Using Illustration to Ignite Activism with Kika MacFarlane

In this episode, Sarah interviews Project Drawdown’s Jamie Alexander and Aiyana Bodi, digging into topics like…how designers (and anyone) can integrate their passion for climate action into their job roles wherever they currently work, and…pushing the companies they work for towards a higher standard of corporate climate action.Today’s episode is actually a sneak peak into an upcoming workshop we’re hosting with Jamie and Aiyana on October 20 — find all of the info at climatedesigners.org/gps.

In this episode, Sarah Harrison sits down with climate communications consultant and climate activist Cass Hebron, founder and editor of The Green Fix newsletter.Listen in to learn more about her work as a communications consultant for environmental organizations, and why it’s so important to talk about our climate crisis with the people in your life — and how to go about doing that in a way that is effective, not awkward. Climate Designers will be presenting a workshop facilitated by Cass Hebron on Monday, August 15, called How to Talk About the Climate Crisis Without Alienating Your Coworkers, as part of our Global Party Series. This episode will give you a little sneak peek before the main event next week.Find full transcript, links, and more info at https://www.climatedesigners.org/podcast/gps02

In this episode, Sarah Harrison sits down with Filmmaker Sanjana Sekhar to discuss a short documentary called Expedition Reclamation, which Sanjana was one of three co-directors for as part of the Brave Space Project.Listen in to learn how the film seeks to reclaim the outdoors for underrepresented voices, and how this project relates to creative storytelling and environmental justice.Climate Designers will be presenting a screening of the film and a panel interview with the filmmakers on July 20 for our supporting members. This episode will give you a little sneak peek before the main event goes down in a few weeks.Links Mentioned in this EpisodeBrave Space ProjectBrave Space Media on InstagramExpedition Reclamation Film Screening & Panel EventFarmer Rishi on Instagram

In this episode, Marc and Sarah discuss the latest Conference of the Parties and whether the outcomes from that meeting matched our expectations, and, real talk, what we expect to happen next. This episode was recorded on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, on the 10th day of COP26.You can watch this episode on our YouTube channel, or join us live when we record new episodes on our Twitch channel — Follow us there to be notified when we go live.

The media won’t speak truth to power. They can’t. The power in question is what keeps the media going.Join us as we break this down and discuss why the mass media coverage of climate change is not the whole truth, what’s missing, and why they keep it from us.We also talk about the result on society of this situation — climate anxiety, nihilism, and ultimately more consumerism, which is good for capitalism and the media machine.And we don’t just leave you with that mess, we talk about what to do instead!Full episode details and transcript available at https://www.climatedesigners.org/podcast/203

Join Marc & Sarah in the first of a series inspired by War on Women’s song lyrics “Let’s raise some wonderful, beautiful hell.”The episodes in this series will be about an hour long, with informal, candid conversation between Marc & Sarah about topics we don’t hear many people talking about but that really need to be said.This first episode discusses what so many people in the environmental movement get wrong — calling for us to “save the planet.” Tune in to find out why we think this narrative is actually harmful, and what we need to be thinking about instead.You can watch the full video conversation on our YouTube channel or follow along with the transcript version at http://climatedesigners.org/podcast/202

Designers may have incredibly innovative eco-friendly ideas, but how do we actually get these ideas into production? How do you convince a client or an employer to choose a more sustainable option that might cost more? Why do design-led companies boost stock performance by 211% over standard S&P 500 companies?These are a few of the topics covered in this 39 minute interview with Creative Leadership specialists Shana Dressler and Brian Quinn. Shana & Brian have been working together to bring leadership skills to creative professionals, and we were happy to sit down with them and a live audience of our community members to chat about the skills necessary to lead clients & teams towards positive change.To stay in the loop on the leadership skills training sessions we may offer in the future, sign up at ClimateDesigners.org/Leadership

In this episode, Marc and Sarah sit down and have a delightful chat with illustrator and outdoor enthusiast Kika MacFarlane. Kika makes lovely illustrations, often about oceans, forests, and mountains. She recently had her eyes opened to the potential of art as activism when one of her illustrations went viral on social media. Since then she’s been collaborating with intersectional environmentalist founder Leah Thomas, among others, and her art has taken on a more activist tone, with messages like “Sustainability is an act of justice” and during the latest election season “Vote for oceans,” “Vote for forests.” Get cozy and listen in as we discuss what goes through an artist’s mind when creating illustrations she hopes will ignite activism.Episode notes & full transcript at http://climatedesigners.org/podcast/108

Bartlett Brands is a small studio in San Francisco who creates gorgeous brands, specializing in eco-friendly packaging design for indie cosmetics and personal care products. We sat down to chat with founder Rebecca Bartlett and Art Director Lauren Golik about their incredibly innovative strategies to make the most environmentally sustainable decisions for products and packaging without sacrificing aesthetics and that “wow” factor so desired in luxury personal care products.Show notes at http://climatedesigners.org/podcast/107

Jonny Black is a green graphic designer, one of the founders of Cast Iron Design, who specializes in branding, web design, packaging, and environmentally responsible print production.In this interview we chat about how — and why — Jonny merged his passion for environmentalism with his expertise in graphic design, and what some of the unexpected perks and benefits have been since the two converged.Follow along with Jonny’s exploration of sustainable design on the Cast Iron Design Instagram.Show notes & transcript at https://www.climatedesigners.org/podcast/106