Recieved and Approved

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Science

(Communication Design)

School of Art and DesignPratt Institute

May 2012

Eric O’Toole, Major Advisor

Jeff Bellantoni, Chairperson

Date

Date

Finding Green in a City of GoldA Thesis by Lamis Harib

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IndexIntroduction

A Brief History:Dubai meets

Green

Creating The Designer’s Role

Introducing Green to a

Capitalist World

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1 Creation of a Green Platform:

A Conclusion

Moving Forward From Here:

Pushing The Boundaries of

Design as a Discipline

Branding The Revolution:

“Numü”

Resources

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25

33

29

77

1990

2003

*Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai

2010

2012

Intro..

I was lucky to meet Elizabeth Monoian

at the 2009 Pecha Kucha night in Dubai, whom I

had a deeper talk with regarding green design in a

city it had no significant emerging application in the

design field.

Elizabeth is the founding director of the Land Art

Generator Initiative (1), along with Robert Ferry; a US

based and UAE collaborative architectural exchange.

Their strategic objective is to “advance the successful

implementation of sustainable design solutions by

integrating art and and interdisciplinary creative

processes into the conception of renewable energy

infrastructure.”(2), which refers to their installing of

beautiful large scale energy generating installations

that double as public art.

Their well thought out projects, collaborations,

and submitted solutions were eye opening to

me as I wondered how I can in turn make a

similar contribution within my own field. As a

communication designer, I wanted to find a niche for

myself in the field of ‘green’.

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The planet has always been an article of fascination to me, one I greatly respect and feel impassioned to work for.

Finding a way to merge that with design, the way

Elizabeth had in her own way, felt like a strong

calling to me and was a big component of me

leaving Dubai to seek it in a part of the globe where

environmentalism was raised to a new level of

collaboration between creative disciplines.

In my thesis project, I sought to take on a similar

role of finding where that place is for me as a

communication designer. I started by taking on an

extensive research and surveying a problem I wanted

to apply myself in; that problem is responding to

the gap in green environmental awareness and

integration within the Dubai lifestyle.

The city has been notoriously known as

environmentally appalling with the ramifications of

many of its urban projects and famously energy

consuming extravagances.

I took it as a mission statement to find a better

alternative through the hard work of visionaries in

many fields, and deliver my alternative to Dubai’s

current state through means of branding the green

revolution it currently lacks.

My thesis statement is to use communication design as a facilitating bridge between progressive green solutions and the residents of Dubai;providing them with an integrated alternative to current environmentally afflicting lifestyle choices. All in a form that benefits them in return through

various incentives, while being aligned with the high

end brand image of Dubai itself.

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ABriefHistory

Dubai has established itself as a leading

city in haute lifestyle, high end architecture, and

futuristically perceived projects from manmade

islands to cloud seeding ventures, indoor snow

slopes and ski resorts... the list really goes on to

how a village on the pirate coast of the Arabian

Peninsula boomed to a mind boggling phenomenon

of its own.

In 1971, the United Arab Emirates was literally born

from a truce between all the Emirs (or sheikhs) of

the 7 Emirates (or federations, as a ruler translates

to the term “Emir” in the local Arabic dialect) after

years of interspersed European colonialism. In the

16th century, its location being in Vasco da Gama’s

exploration route made it a Portuguese settlement

for 150 years. The British later gained an upper hand

and turned it into a protectorate during the Cold

War. (Perhaps to spite the Portuguese, the British

were actually favored by the local Emirs who had a

trucial bond with their colonial occupants.)

In 1962, oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi (the UAE

capital) and Britain sided with the Emirs over the

neighboring Arabs, and a call for unity between the

Emirs came up as a result to protect what was now

also a British investment.5

Emirs came up as a result to protect what was now

also a British investment.

Taking it up to this year in 2012, not much has

changed aside the country’s more established

independence from Britain, yet the resident

population of the UAE is still largely international -

even more so than it’s trading port days, with an

80% of its population being composed of expatriates

rising up to 90% in 2011.

WIth it’s flamboyant escalation into its current state,

the UAE has not reached it totally unscathed. In

2008, the finger pointing was initiated by the World

Wildlife Fund as they declared in their Living Planet

2008 report that “UAE residents are still consuming

more natural resources than anybody else on earth,

ahead of the United States and Kuwait”(3), the other

two runner ups. Putting that into perspective, that

meant that if everyone on the planet lived like a

UAE resident, we would need 6 planet Earths.(4)

The action that was spurred, hinting a sense of

seeing it coming anyway, as a reaction to the global

disapproval of the UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi being

the main culprits of the 7 Emirates) was mixed with

an explosion of attempts at green washing, green

branding, and then eventually a turn to actual full

fledged, well planned out legislations and alternative

projects.

All of which, after reaching this part of my thesis

research, allows me to confidently state that the

UAE will be the world’s top green country one day.

Till then, this project targets its current state in

2012 and fits in with the direction it’s heading as a

facilitator through design.

On the topic of reaction, the UAE being the richer

developing country was also not too different from

persons socially classified as ‘new money’ in urban

terms.

In fact, the UAE’s development meant a rapid influx

of mistakes along with the successes - labor rights

have only been rewritten recently for the humane

treatment of construction workers, and governing

parliament with democratic elections (including

women voting and joining the elections) was

instigated only in 2006, with the second elections

recently in 2011.

Throughout world history, nations beginning with

non democratic rule often go through a longer

period of time, in some cases centuries, to reach a

consensually accepted governing entity - But this is

a country that does things differently.

For a country in a region torn by years of occupation

and war, the UAE has proven to opt for peace

and problem solving every time conflict arises.

The country’s first ruler Sheikh Zayed (described

as “every inch the great Arab patriarch” by The

Economist and the original overseer of Dubai’s

economic boom)(5) stating that as long the people on

those islands were living just fine, he had no interest

in what country the islands were named under.

With this brief surveying of the UAE’s general

mindset and rapid growth, it’s safe to say that

it’s no surprise that all design attempts and the level of thought involved in campaigns remained lacking when compared to the grand efforts focusing on growing its major cities to what they’ve reached today. The discovery of oil was viewed as an investment in

the country’s future profit points, and not an end to

itself - a view no other gulf country had adopted at

the time. With that regard, Dubai especially turned

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profit from being a tax-free business hub in the

most rewarding city to be living in - and not

only by Middle East standards , but on a global

understanding of what high standard of living is.

Most international businesses that wanted to operate

in the Middle East would favor Dubai as their

main location of operation, and thus was born the

corporate machine that became the city’s biggest

priority.

Capitalism became and still is a very defining aspect of the current Dubaian ‘culture’, and as the city turns into a bigger urban money making machine with every year - this outlook is simply part

of the existing social values and not going anywhere.Unlike America, people in Dubai do not find

shame in others having a lot of money, or wanting

to make more regardless of their flowing bank

accounts and excess property. I’ve concluded

thatNot incorporating that mindset in environmental

campaign attempts in Dubai, in combination with

confusing (bad?) communication design attempts,

lead to failure in getting Dubai residents to put

forth any environmental efforts. The half hearted

environmental campaigns in Dubai started in the

90s, as a knee jerk integration with other general

public service announcements, and really had no

obvious thought process behind them. Nor were they

in line with the great context of architectural design

and urban landscape it was being showcased in, and

therefore literally looked like visual litter:

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) magazine campaign of ‘Don’t Let it go’, attempting to illustrate the consequences of keeping a light on or letting the tap run.

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The annual ‘Clean Up’ UAE campaign was started by the The Emirates Environmental Group, a government department in social environmental involvement. This was their ‘new and improved’ campaign in attempt to get more people involved in 2008.

The event is a gathering to pick up litter on beaches ,

mountains, and cities. The biggest effect it’s had was a

moment of reflection by the volunteers on how much trash

ends up in these areas. However, those volunteers are usually

not the target audience inclined to litter so irresponsibly

anyway.

This more recent public service print ad was put out by the Government of Dubai as a call to actively save energy during peak hours.

A lack of editing is apparent with both the

infographic and the different calls for action

(“You Have The Power To Save Power” and

“For generations to come”).

It also fails to empathize with high energy

usage being utmost survivalist in Dubai, with

the intense heat and large villas needing a lot

to keep them constantly cool. Therefore the

audience needs an incentive to counter the

obvious solution of cranking up the AC for

example to stay cool.

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This is a screenshot from the 2010 version of the “Heroes of The UAE” website, a collaborative effort between the environmental government sector of Abu Dhabi and the World Wildlife Fund donating it’s information directory to help the project.

The inititative targets school kids, seeking to heighten their interest and involvement in environmental activities.

This website now includes corporations as of

their 2011 update, which is odd as both target

audiences don’t have a lot in common to overlap.

The design is very typical to web design in Dubai,

which I’ve dubbed as “the insurance layout” as it

was a common layout with insurance websites in

Dubai that buy a specific frame to develop their

website with.

The graphics are not very child friendly in terms

of being as visually engaging as other websites

that target children and have therefore set a bar

for what children find stimulating (ie Cartoon

Network, Nickelodeon..)

In addition to the issues that arise with these

examples, it’s important to note that Dubai residents

are in a very unique situation where most public

spaces in the city are privatized.

Malls in the Dubai are the size of what would be

considered villages in some places around the

world, and many include ‘outdoor’ activities within

the malls themselves. The Mall of the Emirates,

which isn’t even the largest mall in Dubai, spans

6,500,000 square feet (600,000 m2), and asides

the luxury stores and movie theaters, the mall

houses an entire ski resort and snow area with an

indoor snow slope measuring 400 meters and using

6000 tons of snow.(6)

Imagine New York City entirely becoming similar

to Times Square in it’s overstimulating commercial

frenzy. Such overstimulation on a daily basis over

the years gets you complacent to such a backdrop,

and as a Dubai resident myself, I can admit firsthand

that you learn to filter it out. It’s partially why Dubai

puts so much effort in the next attention grabbing

project - because it’s constantly competing with

itself and what’s already out there.

With the amazing architecture and mind blowing

concepts present in its urban landscape, the

comparable attention to making environmental

advances with Dubai residents’ lifestyles seem

meek compared to the amount of well thought out

campaigns to make them shop, or even non-Dubai

residents to come and tour Dubai (i.e shop). The desert climate has shaped an indoor culture, and lack of commercial-free public spaces also means that Dubai residents are also significantly numb to a lot of the advertising that surrounds them on a daily basis.

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Dubai tourism efforts have succeeded in making

Dubai a widely sought out tourist destination,

regardless of it being in one of the world’s most

unsettled regions politically. Even the extreme

weather associated with being, well, in the desert is

no problem unsolved. In fact, Dubai has managed

to control its own weather with cloud seeding

technology as of 2008(7).

So with all this capability of achieving what seems impossible, and when a city in the middle of the desert manages to fill up the sky with clouds like so, all of its environmental campaigns are no match for the ‘market’ that is Dubai , coming off as arbitrary and unengaging in both design and concept.

CreatingThe Designer’s Role

Now that a design survey and social analysis has been placed, another part of the equation to ‘greening’ Dubai

remains. When I first got interested in the topic of

applying green practices in Dubai, I was immersed

in the belief that commercial design was the only

possible career I could seek within my city. I had

gradually started having a hard time accepting that

I would be taking part of what is essentially the act

of enabling excess consumerism. Traditional product-

centric advertising, as great as the design work that

comes out of them is and as much as I’ll always

admire the agencies and passion that goes into

them, just doesn’t sit well with me as a career on

moral grounds.

I started out in pursuing this whole ‘green design

thing’ with ‘no game’, as some would put it. I took

Elizabeth’s advice and started with one book that

set my standards straight and to this day remains

my green design bible; the holy grail of what green

could be in its most ideal. The truest standard to

shoot for. That book was Cradle 2 Cradle, and it

was the start of me viewing green issues as design

problems. The author William McDonough - although

an architect by profession - is able to apply design

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thinking to come up with green systemic solutions

, all starting with taking the time to understand the

subject matter that he as an architect may not be

an expert in per discipline. His entire point of view

is that the Industrial Revolution itself is a design

problem,

“The industrial revolution of 150 years

ago was not designed. It evolved over

decades as captains of industry and their

technologists learned how to overpower

nature and forge great machines to make

standardized items of consumption.

If you look at the first industrial revolution

as a retroactive design assignment, it would

be to design a system that puts billions of

pounds of toxic waste into the air and the

water, depletes our soils and washes toxins

into the ocean or into the air, produces

endocrine disrupters to affect our hormonal

systems, creates and distributes carcinogens,

causes climate change,and dumps plastics

in the oceans.

If this was the design assignment, we’re doing great. If it’s not the design assignment, then what is?

And so instead of seeing what goes on

today as inevitable, what we have to

recognize is that it’s not possible any

longer to say that it’s not part of our plan,

because it’s part of our de facto plan. It’s

the thing that’s happening because we have

no other design. We need a new industrial

revolution.” (8)

His new industrial revolution involves three

principles:

1. Waste Equals Food:

Eliminating the concept of waste that we know.

Understanding all byproducts of a production cycle

should be utilized after as a bionutrient (fully go

back into the earth, nourishing and adding to the

system) or a technical nutrient (it goes into the

production of something else and therefore the life

cycle continues).

2. Use Current Solar Income:

Rely on natural energy flows - also geothermal and

wind.

3. Celebrate Diversity:

“by modeling human designs on nature’s operating

system-generating materials that are “food” for

biological or industrial systems, tapping the energy

of sun, celebrating diversity-cradle-to-cradle design

creates a new paradigm for industry, one in which

human activity generates a wide spectrum of

ecological, social and economic value.”

To wrap up his practical philosophy, he frames it to

his designer following in this statement:

“If we understand that design leads to the manifestation of human intention, and if what we make with our hands is to be sacred and honor the earth that gives us life, then the things we make must not only rise from the ground but return to it, soil to soil, water to water, so everything that is received from the earth can be freely given back without causing harm to any living system. This is ecology. This is good design. It is of this we must now speak.”

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His company MDBC has such practices measurable

through different levels of criteria that would

certify(9) a product or service as aligned with C2C

principles. This criteria is on a bronze, silver, or gold

level (gold being entirely C2C aligned) to encourage

C2C attempts.

Products starting at a bronze level upgraded to silver

and so on while trying to perfect their products and

services. That leeway of a metaphorical ‘bronze’

level and not expecting perfection is an encouraging

prospect that I’d take into my own project’s account

in the realm of not overwhelming the user with a

pursuit of perfection right off the bat.

In a way, I’d turned his “Don’t be less bad, be good” to “You can be less bad as long as you’re actively moving towards being good.”

A customizable encouraging experience for beginners

to anything green is a guiding principle in my

conceptualization for what the final product came to

be for me in this project. The idea of living in line

with the planet turned me onto reading more

into Biomimicry. McDonough’s ideal standard of

C2C design generally goes under that biomimetic

principles, with his progression to adding that being

‘less bad’ is no longer enough period.

McDonough completely rejects what he calls 70s

solutions to problems we’re facing today (i.e.

recycling). The concept that we can actually thrive

beyond the idea of sustainability through solving

design problems drew me deeper into researching

how these systems work in different cases.

It became evident to me that it is imperative for environmental issues to be framed and approached with a system building mindset, and not a one stop solution to effect an especially continuous change.

The planet itself has made that evident by being its

own organism if you will, a mass of many systems

that ebb and flow together.

Introducing Green to a Capitalist World

Understanding Dubai as a materialist consumer built economy was integral in defining my approach.

This is not a population of people that would, in

good heart, turn to an environmental lifestyle

accepting the inconveniences that comes with it.

I’d think most developed nations would be hard

pressed to create a large shift relying on people’s

virtue alone.

Like any design targeting an audience, I had to find

a way to integrate selling ‘Green’ while providing a

benefit other than this ‘being good for the planet’.

Immediate tangible returns are what works, and my

target audiences are of the larger effecting users in

Dubai:

Families: Dubai is more based on familial structure

than individuals, due to the large spaces and

somewhat ‘suburban sprawl’ that juxtaposes the city.

Large villas and luxury rentals are integrated with

metro stations and roads, in a tax free (unless it’s

VAT from imports) environment that encourages

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building families due to the easy life. Most people

moving to Dubai to work end up bringing their

families or moving for the purpose of starting a

family with Dubai’s safety and ‘family friendly’ status

on the rise. Those expats make 90% of Dubai’s

population.(10)

Businesses: Corporations make up the lifeblood of

Dubai, as it’s largely maintained through investments

and companies wanting to do business in a tax free

zone. Mainly, larger international corporations use

Dubai as their regional headquarters in the Middle

East, due to the rarity of political stability that marks

this location and simultaneously being integrated

with the regional market.

Indicating my audience, the next step I took on

was to identify at least 5 issues I could target that

include and/or overlap those target audiences, while

finding alternative solutions that would a) be greener

on a level that works with C2C and biomimetic

principles, b) provide an incentive (convenience,

monetary returns, etc), and c) be feasible in Dubai.

After surveying the many environmental issues from

species loss by extensive building into the desert and

gulf, to high energy consumption per capita; I

narrowed down my target issues/solutions to these

and went by the following reasoning:

1. Accessible Mass Solarization: as a solution to

utilizing the (almost) all year round sunny skies in

Dubai, while being a high energy consuming city.

This major renewable energy source has been

utilized in some government projects, but the idea

of mass use has still not dawned on the majority of

residents that pay outstanding energy bills out of

sheer survival.

In the words of one of those that have, and happens

to be an engineer as well (i.e. not the average UAE

resident), Haidar Talib Erabeh invented the world’s

first solar wheelchair for his own use.(11) His invention

saves him the hours of charging the wheelchair

batteries, as it can run immediately as it rolls into

a sunlight. Most indoor areas in Dubai are also

architecturally open to sunlight (to save on lighting

during the day), so they work with the indoor

schematic life in Dubai.

The inventor adds in an interview that “..This is a highly feasible machine here as the UAE has clear skies most of the year – perhaps that’s why they did not think about one in the West.” ,

This point is why accessible solarization to Dubai

residents is prioritized in my own project.

The next point was seeking the sources of accessible

solarization in Dubai, and with further research I

looked into the reasons why more people were

not using solar power in order to counter them.

Obscurity was definitely a big reason, as most

companies were either subsidized under the

government and came off as unaccessible, or

people simply didn’t know they had that as a valid

alternative to powering their homes. Those that have

thought about it brought up the issues of customer

support as outage problems are time sensitive;

people don’t want to stay without power for a longer

period than they otherwise would being signed up

with DEWA (Dubai’s main electric company).

Lack of community and the uncommonality of solar

powered homes also contributed to hesitation -

breaking it down to what I found out: Noone wants

to be the first to do something in a mostly collective

society. Fear of failure doubles when failing on your

own is added to the equation.

2. Atmospheric Water Generators: “The tap-water

in Dubai is safe to drink, most people prefer to drink

bottled water as the taste of tap-water is rather

metallic. Local companies provide home delivery (eg.

Oasis Water Ph.04 8845656). It is essential to drink

large amounts of water in this climate 2.5 litres/day,

needs may increase up to 2-3 times this if playing

sport or gardening”(12). as read from this health

quote directed by a governmental source for new

expats coming to Dubai (in this case for incoming

professors at a college, but is a standard protocol for

educating those new to Dubai).

Water is even more of a necessity to consume in

such a climate, and although deemed safe from

desalinated tap sources, it is rarely ever used for

drinking. Plastic bottled home delivery coolers and

regular bottled mineral water are the main available

options, and the excessive reliance on them has

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racked up its own cons from financial costs to

excessive plastic waste. Recycling grey water has

been the only other alternative renewable water

practice, but not for drinking - only irrigation of the

extensive green landscaping in Dubai.

Humidity in Dubai, an existing issue natural with any coastal city in such a high heat climate, was my source of inspiration for the provided solution for this dilemma. Water condensation is a standard source of water for many desert reptiles and insects through the collection of dew.

So taking a hint from nature, I researched the green

methods and available technologies that mimic that

process, and came to surveying options in the field

of atmospheric water generation (AWG) and finding

ways to make that technology accessible in the

forms that exists for my different target markets,

such as home use or office use. These products

exist, but are simply not known of in both markets.

Some talk has referenced the technology being

modified and used in Abu Dhabi in Masdar City, but

exists in no form in Dubai.

Internationally, many distributors of high end to

lower end models depending on usage needs exist,

and I’ve listed the many types of machines in my

resources for a more detailed view of the types

of generators available (from larger outside use to

in home cooler format). The verdict in general on

why their use is so limited is due to their higher

energy consumption, and initial cost than a regular

watercooler. But initial expense is not an issue

to the majority of the target market in Dubai,

that also ends up spending so much on what is

their primary source of drinking water is as that

outweighs the initial cost in expense. Also, solarized

options are available which Dubai is ideal for, and

therefore benefit and overlap with my push for mass

solarization.

3. Energy saving programs: For those not on

a solarized energy program or just wanting to

save energy and money in their typical heavy

energy consumption homes, I’ve surveyed energy

saving programs (products and services such

as EnergyJoule(15)) that can help educate the

given household or business on its energy level

consumption, as well as including ways to get free

energy or money off of saving on peak

hours with the local electric authority.

There are various way that these programs have

attempted this, for example to target a younger

demographic apps like Joulebug(16) - that can save

up to $200 a year in energy savings - can provide

a gaming element to keep them engaged. One of

the things I’ve picked up from looking at apps in

the energy saving field and reading user reviews

on usability is that the more it’s not actually about

saving energy and more about an alternate mission

(i.e. a game with a competing point system, a direct

reward program of seeing how much money you’ve

saved compared to a prior month, etc) the more the

program or app is utilized in the longterm and not

just as a fad that ends in a month or so.

The idea of factual numbers being motivating,

whether through a game or some kind of visualized

incentive of achieving something (especially if it’s

saved money), was my main pick up from the

success that came with those programs.

5. “2 bag maximum” legislation: A spin off of the

traditional ‘2 drink maximum’ of social etiquette; I

wanted to apply a legislative angle to the project to

exemplify how the platform can be involved with

lawmakers to facilitate their environmentally driven

legislations. As I’ve stated earlier on, Dubai public

spaces are really privatized - and malls make up a

big part of where you go to do practically anything.

This leads to a lot of shopping. A lot. Which also

means that in this culture of excessive consumerism,

an excessive consumption of disposable shopping

bags is also part of the deal. Stores also seem to

want to give away more bags than actually needed

to carry a certain amount of bought goods knowing

those customers will be walking around with their

logos among others in the mall, utilizing this as

advertising to their exact target audience (shoppers

in a mall they’re located at). Also, the Western trend

of tote bags really hasn’t caught on in Dubai, mostly

due to the trend starting out as iconic street fashion

that spurred a tie in with environmentalism.

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‘Street fashion’ is ironic in Dubai as there is close to

no namely street culture - It’s just too hot to spend

enough time out in the streets and create that sort

of phenomenon. The influences of imported culture

within the malls and culture of brands has also had a

contributing overpowering effect to emergence of an

alternative culture in general.

Due to this information, I’ve came up with a

legislation to drastically minimize the amount of

bags being handed out in malls. The gist of it would

state that only 2 shopping bags would be allowed

per person in a mall. If they plan to shop more,

they should fill up and use their existing bags or get

their own totes - which can also be purchased in

the malls at a relatively higher price than what totes

would cost for example here in America. The higher

price is because I want to be careful about Dubai

residents not ending up just purchasing a tote every

time they go overboard with their shopping- which is

what many currently do at certain supermarkets that

sell cheap totes since they prefer their sturdiness

to plastic bags. This can be a safeguard against

contributing to the already emerging issue of textile

pollution as well.

Another side goal of this legislation is to make Dubai

residents face their own culture of overconsumption

and realize how much they shop for ‘stuff’, most

of which they don’t need. Shopping is so much a

ridiculous part of the Dubai lifestyle that it’s come

to the point of an annual Shopping Festival (think a

semi-Black Friday extended for a whole season).

I believe that major reflection is due. Aiming for responsible consumerism as a default lifestyle is the goal here - and right now many of those consumers are simply too enabled by how easy it is to shop than to really practice any restraint in the first place.

Creation of a Green Platform

Putting all the distinguishing factors of Dubai residents together, the platform’s format narrowed down to being ideally digital, due to a very tech savvy and high technology user population.

Dubai is identified as a city of heavy smart phone

and app usage.The fact that most Dubai residents

own smart phones and tablets - with it not being

uncommon to see 8 year olds with their own iPads

, and in my personal experience having my 13 year

old cousin go to a friend’s birthday party where the

party favors were Blackberry devices! This seems

strange and excessive but oh so Dubai.. (may I add

my cousin already owned a blackberry prior to this

party anyway.) This provides the opportunity to

reach a wide audience that is also connected to each

other, mirroring the concept of interdependence that

I’ve stated earlier as key to a successful green design

system, while also providing peer to peer potential

and an healthy bonus of a competitive edge. As

Dubai is a bilingual country with an equal use of

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both Arabic and English, as well as the conventional

inclusion of both Arabic and English logos.

An example of that would be the following

Woolworths storefront logo:

This meant that I would also be providing a bilingual

brand, and after going though some duds I settled

on the name NUMÜ which is Arabic for

growth. Having an umlaut in the english version will

aid with proper pronunciation, and also provided a

common matching to the Arabic logotype version

with the dotted element.

I conceptualized that the main hub of this platform

would be a website integrated with the different

applications that focus on my different issues. The

website will also attempt to package the grander

ideas and science in a simplified form, explaining

my alternative solutions and benefits in a pragmatic

format for a wide demographic versus greenwashing

and preaching environmental morals.

SunRun, a solar company in California, does a good

job of simplifying the idea of going solar in a cartoon

format that goes through a very simple storyboard

type of walkthrough of the benefits.(17) It’s not

necessarily in line with the high end aspect of my

platform brand, but it does a good job of proving

that the concept of going solar can be explained

simplistically while still effecting change. It’s not

about how much people know, but letting them

know enough while providing an immediate

launchpad for change.

I’ve concluded that overinforming and underproviding a venue for action is why most ‘awareness’ campaigns go wrong in. Let alone the rarity of providing solutions with environmental integrity that affect ‘real change’.

For example, a beach clean up once a year is well

intentioned, but is not enough to solve the actual

problem and more than ever, people know it.

on the name NUMÜ which is Arabic for on the name NUMÜ which is Arabic for

27

The platform will also provide a customizable experience, versus a one-size-fits-all approach to a greener lifestyle. There are different programs for different areas of one’s lifestyle, and the tech integration aspect provides the opportunity of providing the latest in smart phone technology;

Using location to target close platform endorsed

green products/services, immediate updates, peer to

peer support, getting their questions answered via

different service providers faster, etc...

In addition as a longterm vision for what this

platform could involve, I wanted to include a

separate informant source downloadable from the

main hub, possibly in the form an iPad e-mag

similarly to The Daily’s(18) format. This will provide

the other side of the story of how progressing

projects in Dubai are impacting the environment.

The few times such information had been leaked,

the public outlash has always been in favor of

the environment over another real estate project.

This can also put a light on green developments

in the region, as so many amazing green projects

in the Middle East never make the news due to

the unstable political situation that tends to grab

headlines more. The only (not so known) source

that is comprehensive about this topic is Carboun.

com, which reads as a directory and lacks mass

accessibility at the moment.

This wide ranged systemic approach to education and integration is the essence of the ‘product’ I want to prototype and provide a comprehensive proof of concept for.

Moving ForwardFrom Here

In conclusion, environmental issues are finally being

recognized as less about being ‘good’ in one fraction

of the problem, and rather about targeting it’s

entirety through systematic design thinking:

In a basic understanding, truly effective change with sustainable momentum only happens through a larger model - and not through the heroic individual separating his paper and plastic in the kitchen.

It is a bold statement to make, but it’s what’s been

tried and tested through time. My thesis finds a way

to integrate that change within Dubai residents’

lifestyle by permeating their individual bubbles with

their own personal handheld devices and existing

web presence. The provided alternative solutions

also come with instant and longterm incentives that

appeal to the current cultural mindset of capitalism,

29

and encourages their usage of this platform and

its programs. The higher end ‘techie’ feel of it

appeals to Dubai’s higher end brand and market,

and communicating the cutting edge nature of the

solutions presented.

I hope by it to exemplify the communication

designer’s role in today’s ‘green’ movement, by

emphasizing how important it is to take the time

to understand sustainable practices as they really

are the main framework for any research or

design that follows. As a moral responsibilitiy in

today’s greenwashed world, I hope the biggest

message here is to really understand what you’re

communicating.

Through my process, I’ve questioned ‘what makes an expert’ on any topic, and I’ve realized that with much of the people that were namely not titled as an environmental-anything professionally,

their contribution in green practices has been down

to a large foundation laid on personal interest and

an evolution that led from that point on the way

they approached problems and projects.

I find my role as a ‘green’ graphic designer in line

with that as I’ve taken the time and interest to

understand so much of what makes green practices

effective, and can now approach them from the

problem solving designer role with the extensive

knowledge that some designers may shy away from

- That reaction is largely due to it seeming too

overwhelming to understand the nitty gritty of a

scientifically colored niche.

With the ability to understand these topics

comes the ability to create in the realm of that

understanding, and anyone who would make this

their niche comes with the expectancy to be able to

keep a discussion with those in other disciplines also

creating under those same standards (i.e. engineers,

architects, industrial designers etc...). My goal with

the following project is to prove my understanding

of it and exhibit the role of communication design in

being so critical in branding the green revolution, as

my project is only an example of that for a

particular chosen locale with it’s own individual

issues to target and unique market. The same

process can be applied anywhere when approached

in the same way with the same integrity of choosing

green solutions that are both viable and feasable

within the scope of targeted environmental issues

and target audiences.

The use of branding to ‘package’ the solutions (or

lack of branding) also depends on the targeted

audience - in this case a heavily branded platform

became the system that acts as bridge between

green solutions and Dubai residents.

31

Branding the Revolution

After rounding up and laying out the framework for what would make this platform ‘green’, it was time for the equally important chunk of the puzzle: Design and production.

Creating a brand here was critical and a depart from

campaigning environmental solutions under the guise

of public service announcement-type media (as

previous attempts in Dubai were). I viewed the lack

of a green niche in Dubai as this ‘virtuous’ capitalist

venture: the negative connotations that come with

‘working for the man’ don’t have to be so. In this

case, working with the man and not against Dubai’s

capitalist ideals was the way to go.

If there’s money to be made, the cooperation of

companies and resources that would be needed for

a project like this would easily resolve the inevitable

question of “Why do we care?”. Not surprisingly,

environmental answers alone are not enough in

a world of business, and this project attempts to

create value for green in the economy.

33

Having a brand is also a method of ‘packaging’ green

solutions into a launchpad and community of action.

The fact that Dubai residents have no negative

associations with highly commercialized brands

makes this approach more successful than with a

more grassroots burlap-loving cut of society; context

is everything.

Branding it under the futuristic aspiring extravagance that is the essence of Dubai (once described as “the Middle East meets The Jetsons”) was a guiding principle in the design overview to appeal to the 90% of it’s residents that chose to move and build lives in there.

Dubai’s architecture is possibly what’s most iconic

about the city, and drawing from that overlap of

classic Arabia and tech-futurism, the visual setting of

the brand and its specifications came together.

The green standards used in the selection of

solutions also had a hand in the brand’s visual

inspiration; Biomimicry’s ‘return to nature’ was a

large driving element of the brand stylistically. It got

me considering Islamic art relevant to the region’s

historic material culture as it was both heavily

geometric and entirely insired from nature.

I took this as an opportunity to revive some inspired

patterns that symbolized different aspects of nature

in Islamic art as a guide to designing the different

marks used in this project.

35

BRAND WORDS

architectural

glossyvibrant

tranquilgeometric

distinct

dynamicpatternedconnected

luminous

conducive

practical

accessible

high-end

glossy

Bucky Fuller hybrid

futuristic

“sci fi” esque

Arabesque techie

MOOD BOARD37

LOGO

After looking through and tracing many Islamic

patterns to experiment with, this tessellation

particularly caught my attention. I was looking for

a main logo for the platform, and I wanted it to

encompass the brand’s mission of providing cutting

edge green solutions. Cradle To Cradle, one of my

main green standards, specifies abandoning 70’s

solutions for today’s problems as they are ineffective

in the long run and create their own new problems.

The 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) model is one of

those, and the famous green triangle made up of 3

arrows is the most widely known ‘green’ symbol that

defines that model.

LOGO

The polygon that makes this tesselation is also made of three arrows, yet they are protruding outwards versus creating a triangular cycle. I chose to adopt this polygon as the main logo mark, with the outwardness in direction of the arrows befitting the name’s original meaning of growth.

This new symbol with these ‘new’ arrows, are

here with the intent of redefining and breaking

older green practices, opting to thrive versus being

stuck in a vicious cycle of waste and downcycling

materials straight to landfills (you can only recycle a

material so many times).

39

LOGO

For the final logo, I created a bilingual typographic

matching of the Arabic and English brand names. I

went for typefaces that complemented each other in

having a geometric and architectural aesthetic.

The Arabic typeface used in the mark is ACS Almass,

the English is Hooge0656.

LOGO41

SITEMAP

INDEX

ABOUT

PROG.s

CERT.

IMAG

CONTACT

SOLAR

WATER

ENERGY

OFFICE

LIFESTYLE

WEBSITE

Numu’s main website acts as the main hub of the platform, it provides all the information one would need regarding getting started or understanding the issues themselves.

It navigates to different programs for different green

solutions, which can be expanded upon through the

programs drop down menu as the platform grows.

Directories in the program pages provide users

with an array of different products or services

already approved by Numü and reviewed by others.

Apps take a second step of bringing even more

convenience and sometimes incentives to keep

using these solutions, simultaneously connecting

users with an integrated support system from the

companies themselves to other users.

The following is a quick breakdown of the pages that

are presented after:

MAIN PAGE

The index page includes a brief news update on

2 main green stories, as well as a ‘New to Numü’

portal which takes you directly to the About page’s

issue by issue breakdown. The top navigation on this

page is present on all webpages.

ABOUT

Includes an overview of the platform as well as a

‘New to Numü’ breakdown of all the issues and

what Numu provides to counter them.

PROGRAMS

A drop down of 5 (thus far) select programs that

provide solutions to go green. So far a Solar,

Water, Energy, Office, and Lifestyle segment has

been put together to provide a proof of concept

of the platform’s potential. Each program differs

in solutions and therefore the media presenting it

differs:

Solar: A directory of all solar companies in the UAE

approved under the brand, with a collapsable filter

users can choose to narrow down their search. This

program includes an app for further integration in

terms of updated customer support, solar home

43

system remote control, latest news on all things

Solar, a live peer-to-peer community feed, and

an energy summary with calculated savings. The

program page also includes an assessment tab that

provides a potential quiz to assess your needs and

suggest directory items, as well as a dynamic panel

that calculates data off of the downloaded app to

provide an overview of what Numü users have

achieved so far.

Water: A directory of all approved atmospheric

water generators sold either in Dubai or available for

order, includes a filter to narrow down the search

as well. This program includes an app for further

integration with customer support, latest news on all

things Water, a live peer-to-peer community feed,

and a water generation summary with a reflected

estimate of how many standard sized plastic

bottles were saved. This program also includes an

assessment quiz and dynamic information panel

similar to the Solar program.

Energy: As this program is integrated with Dubai’s

main electric authority (DEWA), there is no directory

of products or services. The program includes an

an app as an option for those who are not on any

of the programs and want to start saving energy

and money with what they already have, mimicking

EnergyJoule programs in the sense of getting free

energy and rewards when saving during peak

hours. The program page also includes a dynamic

information panel reflecting the total of energy costs

by these users and how much they would’ve saved

had they gone Solar.

Office: This paperless office program categorizes

different approved products and services for various

office needs, while also providing encouraging

testimonials and paperless business news to further

inform businesses and individuals on new tools

and the benefits that come with such a switch. All

benefits mentioned are actual corporate benefits.

Lifestyle: This page gathers different day to day

lifestyle changes one could take in Dubai, from

flying greener to being more aware of buying local

options from farmer’s markets. It also includes

articles on legislative action influenced by Numü,

such as the example of a ‘2 bag minimum’ in Dubai’s

annual Shopping Festival where shoppers would

WEBSITE

not be given an additional disposable bag from

participating stores if they were already using two.

CERTIFICATION

Explaining the value of being part of Numu’s

directory and how to get approved.

iMAG

A potential future addition to the platform’s

expansion as the iPad grosses a highly increasing

rate of purchase and usage in Dubai.

CONTACT

Contact information of the various extensions and

addresses for inquiries.

WEBSITE45

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Main

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / About47

WEBSITE / About

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / About49

http://numu.org

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / About

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / About51

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / About

WEBSITE /Solar53

http://numu.org

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Solar

WEBSITE / Water55

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Water

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Energy57

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Office

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Lifestyle59

http://numu.org

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Certification

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / iMag61

http://numu.org

WEBSITE / Contact

The following are the apps designed in conjunction with several of the programs.

Their aim is to take customer and community

support to a round-the-clock portable level as well

as added conveniences such as remote functions

that work with smart energy systems.

All the functions in the following apps actually exist

in the current app market, and tactics of visualizing

one’s efforts or effect to influence behavior is not

breaking new psychology. In terms of app content,

I am not reinventing the wheel by any means, the

key to these apps is ‘packaging’ all the functions

I’ve researched and find suitable per program under

one app. I’ve also created a consistency of the main

components for the applications for both brand

purposes and facilitation of use.

The app symbols themselves are all derived from

combining the Numü mark with different universal

glyphs of both the sun, water, and the electricity

symbol. This reasoning behind the mark’s visual

language also lays down a framework for future apps

to follow within the brand as a subset of marks.

The Solar app mark is inspired by concentric circles

symbolizing the sun, the Water app utilizes an upside

down triangle which represents water. Electricity

does not have a glyph used in art history as it was

invented much later in time, so I utilized its universal

symbol instead.

IPHONE APPLICATION63

IPHONE APPLICATION / Solar

IPHONE APPLICATION / Solar65

IPHONE APPLICATION / Solar

IPHONE APPLICATION / Water67

IPHONE APPLICATION / Water

IPHONE APPLICATION / Water69

IPHONE APPLICATION / Energy

IPHONE APPLICATION / Energy71

IPHONE APPLICATION / Energy

IPHONE APPLICATION / Energy73

On a final note

One of the most common questions that get asked

after a thesis project is “where does this project go

from here?”. Points on the relevance of branding and

visual communication playing a role in creating a

green lifestyle of economic value have already been

made in my conclusion, so asides this project being

an ‘example’, what happens to it now?

I’d mentioned that such a specific green niche

requires being created versus targeted, as it does not

exist in a form that is sufficiently established in the

UAE. I have hopes of pitching this society integrated

model to establishments in Dubai that have green

interests, but may not have had right ways to

execute them.

Another thing I’d realized is that the dialogue for

sustainability is not a wide spanning topic, and

tends to be a conversation amidst more specialized

individuals. I believe living in line with our planet

should be a natural part of any conversation in any

field, and not a ‘special topic’. This has lead me to

consider having my next project target

the awareness aspect strictly through an educational

method, one that rounds up everything that I’ve

learned across the past two years from my research

to have the confidence in attempting targeting

environmental issues at all. This is in its early stages

and can take on different forms from here on.

While researching the issues and their various

solutions for Numu’s programs, I was naturally

obliged to edit down what I actually wanted to

target for this particular project. This left me with

other particular issues that I still feel strongly about,

and would at least want to find ways to bring

awareness to in some form in my future work. One

example would be campaigning the environmental

and economic value of using mycelium to substitute

petroleum products such as styrofoam disposables.

These disposables have had hazardous effects

with desert animals in the UAE that ingest them

from neglected camp sites, as well as polluting our

beaches and waters from being so highly used in

street/cafeteria food, and outdoor activities such as

camping or picnicking.

I hope to find an actual establishment that I can

‘co create’ with as I position myself specifically as a

green designer - a big but timely step, I feel - and

will pursue that including if it eventually involves

me creating my own in time.This thesis is a clear

proof I can hand to anyone wanting to understand

my philosophy as a green designer, and how I view

brand and value working together with design to

deliver change.

Anyone interested in my work or having any

requests of further process not included in this

final compilation, please reach me at

lamis.harib@gmail.com

75

ResourcesDirectly quoted/used:

1 http://www.landartgenerator.org

2 http://www.landartgenerator.org/project.html

3 http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/uae-

tops-world-on-per-capita-carbon-footprint-1.139335

4 http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images/uploads/

UAE_LPR_supplement_EN.pdf

5 http://www.economist.com/node/3398394

6 http://www.skidubai.com/

7 http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/

cloud-seeding-experiment-has-thundering-

success-1.104086

8 http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/05/

mcdonough200805

9 http://www.mbdc.com/detail.aspx?linkid=2&sublink=8

10 http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article342321.ece

11 http://www.emirates247.com/eb247/companies-

markets/energy-utilities/uae-national-rolls-out-world-s-

first-solar-wheelchair-2010-01-25-1.7232

12 http://dwc.hct.ac.ae/expatinfo/dubaihealthissues.htm

13 http://communication.howstuffworks.com/

convergence/how-paperless-offices-work1.htm

14 http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/

article.php/3703131/Paperless-Office-Get-Real.htm

15 http://www.ambientdevices.com/products/

energyjoule.html

16 http://www.joulebug.com/

17 http://www.sunrunhome.com/solar-for-your-home/

guide/solar-video/home-solar-simplified

18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHILJBw-104

General books, websites, and designers that have been highly relevant in guiding my thesis:

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine M

Benyus, Harper Perennial (September 17, 2002)

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,

Michael Braungart, North Point Press; 1st edition (April

22, 2002)

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial

Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter

Lovins, Back Bay Books; 1st edition (December 1, 2008)

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use

Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and

Build Competitive Advantage,Daniel Esty,

Andrew Winston, Wiley; Rev Upd edition (January 9,

2009)

Green Graphic Design, Brian Dougherty (Author),

Celery Design Collaborative (Author), Allworth Press

(October 14, 2008)

The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools,

and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding, Jacquelyn

Ottman (Author), Berrett-Koehler Publishers (February

14, 2011)

Designing the Green Economy: The Postindustrial

Alternative to Corporate Globalization, Brian Milani

(Author), Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (August 2000)

http://www.carboun.com

http://www.usgbc.org/

http://c2c.mbdc.com/c2c/list.php?order=type

http://www.eco-advantage.com/

http://womenofgreen.com/2011/02/nature-as-mentor-

and-other-lessons-from-biomimicry/

http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_

in_action.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_

nature_s_designs.html

http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-Now/

project/greenpix-zero-energy-media-wall

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/building-for-green-

future-157878.html

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-welcomes-

environmental-initiatives-196714.html

http://green.tmcnet.com/topics/green/articles/34029-

cyber-gear-launches-go-green-initiative-uae.htm

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

http://www.thrivesustainability.com/

http://www.metrohippie.com/

http://inhabitat.com/ecokiosk/

http://inhabitat.com/energy-joule-get-paid-for-your-

energy-reduction/

77

http://www.celerydesign.com/eco-tools/

http://www.echoinggreen.org/blog/books-every-social-

entrepreneur-should-read

http://inventorspot.com/articles/green_inventive_

marketing_6092

http://www.ideo.com/work/ethical-consumerism-

concepts-for-oxfam-gb

http://.www.asknature.org

http://www.clownfish.co.uk/

http://www.ideo.com/work/human-centered-design-

toolkit/

http://www.ideo.com/work/design-for-social-impact-

workbook-and-toolkit

Data sources on the solutions explored in my target issues

Energy saving example

http://www.ambientdevices.com/products/energyjoule.

html

AWG

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/the-low-

down-on-home-water-makers-and-7-to-choose-from.

php?page=2

http://www.aws-h2o.com/

http://www.watermakerindia.com

Solar

http://www.harvestpower.net/?gclid=CKGx5_7bx6sCFVN

35QodWQtQ7A

http://www.sungevity.com/?gclid=CJnKup6wxasCFSE95

QodYCUO4w

http://www.shouldigosolar.com/?v=2&gclid=CM_

R44GwxasCFUt_5Qodt3fH5w

http://www.ontility.com/training?gclid=CPeg_

Krcx6sCFYiC5QodOyiD5A

Paperless offices

http://communication.howstuffworks.com/convergence/

how-paperless-offices-work1.htm

http://www.paperfreesolutions.net/

http://mashable.com/2010/05/01/small-business-

paperless/