Seeing Green: Sustainable Design Initiatives at the University of Minnesota was produced to provide in one document a visually attractive and accessible overview of the many sustainable design initiatives taking place on the University of Minnesota campus, and thus increase public awareness and spur the continuing development of a “greener” sustainable university. The extensive data published on this poster was researched by U of M architecture majors (graduate and undergraduate) through a Design Institute design minor course, “Green Mapping: Tracking Sustainable Design” offered fall 2002, led by DI teaching fellows Virajita Singh and Sarah Birtles.

Seeing Green was mailed to the University of Minnesota community and was featured on TPT public television’s Environmental Journal show, the first time graphic design played a starring role on the show. It was also presented and distributed for free at the Environmental Design Research Association Conference (EDRA) in 2003. Five thousand copies were produced. Maps were also distributed for free around the country.

The design strategy focused on mapping the students’ case study locations of 21 ecologically positive efforts that are actively underway at the University of Minnesota and yet are rather hard to locate. Some initiatives, such as rooftop solar panels, for example, are very difficult to find, while others, like zero mercury light bulbs, are everywhere but need to be pointed out for people to appreciate what they are. To emphasize this point, the design of Seeing Green uses a common overprinting technique in a conceptual way to reveal the locations of these 21 eco-friendly initiatives on a color-coded map of the campus. When worn to view the front side of the poster, commercially available “decoder glasses” reveal the locations of these hard-to-find, often overlooked, initiatives including: zero-mercury light bulbs; green cleaning solutions stowed in custodial closets; rooftop solar panels; grass- and tree-saving underground parking; eco-friendly landscaping projects, including wetlands preservation; on-campus furniture, computer and materials recycling plants; sustainable architecture for several new campus buildings; ethanol-based gasoline and hybrid cars at University Fleet Services; and energy-saving underground passageways and aboveground skyways.

Seeing Green uses a commercial gimmick to communicate an important message to encourage connections between many disciplines at the university, engaging students, staff and faculty in issues of campus sustainability. It is intended to serve as a model to encourage future “greening” efforts both on campus and throughout the region.

It’s very memorable, but the design doesn't work that well. Still, it’s a great idea. There should be more sense of discovery. The hidden aspect works for the piece.