About

What this is about

Photo by Alex Dews

The Smarter Context (SC) project is about responding to issues, questions and comments that we receive all the time.  Whether we are polling our readers, networking at seminars, working with clients or interacting with students and professionals we hear the same thing:

• I want to help protect the environment, but what can I do?
• I want to green my home, but where do I start?
• The news about climate change makes me anxious about the future for my children.  Is there something I can do?
• Is my house healthy?
• What foods are safe?  Should I be a vegetarian?
• What happens if the climate changes?
• I keep hearing about climate change, but it’s confusing and everyone has their own spin.  What’s actually happening?
• Are the products and toys I buy healthy?

People want to do something, but they are unsure what to do.

Smarter Context is our answer.

As educators, researchers and consultants to companies, we deal with answering these issues all the time.  But we are realizing that there is a need beyond our studios, classrooms and labs.  More and more people are looking for answers.

How this Project is run

In response to these questions Smarter Context is going to be digging into issues to bring you the facts.  We will be developing decision-making tools and information products.  We’ll be interviewing experts to get the best available information.  But most importantly, we will make you aware and more creative. We’ll be giving you more than just answers, we’ll also be giving you the tools and insight to respond to circumstances in the way that suits you best.

SC is based on communication.  We see this project as serving others who have questions that we can answer.  So, we’ll be trying to communicate with those who are interested (and if you are interested click here).

We will be communicating two ways:

1. Via email – this is the best option
2. Via blog

Email works by subscribing.  You can subscribe on any page, or by clicking here.  This is the best option because we want action and we want to educate.  We are designers and educators, after all.  But by having a list of people who we know are interested, we know our efforts will have impact.  We also know that people who subscribe to a service are more likely to participate, so when we develop new products or tools or analyses they will be in response to what the subscribers ask for.

Consider us your personal team of researchers, educators and designers.  We have the talent and skills, now set us our task.

The blog gets a two new posts per week (every Monday and Thursday) where we write on one of the six areas.  Take a look at the blog, and check it out for awhile.  If you like what you see, keep coming back, or take the next step and subscribe.  If you don’t like what you see, please leave a comment to give your feedback.

All of the writing here is free, and is done without advertisements.  There are a few principles we stand upon with this Project:

1. Providing free, valuable content to as many people as we can
2. Providing content for you to make your own informed choices
3. Providing this content in a non-coercive environment – no advertisements
4. Charging a cost for specific products only

There is nowhere else on the web (at least that we can find) that is creating the content and products that we are.

And part of reason for that is because it’s not easy.  When we do create a specific product that requires a lot of our time, energy, talent and resources, we will charge for it.  It’s only fair, right?

We hope you find this site valuable and that you stick around and let us know how we can help.