways of New York. Writers would tag as many subway cars as possible using their names and street number in a quest to become king of their neighborhood/borough/ghetto. Graffiti was quickly becoming a pseudo competitive sport. Writers soon discovered the lay ups/train yards - a graffiti gold mine - where they could tag as many cars as possible with minimum chance of getting caught. This proved to be a very economical way of getting your name out there and led to more and more tags, which evolved, into 'throw ups' and then 'pieces' and whole cars.

Writers began to see their art form as more than just a name. It was a medium to vent social and personal emotion on a scale large enough for others to notice.

As their skills and ideas developed so to did their techniques. While many of the die-hard writers stuck to painting steel some moved away to mediums like stenciling and paste ups. This introduced to the graffiti world a quicker and more efficient way of getting their message ‘up’.

Many writers who use the mediums of stenciling and paste-ups seem to have a social or propaganda push to them. One such artist is Melbourne’s Psalm. His stencil works are extremely prolific and focus on religious, government and military themes, which are prevalent at the time of completion. To me this form of social commentary and propaganda is so relevant as it is fresh and generates such a wide audience base whether the audience likes it or not. Of course it is vandalism but it is vandalism that exposes the public to the many views of artistically talented and opinionated youth.

SOURCES:

http://www.stencilgraffiticapital.com/look-inside-the-book.htm http://www.stencilrevolution.com/

PAOLO : Graffiti, art or vandalism?

2008-06-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

What graffiti artists mean when they talk about a "Tag," is an individual visual design, signature or sign that identifies ownership of the artwork.

Bombing

There are a lot of characteristic formalities of the youth culture that surrounds tag writing. Some young people call this kind of artistic statement 'bombing.' What this name refers to is the 'fly by night' aspect of the sudden appearance of the graffiti on any attractive blank wall. This graffiti is often thought of as a scourge by businesses, train station management and others who have public spaces that appeal to the invasive artists. The ideal graffiti space has large expanses of (usually light coloured) wall that can be viewed from a distance.

Tags

The names coded into this random artwork come about from nicknames, local slang, or from words that have a cool melodic ring to them. Different areas have adaptations of customary ways for works to evolve. There is no formal convention to the way these words are formed. However, it is usual; that a tag will have a limited number of letters. This allows the words to be large and scrawling in beautiful formations.

Artwork or Vandalism

Some graffiti writing is vandalism and other works are permitted by local councils, or commissioned by local businesses. Some councils will not allow graffiti to be commissioned in case it encourages more. There can be many reasons why young people take the risk of committing a crime such as vandalism.

Some reasons might be

0.the thrill is in the illegal nature of the night jaunts

0.the strange excitement of rebellion

0.the excitement of an attempt not to be caught.

0.a need to belong

0.a genuine desire to create art and no place to put it

0.gang rivalry

Apparently a low self esteem and other psychological factors contribute to the growing presence of graffiti. It might well be the case. It could also be that these reasons are more likely an explanation about why kids are easily lead, and subject to peer pressure, rather than about the graffiti itself.

The label and the fact that the artistic statement can be seen as illegal graffiti or vandalism does not mean that the work has no artistic merit. The act of vandalism itself can be costly and socially aggravating. Public bodies lose money and private citizens rights can be invaded. Websites such as Vandal Watch take their place as a much needed preventative measure.

Legal Graffitti Schemes

Communities that have legal graffiti schemes seem to be better able to manage the phenomenon. They can develop ways to channel the energies of youth into a more career like and educationally sound use of their artistic skills. The upsurgance hip hop and rap as a form of music, has caused graffiti art to be linked respectfully as another valid artform. Many local councils (internationally) now find harnessing this youthful exuberance a productive way to protect the environment as well as provide an outlet for errant creativity.

Bookmarks:

www.abc.net.au

www.education.theage.com.au/ pagedetail.asp?intpageid=1448&strsection=students&intsectionid=0 - 18k

answers.yahoo.com.au/question

www.thesource.gov.au/involve/ nyr/word/reports_youth_services/c_pearson.doc

www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/graffiti.html - 17k

www.cnn.com/US/9603/graffiti_art

orlando.metromix.com/events/article/ graffiti-art-or-vandalism/391343/content - 23k -

Graffiti - Commentary, Propaganda Or Vandalism? Tane

2008-06-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Graffiti Artists: Social Commentators, Propaganda Artists or Vandals?

Tane Richardson

“People label graffiti tags vandalism, but good graffiti is the work of artists and social commentators, and there are actually certain guidelines and morals to the creation of graffiti art.” -RICH

On Social Commentary
The graffiti artist Banksy comes from Bristol and caused heated debate as to whether his graffiti, often featuring amusing satirical messages, was art or vandalism. Thankfully Bristolians and the city council support all forms of art and many of his works have been kept around Bristol with only the odd mistake where it has been removed or painted over by accident. He painted a ghost sailor on the hull of the Thelka Social boat which was painted over allegedly by the Harbour Master much to the disgruntlement of the owner of the Thelka. He threatened to sue as he'd quite liked Banksy's work. Many of his pictures are painted using stencils although no-one really knows how he does it or his identity.

On Propaganda
As advertising and graffiti rely on the amount of coverage or penetration, coupled with the quality of the delivery, it is easy to see how these two entities are so much alike. "As commercial logos lose their shine and cities start to look the same, graffiti street signs and logos become a symbol of individuality, fulfilling man's basic urge to leave a trace on the world" -MANCO.

Obey Giant for example, is one such case. Artist Shepard Fairey came up with the original idea of turning an image of Andre, a Russian wrestler into Andre the Giant and adding the Obey caption, which is intended to play with people's perception of reality. Some people upon looking at an Obey Giant image are unsettled by it and perhaps a little scared. They feel uncomfortable because they expect it to be an advertisement, and so find it hard to make sense of why it's there. Fairey also produced political propaganda for the Big Barack himself.

On Vandalism
The following is a passage from www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/graffiti.html, a christian teen site... i could never bring myself to write this point of view!
The latest Wordpower Dictionary says graffiti is “unauthorized writing or drawing on a surface in a public place.” It includes the horrible scribble you see painted or scrawled on fences, bridges, in subways, on the sides of buildings, houses, and elsewhere (also called tagging). Most of it is garbage that looks like 5-year-olds have done it. But some of it is colorful and might look artistic if it hadn't destroyed someone's property. It is a crime, like stealing, because it steals the property owner's right to have their own property look clean and nice.

Some graffiti vandals say they are improving the look of fences or walls by doing colorful paintings on them. This is disputable, because they don't ask the property owner whether they can do it. It is not up to you or me to change or destroy someone else's property without their permission.

Every point of view is legitimate and understandable. However, I believe graffiti is either all of these (social commentary, propaganda and vandalism) or none. It certainly depends on the writers motives. And to some graffiti writers, they do it as art, nothing more. Of course, opinions may find their way into the piece (social commentary), or need recognition as an artist (propaganda); and it can always be classified vandalism, apart from permission works.
Again, all or none. I lean towards the art side of it.

Sources...
www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/graffiti.html
www.iknow-somerset.co.uk/tourist_information/north_somerset/bristol/banksy_bristol_art.htm
inhabitat.com/2007/01/11/reverse-graffiti
www.ddbseattle.com/blogs/john_livengood/pondering_the_legitimacy_of_gr.php - 20k -
www.obeygiant.com/

Govinda - Graffiti Artists

2008-06-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Graffiti Artists – social commentators, propaganda artists or vandals?

Graffiti art is becoming an increasingly popular medium for self expression in street culture today. The battle between artists and government entities/ land owners is growing as more and more art emerges in and around the city. But are these artists really vandals? Are they destroying the streets or are they simply expressing themselves using a more public and unconventional medium?

While some graffiti, such as tags, are easily judges as vandalism, the more creative and artistic pieces are a more complicated issue. It is still technically vandalism as it is illegally “destroying” another’s property, but some consider it to be urban art. The line is hazy between plain vandalism and art.

Many graffiti artists believe, just like any artist, that their work is a form of self expression. Whether they are speaking strongly about a topic, giving their view on world issues, or creating a visually stimulating artwork, these artists are passionate about their work.

It is impossible to generalize graffiti artist. Although their work is vandalism, and some individuals make their mark simply to vandalize, many artists are just trying to get their voice heard. They want the world to hear their message and they have found a cheap public way to exercise that. This does not however, give them the right to unleash their creativity on another’s property. The battle will continue.

http://www.108artworks.cjb.net/
http://www.graffiti.org/wany/w_wany_bologna07b.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti
http://bombingscience.com/clock.htm
http://www.hudini.net/

JADE:

2008-06-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

GRAFFITI: an escalating inner-city problem, or a practical outlet of expression for marginalized and frustrated urban voices? Graffiti is becoming increasingly visible, and the focus of whether the planned bylaw is reasonable or not is becoming a more and more heated debate.Graffiti is generally defined as inscriptions or pictures painted on walls in public places so as to be seen by the public. It is usually involves the spray-painting of the outsides of privately owned walls, which leads to the main problem that the general public has with graffiti. Many people think that graffiti is vandalism that has no regard or respect for the primacy of private property rights that the owners of property have. In other words, graffiti not only defaces the property but it operates as a counter to the very foundations of capitalism: private property. “How would you feel if somebody spray-painted the walls of your house?” This is a question that graffiti artists are commonly asked. The question confirms that graffiti is not only a threat to the general aesthetics of the city, but also a threat to ownership, and therefore the very economic system of our society.Graffiti often has a reputation as part of a subculture that rebels against authority, although the considerations of the practitioners often diverge and can relate to a wide range of attitudes. It can express a political practice and can form just one tool in an array of resistance techniques. One early example includes the anarchy-punk band Crass, who conducted a campaign of stenciling anti-war, anarchist, feminist and anti-consumerist messages around the London Underground system during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Dominic Allen: renowned Graffiti artist:

http://www.dominicallen.com/DominicAllen.html

POST3: UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON 10%

2008-06-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

Post a 250 word blog with 5 images and relevant links on the following statement

Information researched effectively
References / bibliography listed correctly
Presentation should be neat and graphically creative
Logical flow of ideas leading to a personal conclusion
Handed in on time 17/06/08

Josh - Graffiti - Banksy

2008-06-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

 GRAFFITI ARTISTS
Viewing Rash opened my mind greatly to the graffiti world. It was interesting to see that graffiti is all, social commentary, propaganda, artist and vandalism. Banksy is my chosen graffiti artist. I use artist because i have come to the conclusion that Banksy is an artist.
Graffiti that falls under the line of vandalism is scribble or what is know as tagging, a complex, messy and intruding way of signing a name. Propaganda describes graffiti that is used as a form of promotion or advertising, there trying to seep and take benefits, using an "underground" way of advertising their product or brand. Lastly social commentators take situations of life, simplifying, visualizing, and applying it back into life. Banksy is a well-known "pseudo-anonymous" English graffiti artist. His artworks are often-satirical pieces of art on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique. His art has appeared in cities around the world. Banksy's work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.

Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist 1992-1994 as one of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew. He was inspired by local artists and his work was part of the larger Bristol underground scene. From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces. In late 2001, on a trip to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, he met up with the Gen-X pastellist, visual activist, and recluse James DeWeaver in Byron Bay, where he stenciled a parachuting rat with clothes pin on nose above a toilet at the Arts Factory Lodge. The stencil is still there, seven years later
Banksy held an exhibition called Barely Legal, billed as a "three day vandalised warehouse extravaganza" in Los Angeles. The exhibition featured a live "elephant in a room", painted in a pink and gold
floral wallpaper pattern. Bansky started to seep his pieces for huge amounts of money to the rich and famous including Christina Aguilera who brought an original of Queen Victoria as a lesbian and two
prints for £25,000, set of Kate Moss paintings sold for £50,400. His stencil of a green Mona Lisa with real paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600. All this starting with graffitiing stencils on the
streets. Banksy certainly deserves the title of ARTIST.

bibliography
http://banksyforum.proboards82.com/
http://www.banksy.co.uk/
http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/banksy/banksy.htm
http://www.warholvsbanksy.com/
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=banksy&um=1&ie=UTF-8

Gemma - Doni White Graffiti Artist

2008-05-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

DONDI WHITE

The film ‘Rash’ which was viewed in class is a short yet in depth realization to the works of the underground Graffiti movement and its significant role it plays in the world today. Graffiti of all types, stretching from tags to outstanding masterpieces pushed into the public’s eye, is known to evoke negative opinion as well as in most cases break the law however it still continues, if not increasing in popularity. Dondi White, a respected and influential Graffiti artist is one in which is remembered for his inspiring contribution and dedication to the subculture bounded by rebellion and often misinterpreted talent.

Dondi was born in 1961 on April 7 in Manhattan, New York. He was the youngest of five sons of Italian and African-American parents, and was raised in the mostly white East New York section of Brooklyn. Dondi’s parents were very religios and his Catholic school upbringing would later resurface in his artwork. Religious imagery and terms, such as “Anno Domini,” were prevalent in his work and his nickname as Dondi.

As a creative child, graffiti writer Dondi White came up in the 1970s, plastering his name and many nick names on many local subway trains. His work and personality stood out in the culture, as it was strong, bold, colourful and most importantly it was storytelling. As the Transit Authority eliminated graffiti writing from its trains, White became one of many graffitists who began to work aboveground. Graffiti-based art was at the heart of New York’s art scene in the 1980s and White began to put his work on canvas and exhibited it in art galleries.
Dondi died on October 2nd, 1998.
“I never had to compromise myself, It was always me, doing what was comfortable, and relaying the message that I didn’t have to be taught to be creative and do good things.”

Bibliography

Andrew Witten and Michael White, Dondi White Style Master General: The Life of Graffiti Artist Dondi White, Regan Books (2001)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dondi_(artist)
http://www.graffiti.org/dondi/zeph.html
www.at149st.com/dondi.html
www.graffiti.org/dondi/
www.zephyrgraffiti.com/zephyrwrt/dondi.html

JADE - cradle to cradle:cradle to grave

2008-05-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

It is time for our society to change the way we live, work, travel, design, build and consume. To think that we are doing our part simply by driving a hybrid car and recycling our paper, bottles, and cans is a risky illusion. For years, environmentalists have been telling us to do more with less in order to change our dangerous situation. We are going to have change the way we design products, industries and cities. The recycling methods we use today are inefficient and only serve to enable the “cradle-to-grave” manufacturing model that we’ve been using for hundreds of years.

In “Cradle to Cradle” production all material inputs and outputs are seen as technical or biological nutrients. Technical nutrients can be recycled or reused with no loss of quality and biological nutrients composted or consumed. At the end of a product's useful life, the materials become "food" for other systems. Cradle to grave, on the other hand, refers to a company taking responsibility for the disposal of goods it has produced, but not inevitably putting products’ components back into service.Their main point is that we can be "wasteful" if the products we produce all go back into nature or are entirely reborn as new products. Using a cherry tree as an example, they note how "wasteful" it is. Each year it dumps a great pile of fruit and leaves on the ground to rot. But all of this waste goes back into nature to be reborn as new trees, bacteria, birds and other parts of the natural ecosystem. According to the authors, we should try to imitate this natural system instead of trying to do more with less.

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm

http://www.c2ccertified.com/

http://www.centerforsustainability.org/resources.php?root=&category=226

http://www.sustainability.ca/index.cfm?body=chunkout.cfm&k1=92

http://ecofabulous.blogs.com/ecofabulous/2007/09/waste-equals-fo.html

http://www.benettontalk.com/venlonian-cradle-to-cradle-mania-to-turn-waste-into-food/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/09/book_cradle_to.php

http://www.epea.com/english/cradle/principle.htm

http://astore.amazon.com/thoughtsonthi-20/detail/0865475873/

http://www.grist.org/advice/books/2002/07/25/design/

Leilani; C2C vs C2G

2008-05-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Cradle to cradle, differs from Cradle the grave in that Cradle to Grave design must end somewhere, will at some point become unusable waste. Cradle to Cradle however is strategic designing that follows natures intelligent plan of waste becoming food – thus it can be recycled, or upcycled, and created into something new instead needing to use more raw materials. Cradle to Cradle Design can create materials, products, and manufacturing systems that are not simply sustainable, but yield sustaining growth in economic prosperity, ecological intelligence, and social value.

It was theorized that everything in nature is cradle-to-cradle; almost everything by man, is not. Nature is sustainable. Sustainability is "a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely." Put another way: If a part of a thing (product, system) doesn't last forever, it's not sustainable. Cradle-to-cradle is a sub-category of sustainability. Recycling is one tool of many than can be used in cradle-to-cradle. An example of cradle to cradle would be a new type of ice-cream packaging, when taken out of the freezer the packaging turns to liquid, this liquid also has seeds in it, so when you throw it away it gives life.

Thus, waste equals food.

http://www.eciad.ca/studies/sustainable
http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm
http://www.mbdc.com/cradle-to-cradle/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/cradle-to-cradle/
http://www.mcdonough.com/writings_c2c_case_studies.htm

LEE: Cradle to Cradle Vs. Cradle to Grave.

2008-05-26T03:31:00.000-07:00

The theory on cradle to cradle is a new way to think about caring for our environment. It challenges things such as “recycling, driving hybrid cars, etc.” which are known as cradle to grave methods. While cradle to grave methods are better than just leaving your trash in the streets, it is a dangerous illusion to think that this alone will save the world from utter “trashdom”.

Two of the main players of cradle to cradle theology are Architect: William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart. Together they have released a book that focuses on cradle to cradle and ways in which it can help both the world and those who live in it.

The difference between cradle to cradle(CTC)and cradle to grave(CTG) is while the traditional CTG methods (recycling etc.) an item may be used through a few “lives” eg. A plastic bottle may be recycled to make another. But eventually the quality oft hat plastic will have degraded so much that it will become un-useable and used for land fill. CTC objects however are infinitely sustainable and the materials can be used over and over for a variety of things.

A good example for cradle to cradle vs. cradle to grave lies in running shoes. Most shoes these days consist of highly manufactured and non-environmentally friendly materials such as rubbers, adhesives, paints etc.

But recently Nike has begun to create a series of eco-friendly shoes that adhere to the cradle to cradle methods. Using un-treated leathers, stitching rather than the traditional toxic adhesive and bio-degradable, interchangeable soles, thus making a shoe that is environmentally friendly and fashionable.

In the future cradle to cradle methods will hopefully be in more mainstream use, and can extend even to construction and manufacturing plants themselves.

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/cradle-to-cradle/

http://www.mcdonough.com/

Waste = food video.

My brain.

Google image search for Cradle to cradle.

Rosalind - GRAFFITI ARTISTS- social commentators, propagandaartists or vandals?

2008-05-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

I actually think graffiti artists are all of the above, it is impossible to label them as just one, due to their range of intelligence, skill and attitude, like all forms of art, graffiti is about communicating with others.
Graffiti artists choose to communicate in public places at the risk of offending and having their work removed. Obviously this is illegal and therefore branded as an act of vandalism, but if the work is skilful and easy on the eye is it such a crime? There are some ugly walls out there that definitely need a little bit of beauty. Unfortunately not all graffiti is visually pleasing, there are some out there who are disrespectful and artistically challenged.
Tagging; when a child scribbles on your freshly painted wall you certainly don’t feel impressed by it, this is probably how most owners feel when their property has been marked. But without tagging would graffiti have ever eventuated, it is most likely the first step on the road of becoming a graffiti artist.
Tagging was the birth of Graffiti as we know it - REKA
Many graffiti artist are social commentators or propaganda artists, usually putting their own spin on world current events, this is great because I think it contributes to our colourful history and it also shows the population that there is a generation out there that have valid views, ideas and concerns about our world. It allows a freedom of expression.
"Graffiti is revolutionary, in my opinion, and any revolution might be considered a crime. People who are oppressed or suppressed need an outlet, so they write on walls—it’s free." Terrance Lindall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti
http://www.everfreshstudio.com/blog/
http://alanbernard.com/mayhem/interviews/interview-reka-one/
http://www.thisisvandalism.com/
http://alanbernard.com/mayhem/

Abby - Cradle-to-Grave vs Cradle-to-Cradle

2008-05-23T23:29:00.000-07:00

The cradle-to-grave model is where you recycle creating some waste. This waste may be toxic.
The cradle-to-cradle model is based on nature itself where nothing is wasted. Waste is seen as food or nourishment for something else to begin or be created just as in biology everything goes back to nature safely. All products should be nutrient safe for the environment.

Cradle-to-Grave model
- Old idea/way
- Throwing things away
- Waste
- Recycling but the new recycled product is of a lesser
  quality than the original (down-cycled)
- Use of toxic chemicals
- Synthetic materials which cannot be reused or broken
  down
- Not sustainable
- Recycled creating waste

Cradle-to-Cradle model
- New idea/way
- Nothing thrown away
- No waste
- Recycling and the new product is of same quality or
  better (up-cycled)
- Extract toxic chemicals
- Synthetic materials must be reusable and be up cycled
  not down cycled
- Sustainable
- Closed-loop industrial cycle

"Nike Considered” is a new type of shoe that is designed by Nike with all components that are re-usable. Before this old shoes would have been thrown out or recycled through second hand shops. Now the Nike Cradle-to-cradle program called Reuse-A-Shoe collects worn-out athletic shoes of any brand and reuse every part of the shoe to make new shoes of good quality.

Nike also uses left over scrap material and grinds it all up to make a product called Nike Grind which can then be used for the highest-quality sports surfaces.
They are an example of the cradle-to-cradle model. Ford wants a 3000lb car made out of 3000lb of materials, (rather than 50,000lbs that most cars currently now use). They see this as a philosophy that will affect all business.

We need to move to the cradle-to-cradle model as designers to help reduce waste and damage to the planet.

Bibliography:

http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/
http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2006/06/dont-throw-away-your-old-shoes-recycle-them/
http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/community_programs/reuse_a_shoe.html
http://www.bravenewleaf.com/environment/recycling/index.html
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2007/01/24/
http://www.idsa.org/idea/idea2005/g410.htm

GRAFFITI - (7)

2008-05-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

The word for a single scribble is graffito. Graffiti means more than one scribble.
Although, graffiti is either desecrating or beautifying the surfaces of our city, people still sit on the fence as to what to call it or how to rule on it. It is technically unauthorized writing or drawing on a surface in a public place. Some people call it graffiti, others call it vandalism but I call it urban art. Good graffiti is the work of artists and social commentators, who stick to certain artistic guidelines and morals in the creation of their art.

Graffiti dates back a long way. It could be argued that the first signs of graffiti were on the great pyramid at Giza in Egypt, or on an Egyptian sphinx and the first signs of graffiti in Australia were by the Aboriginals.

Another view of thought is that graffiti could be classified as advertising or propaganda paintings. Graffiti often borrows from the aesthetics of signage and the jargon of advertising campaigns. If it is advertising, no one gives them a permit. We all have views that we may wish to express in public but does that give artists the right to deface public property. Probably not, according to the law, but some graffiti is exceptionally thought out and planned artwork. It is the taggers that make a mess by vanadalising another graffiti artists work.

A famous graffiti artist is Deuce 7 or referred to as (27). His work is being hailed as a new style of graffiti and has received large amounts for his graffiti paintings. Rather then "vandalizing" the public arena, he paints in buildings destined for demolition or just simply screws his paintings into street sign posts.

BEFORE=>AFTER=>GRAFFITI REMOVED

After all, most graffiti is garbage and looks like 5-year-olds have done it. But some of it is very colorful and might look artistic if it hadn't destroyed someone's property. A few property owners now even pay to have colorful murals and other large-scale paintings on their walls and fences.

Gemma - Cradle to Cradle

2008-05-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

Cradle to Cradle

The idea of ‘Cradle to Cradle’ is a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader defini

tion of quality.
Cradle to Cradle relies on using environmentally safe and healthy materials. This means designing products with the idea that they will be able

to be re-used, such as recycling or composting. The team behind the movement aim to implement strategies for social responsibility.

The nature inspired William McDonough's created the cradle to cradle book, written with his colleague Michael Braungart. The book calls for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design. It also argues that the conflict between industry and the environment is not an indictment of commerce but an outgrowth of

purely opportunistic design.

Cradle to Cradle offers practical steps on how to innovate within today's economic environment. The three part social history, green business and design manual, the book makes simple that the re-invention of human industry is not only within our grasp, it is our best hope for a future of sustaining prosperity. It is printed on a synthetic 'paper,' made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers, designed to look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged. This recyclable book directs the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other existing products, can be used, recycled, and then be used again without losing any material quality in a sustainable fashion.

Bibliography

http://veganmuse.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/thoughts-on-wilderness/
http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/cradle-to-cradle/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_Cradle:_Remaking_the_Way_We_Make_Things

Cradles, Graves And Models, Gravy Cravings, Croddles and Mavis. Tane

2008-05-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

Cradle to Cradle to Cradle to Grave

Tane Richardson

“I believe we can accomplish great and profitable things within a new conceptual framework – one that values our legacy, honors diversity, and feeds ecosystems and societies ... It is time for designs that are creative, abundant, prosperous, and intelligent from the start.” – William A. Mcdonough, pioneer of the Cradle-to-Cradle design.

Entrepreneurs in Venlo, a town in the Netherlands, saw the benefits of the new Cradle-to-Cradle concept and decided to apply it to their town. Together with McDonough and Michael Braungart, they managed to convince the industries, policy-makers and creative people of Venlo to adapt to the concept by making sure that ‘food=waste’.

This new concept is McDonough and Braungart’s answer to the Cradle-to-Grave design which is already in place among global industries. They believe its recycling capabilities run materials downhill until they become useless or harmful to ecosystems. For example, trees produce paper, which is recycled into low energy production cellulose insulation, then used as an energy-saving device in the ceiling of a home for 40 years, saving 2,000 times the fossil-fuel energy used in its production. After 40 years the cellulose fibers are replaced and the old fibers are incinerated.

However, they found it was easier said than done, and as the local design collective Qreamteam put it, ‘It was easier said than done.’ They claim not even McDonough and Braungart have the real solution or many viable practical examples. One example of Cradle-to-Cradle carpet (Shaw) or a car factory with a green roof (Ford Rouge) is not enough for these eager people to prove that Cradle-to-Cradle can really work. The Venlonians agree that it is a bit of a utopia and very difficult to put into practice by the industry.

But the town of Venlo is not giving up on their Cradle-to-Cradle aspirations.
The Floriade in 2012, the World Horticulture Fair, is held there every 10 years. The Floriade designers have decided to adapt Cradle-to-Cradle as their main theme, building a 66-hectare sustainable fairground, which afterwards will be used to build Greenpark Venlo, a planned green business area. And then there is Steven Spielberg who wants to include Venlo in his documentary about Cradle-to-Cradle. Where will it go from here?

Links...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/venlo-cradle-to-cradle.php
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_cycle_assessment
http://www.greenblue.org/cradle_legacy.html
http://www.ministryofdesign.eu/?p=13
http://www.mbdc.com/c2c_home.htm

Environmental Design.Kurt

2008-05-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Cradle to Grave simply refers to the total lifespan of a product where the end grave of the product is often a dirty, wasteful, ecologically detrimental part of the process that is also socially damaging and economically ineffective.
In saying this there are many products through out the world that are taking for arguments sake 10,000kg of materials to produce only 2000kg for the product and then once this product is no longer usable or defect, it is just waste.

Sometimes materials such as iron or some plastics and rubber are recyclable but this is also a debatable topic as most materials are not entirely recycled back to their original compound more so they are rather down cycled to a lower quality and reused, so once again these materials will eventually be unusable.

It is quite a scary thought that the world one day could be depleted of all of it’s resources leaving just a baron waste land full of unusable rubbish.

Cradle to Cradle the term and ideology behind German chemist Michael Braungart and American designer William McDonough is the logical philosophy of redesigning products and systems that completely recycle themselves.

When we look at nature a fruit tree is a perfect example of what cradle to cradle is all about, the fruit on the tree that carries the seed drops on the ground and is waste but the fruit itself is food for the seed thus WASTE=FOOD.

Braungart and McDonough have redesigned and invented many systems through out the world where this philosophy and idea is being utilized, I think it’s great to see and know that there is hope for the earth and future generations to come.

Biblography
http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm
http://www.ministryofdesign.eu/?p=13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_cradle_design
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Braungart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McDonough
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling

Jamie: Cradle To Cradle V's Cradle to Grave

2008-05-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Jamie: Cradle To Cradle V's Cradle to Grave

Cradle to cradle strategies began with its inventors, the german chemist, Michael Braungart, and william Mcdonough. There newly found method of becoming ecologically minded has paved the way for the new meaning of being ecologically friendly. There original design methods are based around the idea that "Waste equals food". This has caused them to help the industrial world create products that are completely bio degradable, that will mean the maintaining coexistence of the earth and its humans.

Examples of Braungart and Mcdonough's design at work can even been seen in the book they have published. The book 'Cradle to Cradle' is made from a synthetic paper, from plastic resins, which looks the quality of paper, though the catch is that the book is able to be recycled for other products such as plastic containers.

MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry) is an organization that helps businesses redesign there products so that they are completely to cradle to cradle standards. This means that the product is completely biodegradable and can return to the earth's soil or be completely recyclable. One major beneficial factor is that by businesses using this method of design, they are able save potentially a lot of money. Another example of the MBDC's product engineering is in an ice cream container that maintains its structure while in the cold, though when finished with it breaks down within a couple of hours to a nutrient for the soil, also a they have helped design a nearly fully degradable office chair.
These two men have helped pave the way for a new way of thinking thanks to their push for a better future.

Biography:
http://fisserman.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/marketing-cradle-to-cradle/
http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=w_mcdonough
http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm
http://www.mcdonough.com/product.htm
http://www.springwise.com/2007/05/

POST 2A:GRAFFITI -SCRATCH IT AND IT SPREADS-10%

2008-05-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Please view the film 'Rash' .Post a 250 word blog with 5 images and relevant links on
the following statement.
GRAFFITI ARTISTS- social commentators, propaganda
artists or vandals?
SOME ARTISTS: BANKSY, CHALI 2na (USA), Dominic Allen,
HAHA, James Dodd, KAB 101, KANO, KASINO, LISTER,
MEEK, TOWER (Berlin) CIVIL, DEST, FERS, FLIQ (BURN
Crew), MILES, Miles Allinson, PRISM, PSALM, REKA, SYNC,
SIXTEN (Sweden), SNOG, Tai Snaith, VEXTA........
Information researched effectively
References / bibliography listed correctly
Presentation should be neat and graphically creative
Logical flow of ideas leading to a personal conclusion
Handed in on time 03/06/08

Josh- Cradle to Cradle v's Cradle to grave

2008-05-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

cradle to grave vs cradle to cradle

Albert Einstein said "the world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation." This is very true, it is only recent that ideas are being evolved and put into practice. In Herman Millers journey to sustainability, by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry is just one of many companies that are using these innovative intelligent designs to practice in the pursuit of this wide spectrum of value.
cradle to cradle is the philosophy where a product or production can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality. The cradle to grave philosophy is where in the production of a product or the product it's self takes, makes and wastes. "Indeed, we're convinced that thoughtful design mirroring the safe, regenerative productivity of nature-what we call Cradle to Cradle Design™-can create materials, products, and manufacturing systems that are not simply sustainable, but yield sustaining growth in economic prosperity, ecological intelligence, and social value".

The example of this is the Herman Miller "GreenHouse" Factory & Offices.
The use of the indoor outdoor theory, where u incorporate the interior with the exterior landscapes, in a visual and physical way. the factory facility and its site serves to optimize its occupants’ comfort, health and communication. Maximum use of daylighting and fresh air in both office and manufacturing spaces provides environmentally sound and cost-effective operations. All spaces feed into “the Street,” an open corridor that runs the length of the building. William McDonough and partners have designed and created a huge list of building using the same principals, including, Ford Motoring Company, Ford Amazon, Ford Rouge Center Landscape Master Plan, Ford Rouge Dearborn Truck Plant, Ford Rouge Factory Tour Visitors Center, Ford Rouge Glass Plant Renovation. As-well as Nike, Multi-Vasgoed, Zoo's, Universities, Museums and numerous living estates.

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm
http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/anatomy_transformation.htm
http://www.mcdonough.com/writings_architecture.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_Cradle:_Remaking_the_Way_We_Make_Things

PAOLO

2008-05-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

Cradle-to-grave
Cradle-to-grave is the full Life Cycle Assessment from manufacture ('cradle') to use phase and disposal phase ('grave'
Example applyed to paper

Trees produce paper, which is recycled into low-energy production cellulose (fiberised paper) insulation, then used as an energy-saving device in the ceiling of a home for 40 years, saving 2,000 times the fossil-fuel energy used in its production. After 40 years the cellulose fibers are replaced and the old fibres are disposed of, possibly incinerated. All inputs and outputs are considered for all the phases of the life cycle.

Example applyed to plastic

Other materials as plastic can be ricycled to produce a new product that may or may not be recycled. the plastic normally end up in big incinerators that do not eliminate waste, but change the form of waste into hazardous air emissions and toxic ash.

CRADLE TO CRADLE

IN ADDITION TO THE FLOW OF MATERIALS IN CRADLE-TO-CRADLE LIFE CYCLES, HEALTHY BIOLOGICAL AND TECHNICAL METABOLISMS REQUIRE THE USE OF HEALTHY CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL INPUTS. CRADLE TO CRADLE DESIGN INCLUDES THE EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF ALL CHEMICAL AND MATERIAL INPUTS THROUGHOUT PRODUCT LIFE CYCLES. EVALUATION AND OPTIMIZATION ENSURES MAXIMUM MATERIAL HEALTH AND SAFETY TO HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS MAXIMUM MATERIAL QUALITY OVER MANY LIFE CYCLES, AND EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY INPUTS.

BIOPLASTIC

Plastic made from pig urine

Denmark-based AGROPLAST wants to transform pig urine into plastic dinnerware and household items. The company has essentially devised a way to better commercialize urea, a compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, found in urine.
Other animal waste products like manure can be inserted into the system, but pig urine is particularly interesting because it is an environmental hazard, says Peter Tottrup, a partner at Seed Capital, a Danish venture firm that also helps the government incubate start-ups. We ran into Tøttrup at the coffee urn at the NordicGreen conference in Menlo Park, Calif., this week.
"There are 20 million pigs in Denmark, and what they do environmentally is a problem," he said.
Transforming farm waste into plastic precursors is potentially attractive over other bioplastic ideas because the feedstock effectively has no value. In fact, it has negative value because animal waste must be disposed, which costs money. Some other bioplastic companies make their resins out of corn starch.Tøttrup claims that the process could, conceivably, result in plastics that cost a third less than conventional plastics made from fossil fuels. That's a big conceivably. Traditionally, bioplastic made of vegetable matter have cost more than fossil fuel plastics. Evaluation of the pricing will have to wait until large volumes of this stuff are made. Agroplast is going into a pilot study now, Tøttrup said.
Agroplast says its farm-friendly chemicals have other uses too. They can be used as fertilizers, as an ingredient in lotions, and "as a flavor enhancer in cigarettes," according to the company's Web site.

Bookmarks:

www.bio-tec.biz

www.agroplastics.

www.amazon.com

Govinda

2008-05-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Recycling: to treat or process to make suitable for reuse.

Recycling has come a long way in recent times, but should we really be proud of what we have achieved? How effective is this system that we are following? Are we truly recycling?

An important aspect to look at is the down cycling instead of re-cycling or even up cycling. Most products that are recycled are then used to make lesser quality products. For example, recycled shoe soles are used as the surface at playgrounds instead of woodchips. But the recycled product is now of a lesser quality and will still end up in a landfill. The concept of up cycling deals with using materials over and over again without any loss in the quality. Instead of shoe soles being used as playground surfaces, they can be recycled and again used as shoe soles over and over without losing quality.

The ‘cradle to grave’ philosophy is a common occurrence in today’s society of consumerism. The current recycling procedures, although prolonging the life of the raw materials, still go by this philosophy. The idea of a ‘cradle to cradle’ system allows for the raw materials to continue to be used again and again. An old shoe sole and be turned into and new shoe sole which can later be recycled and turned into another shoe sole which may eventually be made into a basket ball and so on.

This system of true recycling must be the way of the future if we are serious about looking after the earth planet for the generations to come.

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm
http://www.bizofbasketball.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=341&Itemid=1
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recycling
http://nikeresponsibility.com/#nikesapproach/main

Rosalind - Cardle to Grave vs Cradle to Cradle

2008-05-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Recycling is the reclaiming of old materials and turning them into new products, with the aim of preventing the waste of potentially useful resources, reducing the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy usage, reducing air and water pollution by decreasing the need for the dumping of waste.

The cradle to grave model is the consumption of fresh raw materials, using and depleting the environments resources to produce a new product, this product may or may not be recycled but it will eventually become landfill at the end of its lifespan, as general recycling usually loses quality down the line and eventually becomes waste thus polluting our environment. Cradle to the grave also continues to use raw resources as it has not been able to eliminate the need for them.

Cradle to cradle is highly innovative as it leaps to a level way beyond simple recycling, if the methodology of it is used we will produce no waste, resources will be plentiful because they come full circle and continue on going round and round becoming renewable and biodegradable, waste will no longer be, and therefore the earth and all its communities will prosper. Eco-effectiveness seeks to design industrial systems that emulate the healthy abundance of nature. The central design principle of eco-effectiveness is waste equals food.

The cradle to cradle model is producing and down cycling products so that that they become biodegradable without harmful chemicals. Down cycled can be recycled to the same level of quality, therefore the resources are not harming the earth and its inhabitants as it does not lose its quality and can be continually recycled thus eliminating waste.

Richard Wool at the University of Delaware created chicken feather and soy compound circuit boards. Not only do they replace the ‘cradle to grave’, non-recyclable, energy-intensive fiberglass and epoxy materials, they are "a lighter, stronger, cheaper product with high-speed electronic properties." This is especially relevant because the circuit board often has the highest environmental impact of any part in a computer or other consumer electronics device-more than the plastic case, and sometimes more than the electronic components on the board. The chicken feather and soy compound could also be used as a structural material for other applications.

Bibliography

http://www.sustainablepackaging.org/pdf/PW_c2c.pdf
http://www.greenerdesign.com/browse/cradle-to-cradle#
http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2006/mar/wool032906.html
http://www.mbdc.com/c2c_home.htm
http://www.greenblue.org/cradle_vision.html

cradle-to-cradle vs. cradle-to-grave: ROGAN

2008-05-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

The title of the book/film suggests that ‘waste equals food’, ergo everything that we use and dispose of should be used or rather reused to down the line either upcycling to produce a product of greater value or downcycling to create a product of a lesser grade. For example plastics are generally recycled into a lower grade of plastic.

The ‘cradle-to-cradle’ concept of upcycling is firmly opposing the wasteful concepts of manufacturing created during the industrial revolution, which are still widely practiced to this day. The building and packaging materials that companies use need to be re-evaluated and made to be a sustainable resource for the future.

The concept of ‘cradle to grave’ is a by-product of the culture of consumption in which we live. Metal or plastic products which we use day to day may be recycled in some way but at the end of there life cycle they eventually go to waste or to their ‘grave’. Ford motor company is currently working on ‘green’ car that is made from materials that are completely sustainable. Many steps are now being taken from architecture to green shopping bags to help promote the durability of the planet.

Bibliography

http://etsytrashion.blogspot.com/2007/09/upcycling-for-greener-living.html

http://ecofabulous.blogs.com/ecofabulous/2007/09/waste-equals-fo.html

http://www.cortexity.com:8080/nicksblog/images/cradle2cradle.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_cycle_assessment

http://lcinitiative.unep.fr/

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm

http://www.mbdc.com/c2c/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_Cradle:_Remaking_the_Way_We_Make_Things

http://www.greenblue.org/cradle_vision.html

http://www.sustainabilitydictionary.com/c/cradletocradle.php

ALEC

2008-05-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

‘Remaking the way we make things’ Braungart, McDonough

Imagine a world in which the industrial mimicked nature. This is the simple philosophy behind cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment coined by German chemist Michael Braungart and architect William McDonough.

The cradle-to-cradle lifecycle has many positive differences when compared to the cradle-to-grave lifecycle. The first major differentiation is how each views the last step in a products lifecycle. The cradle-to-grave system focuses on creating waste that is ‘less’ harmful for the environment, which in actuality is still harmful. It is a lifecycle system in which all materials, inputs and outputs are considered for all phases of a lifecycle. In comparison the last step in the cradle-to-cradle system is a recycling process and from this a new material is born and the system starts again – just as in nature.

“Takes makes and wastes” Braungart, McDonough

The cradle-to-cradle system prides itself on making waste because just like in nature this waste can be absorbed back into the environment ready to be utilised again and again. All materials, inputs and outputs are seen as technical or biological nutrients. Technical nutrients can be recycled or reused with no loss of quality and biological nutrients composed or consumed.

A company that is finding the cradle-to-cradle system invaluable is Ford Motor Company. As storm water would wash over the vast production plant, chimneys, gas towers and car parks it picked up toxins and cinders, which washed into and polluted the nearby Rouge River. The solution was developing ‘green spaces’, a ‘green roof’ and porous pavements, which could naturally absorb water and promote bird and animal activity.

As well as this system mimicking nature it also came at a cost far less than for had expected which makes the cradle-to-cradle system invaluable for a sustainable relationship between the industrial and nature, well into the future.

LINKS:

http://www.reproduct.net/Zero_waste.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_Cradle:_Remaking_the_Way_We_Make_Things

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_cycle_assessment

http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/restoring_industrial.htm

http://www.mcdonoughpartners.com/projects/ford-dtp/default.asp?projID=ford-dtp

Cradle-to-Grave v's Cradle-to-Cradle - (7)

2008-05-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

Despite all the good that has come out of the industrial revolution, it has also produced unintended negative consequences which are becoming more apparent over time. A book by German chemist Michael Braungart and architect William McDonough has shown the dramatic effects and the changes needed to change the Cradle-to-Grave method to a more environmentally friendly Cradle-to-Cradle model.

Cradle-to-Grave is also known as the life cycle analysis, which is the evaluation of the environmental impacts of a given product to when it becomes waste. At its heart, the industrial revolution is built on a linear, take-make-waste model of material flows. All this waste pollutes the air, water, and soil and valuable or recyclable materials are lost to incineration or landfill.

Cradle-to-Cradle is the assessment, where the waste step for the products is used in an eco-friendly recycling process to create goods and services of ecological, social and economic value. This model designs ways to demonstrate practical ways to change the design of the world.

A company in Oregon is setting a benchmark for organisations to evolve change from Cradle-to-Grave to Cradle-to-Cradle methods and practices by carefully dismantling buildings and homes. Furniture like cabinets, and other household necessities such as windows, doors etc, are all resold. Any aluminium can be sold for scrap as nails and glued backing make it impractical to remove intact. Designed homes that avoid glues and rely mainly on screws make the disassembly process more practical. The Japanese tend to build their homes from minimal timber which slot into each piece. If the concrete house foundations cannot be reused they can be crushed to make substrate for roads.

We all need to make changes in our own lives to help make the Cradle-to-Cradle model work to help the longevity of this planet. This was evident in analysing buildings. As a designer we need to avoid such mistakes as solving a five-minute problem but instead, trying to design with a fifty year solution.

Bibliography:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_cycle_assessment

http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm

http://www.mbdc.com/c2c_home.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_to_Cradle:_Remaking_the_Way_We_Make_Things

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21227970/

http://www.greenblue.org/cradle_legacy.html

http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/0817/building_1-2.html

http://www.jnatech.net/client_infrs_soltn.html

http://predesign.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/cctv-sustainable-building/

http://www.ministryofdesign.eu/?p=13

POST1: - Whats the difference? 10%

2008-05-05T03:09:00.000-07:00

If you did not view this dvd in class you will need to go to the library to watch "Waste equals food" 60 min long ask the librarian.

Explain with the use of examples the difference in philosophy and practices between the cradle to grave model and the cradle to cradle model.
250 words, 5 images and relevant links
Information researched effectively
References / bibliography listed correctly
Presentation should be neat and graphically creative
Logical flow of ideas leading to a personal conclusion
Handed in on time 21.05.08