The future of our planet has historically been governed by the natural world; life on Earth coexisting in a perfectly choreographed dance. Today however, that power has been stolen by us. We are at a turning point, we cannot continue as we have been, a new world needs new ideas. It is my belief that designers, of all disciplines, have at their fingertips the power to reimagine our future with such ideas, which in turn gives them immense responsibility.
Growing up in the English countryside, far away from the coast, in what might as well be Middle Earth it’s easy to think that I, along with my family, friends and neighbours, are exempt from the effects of climate change. Up to now, that’s largely been true; to the untrained eye there isn’t much, apart from the occasional heatwave, to suggest that we’re heading towards any kind of danger. It is therefore unsurprising that little action is being taken, despite the invisible truth that we are in fact heading towards a cliff edge at break-neck speed. It’s this complacency in my own community that led me to a great realisation… although, for the record, plenty of more qualified people knew this already. No one is going to try and solve a problem that they can’t relate to.
“The dollar is down”… “I don’t care, I spend pounds”.
“KFC ran out of chicken”… “I’m a vegetarian”
“Australia is on fire”… “not England though so…”
All of these things affect somebody. (Although frankly, if KFC not serving deep-fried animal is your biggest problem you must lead a pretty dandy life). My point is that when it’s not you directly in the line of fire, it’s too easy to ignore.
Lack of motivation is one of the greatest hurdles in our fight against climate change, or any kind of change for that matter. If motivation is the problem, then what is the root cause? My conclusion — education and relatability. I don’t believe that people don’t care about the planet or the environment, they do. I do, however, believe that people need better access to information that will help them to see their own impact, and motivate them to do something about it. And so, my second realisation; the information people need is out there. It exists online, it exists on your Instagram feed, and it exists in the (few) news stories we see on TV. With this in mind I got thinking, how can I do something? I wanted other people to have the same realisation that I’d had.
I’m a graphic designer by trade. I studied at university and I’ve worked with a handful of different agencies in my time. The first thing they teach you at design school is that designers exist not just as creatives, but as problem solvers. By solving one problem creatively, you can help to address an altogether bigger problem. With my experience as a self-appointed problem solver, I decided that I could do something. Introducing TITLE (The Investigative Topics of Life on Earth). If all of the information people need is already out there, then we don’t need more of that. What we need is to make it accessible. We need convenience.
TITLE is designed to provide a cross-section of news and information about what’s happening on and to our planet. The premise is simple, curated news and stories from around the world, aggregated in a single place; easy to navigate, therefore easy to find stories that resonate with you. It is, in effect, the supermarket of planetary news.
Now, this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you that I painstakingly slaved over the idea, poured hours into research and perfected the concept for weeks, before finally cracking it in a moment of euphoria. That would be a lie. In reality, the TITLE “brand” was designed in about half an hour. Why? Because in that moment, what it looked like didn’t matter, what mattered was getting it made. The thing with design is that it’s easy to forget its place in the world, it’s easy to fuss with it until it can be fussed with no more. What I needed, in that moment, was momentum. So, I flicked through my reference archive (yes I have one of those), I thought of all the things that inspired me, I listened to my instincts and just started. That doesn’t mean I didn’t think everything through, it was all calculated, but in the moment, with purpose.
Spoiler alert; here comes the third (and final) big realisation. Design for designs sake isn’t really design at all. Real design is something that serves a purpose, it solves a problem. I really should read more books and listen to more qualified peers, because this isn’t a new idea. But it was a turning point for me and my understanding of how TITLE fits into people’s lives. Functionality is key; it just needs to work.
Ultimately, the problem isn’t that news websites or climate and environmental brands don’t look great. The problem is that nobody wants to sift through thousands and thousands of articles on various different topics to find the one that resonates with them. It’s hard to access this information quickly, therefore it’s hard to find the motivation to educate yourself. From a design perspective, the objective with TITLE was to make something functional, that properly serves its purpose. Sure, there’s probably a million things that you could poke and prod to optimise it further, but that takes time, and time is a luxury that we don’t have. For me, getting the TITLE design done was about recognising what my vision was and acting on it, without creating new barriers for myself.
Design requires you to imagine better; that’s the real goal. Not perfect, but better. And though it sounds simple, as a species that’s what makes us different from almost every other living thing on our planet. We can imagine a better future before it happens, and then take the necessary steps to make that vision a reality. That is why designers are going to save the world. Because we have at our disposal the ability to make ‘something’ out of nothing but a vision, a creative solution to an otherwise invisible problem.
So, where is TITLE now? After its conception, and the early design work on the brand, I realised that this wasn’t something I could do on my own. Truthfully, I wasn’t concerned about ‘owning’ it or making it mine, I just wanted it to get made because I genuinely believed (and still do) that it can have an impact. With that in mind I reached out to a handful of trusted friends, colleagues and other people in my network to help make this a reality. The result? A team galvanised by a shared goal — imagining a better future and taking the necessary steps to get there.
It feels like there are a million things happening at once right now; phase one of the website is in development, we’re working on a brand video, writing a business plan, putting together an investor deck and of course trying to build and grow an audience.
TITLE exists because I had a vision for a better world, but it is only a reality because other creatives, other talented, smart, kind people understand the value in building something meaningful. That is why designers will save the world. No, why people will save the world. Because collectively, we have more power than we realise.
I’ll finish with a final call to arms. I’m excited by the prospect that this platform might soon make it out into the world and become something that people can use, share and rely on. But I’m also conscious that I won’t be able to do it alone, and there’s still much to do. TITLE needs people; volunteers and supporters. We have nothing other than our ambition and a shared passion for a better future, but we’ve come this far. It needs designers to solve more problems, it needs writers, researchers, thinkers, doers, movers and shakers. It needs investors to help facilitate real growth and partnerships with other, like-minded brands and organisations to spread awareness. If you want to help, even if you have no idea how, you’ve done the hard part. You’ve acknowledged that better is out there. And, while the burden of a better future doesn’t rest solely on your shoulders, you understand that you can make a difference. The easy part? Send me an email to joe@title.org.uk and we’ll go from there. No obligations, no expectations, even if it’s just to say ‘hi’.
Better exists, we’re building it.
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