The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) conducts consumer research on how people are using power and collaborates with energy leaders to create industry best practices using their findings. This week, Jesse Berst, Executive Director of the SGCC held a frog design ThinkIn workshop to create a symbol and a brand for the energy conscious consumer that can be communicated simply and socially, ultimately leading to positive behavior change.The session's broad participant list included Steve Hauser, VP of Grid integration at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Allison Arieff, writer for the New York Times, GOOD and former editor of Dwell, Danny Kennedy, founder of Sungevity, Swati Joshi of GE, and Brian Sager, founder of Nanosolar.
David Merkoski, Executive Creative Director at frog, lead 50+ participants through a morning of unconventional lateral thinking exercises. These provoked the groups out of their typical working habits and solution spaces to trigger new concepts and ideas. The groups I participated in worked through everything from doorbells that double as displays for smart meters, to a role playing game called "Kill Pluggy" where players try to kill an energy vampire with solar power. The day ended with a debate on the day's findings and a pitch back session of five ideas that were selected for further development. My personal take-away is that changing how we create and use energy is not a single issue, but instead a multitude of intertwined problems that may require a quiver full of targeted solutions residing under a single unifying brand shield. Check out the ThinkIn site to see lots of pics, more details on the exercises and sessions, and learn more about the participants.
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