Elham Low Carbon Community Roadmap

As part of the Elham Environment Group, we've designed this diagram to show the activities the Group is taking and how we're working with other community groups to achieve change.

It's really important with community action to illustrate clearly and visually our objectives and achievements as it's easy, with a less formal structure, to lose sight of progress.

It's also fundamental for local environmental groups to involve as much of the community as possible as it's the community at large that will make projects successful, not the members of the interest group.

It's a mad ad world

It's only January but already 2010 is looking like a vintage year for mad, bad American political attack ads.

Unlike Britain, pretty much anything goes in US political advertising, a tradition that has produced some great ads but mainly produces nasty, cheap negative attacks along the lines of: "Senator Blah voted to increases taxes on food. America's children eat food. Senator Blah hates America's children. Senator Blah - bad for America."

But nothing, frankly, can prepare the mind for this ad from the Carly Fiorina campaign. Fiorina is running in California's Republican senate seat primary against one guy named Tom Campbell:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/feb/03/us-political-ads

Giant snow sculptures in northern Japan

The 61st snow festival in Sapporo features open-air sculptures on a variety of themes from Mickey Mouse to elaborately carved buildings

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/feb/05/japan

25 things journalists can do to future-proof their careers

This is pretty good. It's meant for journalists but applies well to the rest of us too. It's about maximising our impact with the tools currently available. Good advise to clients too.

http://econsultancy.com/blog/4507-25-things-journalists-can-do-to-future-proof-their-careers

Tasteful is bland? Not so sure about that

Wolff Olins's top man says that 'tasteful' is bland - and that the 2012 Olympics logo will work

Interesting, but is this just a design smoke screen? Arguing that negative reaction to a design isn't to be valued because the audience is too restricted by conventional 'taste' seems wrong. This may be true but does it show understanding of the audience and so the brief?

For something to be ground-breaking does it have to be tasteless? Just look through some of the other brands created by Wolff Olins for some great examples of why this theory holds no water. Surely Orange was innovative, tasteful and not bland?

Another ray of sunlight: Financial crisis may have been good for the climate

The financial crisis and high oil prices caused the growth of greenhouse gas emissions to drop by half in 2008 - New Scientist

We can reduce our environmental impact further by contributing a little time and skill. These cotton shopping bags I designed for our local environment action group are going down well and reducing the use of plastic bags in the Elham Valley, Kent.

Recession's not all bad for designers

As clients become more keenly focused on value, designers are being forced to prioritise this as well.

The increased need to justify costs is forcing us to sharpen our vision of how we can really make a difference to clients' businesses.

Bad for creativity? Maybe, maybe not. Less indulgence but some of the best work seems to come from the most challenging briefs. A change in mindset is refreshing.