While all the details of a design matters, you only get one chance to make a first impression. This session will talk about how we can think about the “facial features” of products that grab people’s attention and serve to make things more “intuitive.” But the field of design is also becoming more specialized, and interaction designers need to work closely with a wider variety of creative types. Using a framework of facial features helps those outside the interaction design discipline contribute to a discussion about how their product should be perceived.

Furniture and cabinet creator Thomas Wold joins LUNAR’s Gretchen Anderson in a conversation about discovering personal expression and the creative process.

Thomas may be best known for his “Fractured Fairy Tales” project.

He was recently featured in Design*Sponge; you can see a full portfolio of Thomas’ work here.

During the conversation, Thomas refers to “Memphis” design.

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The exhibit will be on display at the Allegra Laviola Gallery in New York, February 1-6, 2010.

Read about the event here.

LUNAR’s John Edson and Margie O’Driscoll of the American Institute of Architects discuss the changing roles of industrial designers and architects as pros pursue the “big questions” that are shaping new directions for their disciplines.

Margie is Executive Director of the San Francisco chapter of AIA.

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LUNAR’s Travis Lee and John Edson talk through recent developments in sustainable design and materials, and chat about Travis’ experiences during his assignment in Hong Kong.

Recycle your old consumer electronics and help build the market for sustainable materials:

• Best Buy will recycle your old electronics gear
• ReCellular is a great place to recycle on old mobile phone.

Learn about LUNAR’s free Designer’s Field Guide to Sustainability here.

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In this Icon-o-Cast video, LUNAR’s Robert Howard discusses design education and “design thinking” with Kim Howard-Saxe, director of the Innovation Lab at the Nueva School. Recorded at the Maker Faire 2009.

Learn more about the Nueva School Innovation Lab here.

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This year, LUNAR will be presenting in two cities on opposite sides of the world. LUNAR California Interaction Designer, Ron Goldin, will be discussing how designers can utilize emotional design for positive change in Redmond, WA at Mircrosoft. LUNAR Europe co-founder, Roman Gebhard, will be speaking at the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, Theresienhoehe in Munich. He will be introducing the Designers Field Guide to Sustainabilty along with real world examples to show people in the product development community how they can apply this thinking to their work.

We will be posting their talks after the event, so check back soon!

Patagonia’s roots were in climbing hardware (Chouinard Equipment Company in the early days.) Founded by Yvon Chouinard, a renowned climber, the company’s first move towards sustainability came in the early 1970s when it became a leader in a movement called “clean climbing.” Pitons being hammered into and removed from rock were scarring pristine faces. Although pitons made up 70% of the company’s sales, Chouinard discontinued producing them and initiated a revolution in climbing. He launched a line of aluminum hexentrics and stoppers that could be wedged into cracks in the rock and removed without damaging it. Although he took a risk by dropping pitons, Chouinard was able to change the way climbing was done without impacting his business’s revenues.

After leaving climbing hardware for outdoor clothing, Patagonia’s mission became to give “maximum attention to product quality” while “striving to do no harm” to the environment. Although Patagonia’s actions are among the most environmentally conscious of any company’s, they chose to qualify their “do harm” statement with the “striving” qualifier. This is a more realistic approach as mankind’s existence will impact the environment. The key is to ultimately minimize it to the point where it is sustainable.

Patagonia makes all their decisions within the context of the environmental crisis. Without a value like this, it’s easy for a company to forget about environmental consequences of business decisions. Although they seek immediate and dramatic changes whenever possible, they realize they must sometimes pursue an approach of incrementalism.

In 1991, Patagonia conducted a life cycle analysis of the key fabrics used in their industry. Although one would presume polyester and nylon would be the worst environmentally due to being petroleum based, cotton and wool didn’t fare much better and in some cases were worse.

They found that although cotton fields comprise only 3% of the world’s farmlands, they use 10% of the world’s insecticides production. As a result of this finding, Patagonia decided to switch to organic cotton. To expedite the change, they decided to sell “clothing made with organically grown cotton” rather than “organic clothing” as they had not yet found organic dies that met their quality standards. By compromising, Patagonia was able to immediately influence the rest of their industry to use organic cotton and help get the organic cotton farming industry on its feet.

At the time of the lifecycle analysis, Patagonia’s fleece jackets were made from virgin polyester. They switched to polyester made from recycled PET soda bottles. Between 1993 and 2003, they diverted 86 million soda bottles from landfill.

By instituting company values and missions that address environmental issues, performing life cycle assessments and designing and producing in alignment with the results, any company can join Patagonia as a sustainability pioneer.

What other companies have initiated compelling sustainable business models?