Over the next three months Design Victoria will present a Design for Sustainability seminar series. The three workshops will present design strategies to assist in the reduction of environmental stressors during each phase of the design cycle with first session focuing on manufacture and material selection.

The Manufacture and Material Selection workshop will present strategies aimed at reducing the ecological impact on the manufacturing and material selection phase of a product’s development. This workshop will benefit designers interested in integrating sustainable strategies and processes and benefiting from being part of the solution for a sustainable society.

It will introduce accessible open source tools to support the material selection process such as Material Intensity Per Unit of Service (MIPS) and Ecological Rucksacks (how much “stuff” it takes to make a product). Following these examples will be a hands-on project that looks to apply these skills.

Attendees will be invited to join in the round table discussion focusing on the complexity of material substitution in relation to design industries.

The following topics will be covered in the workshop:
– What materials are most appropriate for a sustainable product
– How to measure the sustainability value of a material
– Finding and using open source measuring tools
– Assigning quantifiable metrics to the impacts of material selection to inform concept generation

The workshop will be facilitated by Simon Lockrey, Research Fellow, Centre for Design, RMIT University

It will be held Tuesday 23 March 2010 from 8:30am to 12:30pm at East Melbourne Library and Community Centre, 122 George Street, East Melbourne.

RSVP by Friday 19 March 2010. Bookings are essential for catering. Please book early as places are limited.

To register attendance and for more information visit here.

Tags: Workshop - Melbourne - Victoria - Sustainability

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Craft practitioners and designers are invited to attend a professional development session being held as part of the Sustainable Living Festival.

The session will be presented by Lara Olsen and Yann Burden of Energy Return and will look at a range of steps you can take to reduce your carbon emissions and maintain an environmentally sustainable business.

Case studies will include bag designer and retailer Matt Thomson of mattt and jeweller Natalia Milosz-Piekarksa.

The session will be held Thursday 11 February 2010 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at 31 Flinders Lane Melbourne.

Attendance costs $10.00 for Craft Victoria members and $20.00 for non-members.

For bookings call (03) 9650 7775.

Tags: Workshop - Melbourne - Victoria - Sustainability

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Design Victoria is holding a seminar that will illustrate how design can be a contributor to ecological crises and explore opportunities that designers and businesses may engage with to be at the forefront of design for sustainability and achieve positive and sustainable solutions.

The seminar will be held by Tony Fry of Team D|E|S and will be supported with practical case studies of successful eco-design and sustainable design solutions.

Owners and managers of small to medium businesses interested in discovering how design can contribute to achieving positive sustainable business solutions will be benefited by attendance.

The seminar will take place Friday 19 February 2010 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Federation Square, Melbourne

The seminar includes lunch and networking opportunities.

RSVP by Wednesday 17 February 2010. Bookings are essential for catering. Please book early as places are limited.

For more information and to register your attendance, visit www.designvic.com.

Tags: Workshop - Melbourne - Victoria - Sustainability

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