Industrial designer Emily Pilloton’s latest life decision was born out of frustration. After a few post-grad years working as an independent furniture designer and journalist, she found herself questioning the industry.

“I got sick of selling chairs for $1,800. It was a market I didn’t believe in supporting. That probably sounds elitist, but I was raised to do things that give back – to use what you’ve got to make a contribution. For the most part, sustainability in design is focused on the way things are made or what they’re made of. I wanted to explore what it means to be sustainable for humanity – to understand why that part of the discussion has fallen by the wayside and figure out what we can do to change it.”

So with 400 bucks, a good network, and a lot of good intentions, Emily created Project H Design. (The H stands for Humanity, Habitats, Health and Happiness.) At Compostmodern 09 – February 21st at Herbst Theater in San Francisco – she’ll tell the story of how she got her grassroots organization off the ground and share some principles for making your own positive impact.

“We hope to create some urgency and some optimism for designers who feel they don’t have opportunities to do work that matters. One person – one designer – can do a lot. Not next week, not in a year. Right now.”

—Natalie Linden (www.someonemightcare.com)

The way Eames Demetrios sees it, embracing sustainability starts with understanding the scale of the problem.

“Look at global warming: the whole thing’s caused by a tiny molecule that’s 10 to the minus 10 meters across, yet it’s affecting the whole planet, which is 17 orders of magnitude bigger. And it’s all being cooked by the sun, which is a few orders of magnitude beyond that. As citizens of the world, we’re about to make a lot of decisions that require us to understand exponential concepts.”

In his talk and workshop at Compostmodern 09 – February 21st at Herbst Theater in San Francisco – Eames will explore the idea that scale is the new geography, and engage the Compostmodern community to create its own ‘powers of ten’ for sustainability. He’ll also consider the ways design can save sustainability – and vice versa.

“I believe ultimately it’s going to be a designer who solves solar power as a consumer product, not just an engineer. Success for these solutions has to be about how it works in our lives, and that’s where design excels. Meanwhile, sustainability is becoming a new constraint on the design process, which is very exciting. Design for the past several decades hasn’t had a lot of constraints – and it always works best when it does.”

—Natalie Linden (www.someonemightcare.com)

Once again, Compostmodern is proud to host a group of inspiring and diverse creative thinkers. At San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre on Saturday, February 21, we’ll hear their perspectives on the challenges, successes and opportunities in transitioning to a sustainable world.

• Filmmaker Eames Demetrios will size up sustainability on a universal scale.
• Core77 editor Allan Chochinov will show how the impossible isn’t.
• Climate Strategist Michel Gelobter will describe the changes afoot in Washington.
• Inventor Saul Griffith will challenge you to rethink your end result.
• Project M founder John Bielenberg and activist Pam Dorr will demonstrate the benefits of collaboration.
• Humanitarian designer Emily Pilloton will talk optimism and opportunity.
• Autodesk’s Dawn Danby will discuss data, power and practicality.
• CCA’s Design MBA Chair Nathan Shedroff will frame the way(s) to move forward.
• And ‘Green Guru’ Joel Makower will reprise his role as ring leader.

Check back here over the coming weeks for insights, sneak peeks and conversations.

—Natalie Linden (www.someonemightcare.com)