Pentagram’s Oberman and Alex Stikeleather wanted to convince people to stop drinking bottled water by making tap water fun again: “The idea came up as a joke. It harkens back and is cheery in the same way that musicals of the 30s and 40s were cheery during a depression or a war. As far as the style goes, this was basically the original sketch. I just love how silly and dumb this is - and that’s what makes it smart." Photograph: Do The Green Thing
New York Pentagram partner Oberman tweaks the iconic Walk, Don’t Walk street sign: “I was sitting with my team and we were tossing around something like Don’t Not Walk as kind of a variation on Just Do It and someone said, what about Don’t Don’t Walk, and it was a little silly and also perfect. Those words, plus the little word Walk at the bottom of the poster feel so powerful - two statements made from four words that are actually only two words, say it all.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Creative directors at Wieden and Kennedy, Norris and Shaughnessy wanted to create a poster that encouraged themselves and others to go easy on the meat: “We hope that by encouraging people to Make Meat a Treat we can help them to reduce their meat consumption which in turn will help to reduce the industry’s CO2 footprint. And from our selfish meat-eating point of view, we’re looking at it as a form of carbon off-setting so we can keep enjoying it too. It’s a classic win-win-win situation.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Design company Hudson-Powell have created this poster encouraging us to show light bulbs a bit of compassion: "In the Shinto religion inanimate objects are often given a persona or spirit to help people relate to them in a more humanistic way and to create a dialogue with the object. Taking this idea and applying it to light bulbs, making them delicate living things that need rest and can dream seemed like a playful way of getting people to remember to turn them off." Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Pentagram partner Willer used a photo of her right foot to create a poster encouraging people to put down their car keys and put on their trainers: "We can panic about where the car keys are, get grumpy in a traffic jam, run out of petrol before we find a parking space, have a fight with the pay machine, and get a congestion charge penalty to finish off. Or we can walk and enjoy the world.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Convincing people to turn things off properly was Stephenson’s mission with this poster. The Pentagram designer says: “The standby light embodies everything that’s wrong with the world: rather than walking two steps to turn the telly off properly, we just leave it on standby, sucking up electricity and driving up our energy bills. So I wanted to demonize those little red lights, by making everyone think of Kim Jong-il whenever they see one.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
For this poster, Thomas, co-director of Design at the RSA, recycled plastic waste to encourage others to do likewise. “All these pieces were part of the estimated 10% of our plastic waste that ends up in the sea; washed in from landfill sites. Plastic should not be in landfill. Use your consumer power to push for change. If you can recycle it do, and if you can’t, take it back to the shop and ask why they are selling you something that has to be put in the rubbish.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Suzuki’s anti-meat triptych puts the carbon cost of roast beef into perspective: “When we think about the causes of pollution, we tend to think about things like planes and cars and power stations. Nobody ever thinks about meat despite it being one of the biggest polluters out there. So we need to cut back, however delicious it is. Japan is the world biggest buyer of beef but isn’t a top player when it comes to producing beef. Imported beef comes from all over the world to feed steak-hungry consumers in Japan, yet the small price they are paying doesn’t match the large cost to the environment." Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Illustrator Ward wanted to encourage us to live a life less electrical and more connected: “I wanted to show that in turning off our technology we can also reconnect with the world around us in a more natural way. Reconnect with nature, marvel at its beauty and work long term hand in hand to make changes. I’ve illustrated a little urbanite going through his moment of awakening. A bird acts as messenger and delivers the green message. Do the green thing - turn off, tune in. Music to his ears.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
Photographer Chalkley’s aim was to get people turning off the heating and pulling on a jumper instead: “To make the point in a fun and impactful way, I wanted to make a jumper that was extraordinary so we found Korina Kyriakou, a jumper maker extraordinaire, and she designed and knitted something a little crazy for the shoot. We did the shoot with no artificial light by the way, just reflecting light from the windows.” Photograph: Do The Green Thing
