Doing it for the kids:
The Sustainable Toy Story
[re]design
£11.95 inc. p&p (UK)

Doing It For The Kids: The Sustainable Toy Story – Activity Book – [re]design

Play away!

From a teddy made from a placenta to footballs made from relief aid packaging, Doing It For The Kids uncovers the latest amazing, innovative ideas in sustainable toy design today. Illustrated with fun design-based activities, it's a must read, must-do book for big kids and little kids everywhere.

Each of the 48 designs presented in the book are also activities for you to do!

LIGHTEN UP:
Switched-on Sustainable Lighting
[re]design
£24.00 inc. p&p (UK)

Lighten Up: Switched-on Sustainable Lighting – [re]design

Look beyond the bulb...

Lighten Up is an illuminating exploration of switched-on domestic lighting solutions from the UK. The quest for sustainability is driving the evolution of new technologies, aesthetics, materials and interactions. Shedding light on the stories behind the products, Lighten Up offers insight and inspiration for the next generation of lighting.

Packed full of bright ideas, with 64 'lighter' lights and 9 essential [re]strategies for sustainable design.

SIT UP:
Sustainable Seating Stories
[re]design 
₤15.00 inc. p&p (UK)

Sit Up: Sustainable Seating Stories – [re]design

Are you sitting comfortably? And sustainably?  SIT UP gets to the bottom of sixteen "good" and gorgeous seats from UK designers with a passion for sustainability.

[re]strategies Booklet
[re]design  
₤2.00 inc. p&p (UK)

[re]strategies booklet – [re]design

[re]design have identified nine [re]strategies that are being used today - singularly or in combination - to create design that's friendly to people and the environment: [re]claim, [re]create, [re]cycle, [re]duce, [re]make, [re]mind, [re]source, [re]spond and [re]use.

This booklet introduces the [re]strategies with innovative examples from leading edge UK companies and encourages you to try [re]designing for yourself using the [re]strategy tool.

What is it?
A collection of “information and experiences” gathered by the Eternally Yours Foundation – mainly from the 24-hour “Time in Design” conference in October 2003 – with contributors including Brian Eno, John Thackara and Ezio Manzini. There’s lots of big picture thinking on design for longevity or appropriate lifetimes – drawing on themes from the morality of materials to the rhythms of fashion, and organisations from the Long Now Foundation to the Natural Step. As a bonus the first Eternally Yours book (Visions on Product Endurance) is reproduced at the back – best read with a magnifying glass – and you can even find [re]design’s very own Sarah and Jason among the mug-shots of conference guests.

Who is it for?
Designers and other creative thinkers.

Do we rate it?
Yes, it’s thought-provoking, readable and pretty – though not as good as the conference itself!

What is it?
Essays from prominent sustainable design thinkers, reviewing a broad range of current practice and leading-edge debate in the field. The theme of co-design, creative communities and networks comes through strongly; aesthetics, consumption and fashion are also examined. All contributors are academics (as well as practitioners), so the focus is on theory and strategy, with a pinch of provocation and manifesto.

Who is it for?
Design professionals, students and academics.

Do we rate it?
Yes, if you want big questions and big picture thinking on sustainable design. If you’re looking for practical tips to apply to your own work, you may have to dig – this is no “how to” guide.

What is it?
An eclectic illustrated essay on lightness – born from the Laboratory for Structures and Materials at TU Delft – that has become a must-read for architecture students. Chapters focus on the role of new materials, innovative engineering, nature as a role model, transport and sustainable economics, amongst other topics. Taking as a starting point the necessity of lightness for sustainability, the book explores the promise of new composite materials, and is filled with “inspiring examples that give… insight into the way structures work” – ranging from Buckminster Fuller to Gaudi, desert tents to hot air balloons, and bicycles to cigars.

Who is it for?
Perhaps most accessible to those with an architectural, engineering or materials background – but a source of illumination and creative potential even for the non-technically minded designer. Good for dipping.

Do we rate it?
Yes, a deserved classic.

What is it?
A probing enquiry into the psychological quirks and downright dysfunctionalities of person-product relationships. It draws on contemporary design research, and philosophical perspectives from Plato to Sartre, to propose a range of strategies for increasing emotional durability. There’s a handy bullet-pointed summary and “toolbox of ideas” at the end of each chapter.

Who is it for?
Product design professionals, students and academics.

Do we rate it?
Yes, it offers unexpected angles and valuable insights on the crucial questions of design for longevity. It could do with more pictures and the text is academic in style, sometimes jargon-heavy – but balanced by doses of provocative opinion.

Ecological Design – TeNeues

What is it?
Compact anthology of contemporary ecodesign, with chapters on Furniture, Lighting and Energy, Household, Kids, Office, Accessories, and Mobility. The selection is diverse in approach and style, and comes from around the world. Richly illustrated – each product’s described in a couple of lines (in five languages) and several photos.

Who is it for?
Design students, general public.

Do we rate it?
Good if you prefer pictures to words – but lacking in detailed description. It’s a pick’n’mix collection of products, so you can dip in for quick inspiration, but there’s no analysis of different sustainable design strategies or methods.