“I teach circular design at Illinois and co-founded Renourish Studio, pairing design work with measured environmental impact.”
Eric Benson is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Illinois, where he researches how systems thinking shapes responsible design. His MFA thesis evolved into Re-nourish.org, a sustainable design resource utilized by designers worldwide, and his agri-fiber paper lab, Fresh Press, converts farm waste into usable paper. He co-founded Renourish Studio, pairing creative work with measured environmental impact data, and hosts the Climify podcast, connecting climate scientists with design educators. He co-authored "Design to Renourish: Sustainable Graphic Design in Practice" and has lectured internationally, with work shown at the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt and the Walker Art Center.
On the show, Eric draws on twenty years of turning sustainability goals into concrete design practice. He can speak to the business case for circular design, the story of making paper from crop waste, and practical frameworks for climate storytelling that move people to act.
We want to change the paper supply chain from forest to farm. At Fresh Press, we explore and enact the potential of regional sustainable agricultural fiber waste as paper and paper products.
Re-nourish is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides online tools advocating awareness & action for life-centered systems thinking in the communication design community. We are, at the moment, just two people who want to make things better. We believe that ‘good design’ values people, the environment, and improves lives. Instead, design is currently on an unsustainable path centered on overconsumption, waste, and ignoring the natural systems around us. Re-nourish aims to help the practicing communication designer, educator and student make positive greener, and pragmatic design decisions. Our tools and resources are created to be straightforward and implementable now. Our case studies and blog provide inspiration and knowledge to help designers implement more sustainable strategies. After all, to ‘renourish’ means to foster, cherish, and strengthen positive growth. Those are our goals and we need help making sure it happens. This will take a committed community. (You.) Join us.
A podcast connecting climate scientists and design educators together so that we can bring climate-related projects into our classrooms.
