The goal of the Designers Accord is to bring the creative community together as a social and cultural force to create positive impact. We will do this by educating ourselves and our teams about environmental social justice issues, and talking to each and every client and customer about the consequences and opportunities provided by our work. We will create sustainable products and services, and share information about how to do that with each other.
August 27th, 2009
Why should I join? What’s in it for me / my firm?
Adopting the Designers Accord provides access to a global community of peers who share passion and ideas around social and environmental impact. Our reach and influence grows exponentially when we act together.
August 27th, 2009
Who is eligible to participate?
The Designers Accord is for all designers – interaction, digital, industrial, graphic, communications, advertising, architecture, interior – and those involved in the creative community, including engineers, business consultants, researchers, writers, marketers, educational institutions and corporations.
There are three ways to participate:
Adopter (design firms, corporations, educational institutions)
An organized group within the creative community who pledge to work
through the guidelines.
Supporter (artists, freelance designers, students)
An individual who is making the guidelines relevant to their personal practice. Like adopters, we expect supporters to evangelize the movement within their communities.
Endorser (organizations)
Organization that adds awareness to the cause, and can provide infrastructure for education and outreach programs (like AIGA, IDSA, Cumulus).
August 27th, 2009
What do I have to do to join?
For design firm adopters
If you are a design firm adopter, please create (or update) your free profile on the Core77/BusinessWeek Design Firm Directory, and request to adopt on your profile page. A message will be send to the Designers Accord to review, and within 3 days, we will confirm your adoption.(Design firm listing is free.)
For corporate and educational institution adopters
If you are a corporate or educational institution adopter, please email join@designersaccord.org declaring your intention to adopt. The email should include:
- Statement of intention
- Name of institution / company
- Description of offering
- Location
- Website URL
- Size of institution (faculty, students / staff)
- Contact name and email
The Designers Accord reviews this statement and responds to the request.
Individual Supporters
If you are a supporter, please email join@designersaccord.org declaring your intention to support the Designers Accord. Please list your name, email address, and location.
August 12th, 2009
How will it be monitored? Do I have to “report back”?
The Designers Accord is primarily self-regulated. While we have defined this set of Guidelines (which includes a basic Code of Conduct), the Designers Accord is not a prescribed set of rules. There are too many of us, with too diverse an expertise, to create a one-size-fits-all approach. But the Designers Accord is not merely a manifesto either. Through your adoption, you have agreed to honor these principles. Some accountability is built in, but the expectation is that each of us with carry the spirit and intention of this movement forward. There are several activites that will be monitored by an impartial committee on an annual basis to ensure that all the participating firms are fulfilling the pact.
Do you have a question?
August 12th, 2009
Nine Rules for use of the Designers Accord logo
- Our first Designers Accord guideline asks members to declare their participation in this movement. We encourage you to use the logo to promote your affiliation with our community and celebrate your forward-thinking position around sustainability.
- The logo may be used as the badge (circle) alone, or as the badge with text. Please do not change the relationship/orientation/ lock-up of the badge and text — it’s meant to be horizontal.
- The logo may only be used in the color scheme (eggplant/purple) in the .eps file.
- You cannot use the logo on a specific product or service. If you did, it would misrepresent the Designers Accord as a certification of sorts, which it’s not.
- You can use the logo to indicate a knowledge-sharing activity. For instance, you could use it on a booklet of information, a poster to promote an event/opening, a micro-site to publish ideas and responses to a product or service, etc.
- The logo may not be used to promote any political activities. While we do believe design is inherently political, we will lose our federal and state non-profit status if we express partisanship.
- The logo may not be used in combination with any religious material. See #6.
- The logo may not be used in combination with any explicit material. Obviously.
- The logo may not be shown as an event sponsor unless a written sponsorship agreement has been established with the Designers Accord.
August 12th, 2009
How do I measure my carbon/greenhouse gas footprint?
We have a recommended methodology that was created by sustainability consultant Natural Logic. It was published in our February 2008 Progress Report.
August 12th, 2009
How is adoption recorded?
Design firm adoption is listed on the Core77-BusinessWeek Design Directory at designdirectory.com. Corporate and educational adopters will be listed on this site.