Resources

In preparation for MaGiC design competition check out these excellent resources on green design and environment from China and around the world:

Design Resources Online

Inhabitat is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

DesignChina is the largest online Chinese-language design resource. It contains tons of useful information for designers of all kinds including some good articles on green design.

Design Books

In Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough and Michael Braungart present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm–they’re actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. The book is available in English and Chinese.

Hartmut Esslinger, internationally acclaimed designer and founder of frog design, reveals the secrets to better business through better design. Having spent forty years helping build the world’s most recognizable brands, Esslinger shows how business leaders and designers can join forces to build creative strategies that will ensure a more profitable and sustainable future.

Movies

All but the first are available in DVD stores, but since we want you to watch all of them ASAP, we’re linking to the youku.com versions to get you started.

The Story of Stuff From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. watch on youku

Home is a powerful and visually stunning story of our home planet. Combining aerial footage from 54 countries around the world, this movie tells the tale of earth like you’ve never experienced it before. Trust us, you’re in for a treat with this one, and it also packs a very strong message. watch on youku

An Inconvenient Truth is perhaps the most important environmental film of all time. No other source has educated the public on the facts of global warming as former US vice president Al Gore did in this film. If you haven’t seen it yet, we urge you to take out your calendar now, and mark off 2 hours this week to watch this. watch on youku

The 11th Hour is sometimes considered to be the sequel to An Inconvenient Truth. Narrated by actor Leonardo Dicaprio, this movie gathers some of the top environmental scientists and activists to share their views on our current environmental crisis and give us a glimpse of what solutions are possible. watch on youku

More Environmental Resources

Worldchanging is a nonprofit media organization headquartered in Seattle, WA, that comprises a global network of independent journalists, designers and thinkers. This is one of our all-time favorite environmental websites, covering the most exciting news in new environmental technologies, designs and concepts.
GIGA is a platform that advocates green design and sustainable solutions in China.

Shanghai Scrap is written by Adam Minter, who works as a journalist for recycling publications and manages to dig up some very random and sometimes jawdropping information. Not always environment-related but always worth reading.