Mark Bult Design: San Francisco, CA, Established 1988

Green Design: Designers, studios, and ad agencies that work with environmental groups and green companies

I have a reputation for working with environmental nonprofits, so I still frequently get requests to do graphic design for green groups or companies. Unfortunately, I’m usually too busy.

Sometimes they ask for referrals. So I finally compiled this list of other designers and firms that have worked with environmental groups. I’m including a few advertising and PR firms too, since green groups can almost always use some expertise in their publicity campaigns, plus those firms usually have designers on staff too, or work with freelancers.

I can’t vouch for all of these. Some of them I’ve only heard of through the grapevine, but some of them I’ve met and really been impressed by. I hope you find one you can have a fruitful relationship with.

UPDATE 11-01-08: I’ve collected some new green design resources over the past year, and I’m adding a few new design firm listings to this post. Interviews with seven of the companies listed below are available at GDUSA’s website, from “Going Green” in the October 2008 issue.

I also thought I should list some organizations and resources for designers (and clients) who are interested in sustainability issues as they pertain to the graphic design discipline:

AIGA Center for Sustainable Design
http://sustainability.aiga.org/

renourish
http://www.re-nourish.com/

Design21 Social Design Network
http://www.design21sdn.com/

Design Can Change
http://www.designcanchange.org/

The Designers Accord
http://www.designersaccord.org/

GreenDesigners.org
http://www.greendesigners.org/

Graphic Alliance
http://graphicalliance.org/

UPDATE 11-28-07: Innosanto from Design Action turned me on to a few more companies that specialize in design for social change, and I found a few others on a site called renourish.



a5 Group Inc.
size: boutique
location: Chicago IL, St. Louis MO, and Grand Rapids MI
clients include: Green By Design, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Environmental Protection Agency



Agami Creative
size: boutique
location: Richmond, VA
clients include: Campaign Earth, 8Jax Communications



Alto
size: boutique
location: Aotearoa, New Zealand
clients include: The Sustainability Trust, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority



Another Limited Rebellion
size: boutique
location: Richmond, VA
clients include: Vegan Action, Richmond Green Party, Center for an Urban Future



Eric Benson
size: boutique
location: Champaign, IL
clients include: Whole Foods, MADD, Toyota



Big Think Studios
size: boutique
location: San Francisco, CA
clients include: Bluewater Network, San Francisco Food Bank, United Nations World Environment Day, Center for Biological Diversity



Celery Design Collective
size: boutique
location: Berkeley, CA
clients include: Elephant Pharmacy, The Natural Step, Alameda County Green Building



The Change
size: boutique
location: Chapel Hill, NC
clients include: Fair Trade Resource Network, Higher Grounds, Sierra Club



Conscious Creative
size: boutique
location: Berkeley, CA
clients include: In Defense of Animals, VegNews magazine, San Francisco Dept. of the Environment, Marin Environmental Film Festival



Core Industries
size: boutique
location: Brooklyn, NY
clients include: 1% for the Planet, greensear.ch, Volkswagen Carbon Neutral Project



CSDesign
size: boutique
location: Melbourne, AUS, and London, UK
clients include: Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenbuild Expo, The Fair Trade Company



Design Action Collective
size: boutique
location: Oakland, CA
clients include: United States Social Forum, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Craigslist Foundation, Rainforest Action Network



Design for Social Impact
size: boutique
location: Philadelphia, PA
clients include: Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania, The Nature Conservancy, Recycling Action, ForestEthics



Designarchy
size: boutique
location: San Francisco Bay Area
clients include: Compassionate Cooks, Terrain magazine, American Cancer Society



Digital Hive Ecological Design
size: boutique
location: San Francisco Bay Area
clients include: Institute for Environmental Entrepreneurship, WholeSoy & Co., Canal Alliance, Greener World Media



ecoLingo
size: boutique
location: Phoenix, AZ
clients include: Phoenix Department of Health and Sustainability, Earth Accents, Valley Forward EarthFest



John Emerson
size: boutique
location: New York, NY
clients include: Amnesty International, National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, Human Rights Watch



Fenton Communications
size: large
location: New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.
clients include: Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Marine Conservation



Fibu Design
size: boutique
location: San Francisco, CA
clients include: National Conversation on Climate Action, PG&E ClimateSmart, Media Fund, Help America Vote Act



Firebelly Design
size: boutique
location: Chicago, IL
clients include: Sustainable Chicago, Awakening Organics, Midwest Wind Energy



Free Range Studios / Free Range Graphics
size: boutique
location: Washington, D.C.
clients include: Amnesty International, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy



Green Team
size: boutique
location: New York, NY and Tasmania, AUS
clients include: Environmental Defense, World Resources Institute, National Geographic Society



Mark Bult Design
How could I not include myself?
size: boutique
location: San Francisco, CA
clients include: Amnesty International, Anne Frank Center, Bay Area Earth Day, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition



Metropolitan Group
size: boutique
location: Portland, OR
clients include: Charles Darwin Foundation, National Park Foundation, The Wetlands Conservancy



Open
size: boutique
location: New York, NY
clients include: EarthAction Network, Not In Our Name, Good magazine, The Nation



Palatal Collective
size: boutique
location: Kansas City, MO
clients include: Pharos Project, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Girl Scouts of Mid-America Council



Public Media Center
size: large
location: San Francisco, CA
clients include: Earth Island Institute, Greenpeace, Foundation for Deep Ecology, Oceanic Society

Ready366
size: boutique
location: New York, NY
clients include: Ready366 only launched in February 2008, so their client roster doesn’t really include anything indicative of their focus on sustainability. I list them here with the hope that I can update this post again in the future, with real-world examples of their stated mission of helping companies make consumer brands more earth-friendly.



Rizco Design & Communications
size: boutique
location: Manasquan, NJ
clients include: Corbis, Huntington's Disease Society of America



Roughstock Studios
size: boutique
location: San Francisco, CA
clients include: East West Herbs USA, Mission Arts Foundation, Search For Common Ground



Studio 7 Designs
size: boutique
location: Victoria, BC
clients include: PESCO Environmental Solutions, Juniper Tree, UN Golden Chapter



T-LUX Design
size: boutique
location: Los Angeles, CA
clients include: ’Licious Dishes, Pacific Edge Magazine



Tumis
size: boutique
location: Oakland, CA
clients include: Natural Heritage Institute, Strategic Action for a Just Economy, Urban Strategies Council



Underground Advertising
size: boutique
location: San Francisco, CA
clients include: Environmental Defense, Union of Concerned Scientists, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Greenbelt Alliance



Vivace Design
size: boutique
location: Montreal, Quebec
clients include: Tori Amos, Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec)



Willoughby Design Group
size: boutique
location: Kansas City, MO
clients include: Hallmark, Kansas City Zoo, Women's Political Caucus, Sheridan's

Got one to add? Contact me.

Labels: activism, advertising, big ol' lists, designers, environment, green design, Mark Bult Design, marketing, nonprofits

Posted by espd at 10:17 PM | 
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