My Greener Gadgets Submission: Trash Talker

Over Winter break, I went back to Seattle to visit family and friends. And while I was away from ITP, you know by now that you can never really be “away” from ITP. So one night, I’m visiting my friend Eli, who started a company called Alchemy Goods. They make cool messenger bags and other products out of recycled bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts. Here’s one such product:

Anyway, we were sitting around his workshop and started talking about the Greener Gadgets competition. The idea was to come up with a greener version of an existing product or otherwise create a new product that with sustainability in mind. We spent a couple of hours brainstorming, and I have to say it was one of the more fun brainstorming experiences that I’ve ever had.

We put different products on the table for inspiration, batted around ideas and issues from a few different perspectives and came up with a great list of ideas to choose from. Ultimately, we decided to tackle the issue of corporate waste management. I know it sounds boring on the surface, but it’s actually an area where a couple of habitual changes can make a huge difference to a company’s bottom line.

We then teamed up with industrial designer Zac West to flush out the idea and draft some illustrations for our design. You can read more about the Trash Talker on the project page.

Our submission didn’t make the Top 50 finalists. I’m okay with that. It was my first attempt at entering a design competition of any kind, and I’m so glad to have had the experience. Here’s one image of our design: