Pushfins - A sustainable surfboard fin projectPushfins began with a simple design goal: to make high quality, performance surfboard fins that have a minimal impact on the environment.
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Manufacturing process
What I've done
Unmet Needs |
goals |
Pushfins is a very small business, with only two employees (who are also the owners and founders) many needs go unmet. Christian and Emily both take on manufacturing the fins with Christian taking on the bulk of this work when Emily is taking on administrative tasks. Having just started their business less than eight months ago the needs range from organization, delegating tasks, sourcing material, processing material, manufacturing products, fulfilling orders, shipping, maintaining a social media presence, maintaining the website, creating content, designing product packaging and graphics. Pushfins is seeking funding through a Kickstarter campaign, however with only two employees they have a lot of work and a long road ahead before launching a Kickstarter campaign. This is where I come in. I am working as a consulting designer for Pushfins. My main objective is to organize and create content to prepare Pushfins for a successful Kickstarter campaign. So far I have collected and organized all of their digital assets, created brand guidelines to keep their brand consistent across mediums, designed icons that symbolize characteristics of their products (lightweight, strong, flexible, eco-friendly), as well as prototyped multiple iterations of product packaging. I am currently prototyping the product packaging for one size of fins on recycled cardboard and chipboard to minimize stress on the environment. The final material will be recycled wool felt and the packaging is meant to be kept by the consumer to be re-used as a bag. I have agreed to continue volunteering with Pushfins to finalize product packaging for the entire line of their fins, as well as help with any design needs such as updating and maintaining their website.
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Personal Narrative (Paper #1)
I’m not sure what my journey is yet, I’m still looking for an endeavor that I am truly passionate about. I certainly have interests, many of which I enjoy, however I do not have one that I give my all. The same is true with my hobbies, I have always been mediocre at many things (something I am totally ok with) because I am interested in so many things. Likewise, I am interested in many causes, but do not fully participate in any. It is difficult for me to keep my focus, or interest, on one specific thing. Most of my hobbies involve the outdoors, rock climbing, hiking, camping, kayaking, skateboarding, snowboarding, and cycling. I believe that it is this contact with the outdoors that led me to an interest in environmental sustainability and stewardship.
This interest in environmental sustainability sparked early on during my childhood, however it did not become more of a focus until my later teen years. I took a couple of environmental biology classes during my junior year of high school where my classmates and I were outside nearly every class period and volunteering nearly every weekend. I learned about native and invasive species, dendrochronology or tree-ring dating, and the impact that humans have on the environment. I have fuzzy memories of a hole in the o-zone layer, and a wave of bans or reduction in the use of aerosols during my early childhood. This was my introduction to humanity’s impact on the earth. During my junior year I came to understand the severity of it.
As I stated earlier, I do not really invest my whole self into one particular thing. My years after high school I occasionally volunteered planting trees, removing invasive species, and picking up trash. I walk around my neighborhood nearly every day armed with a trash picker and bucket. Though, I do not see myself as making much of a change, sure I’ve inspired others to recycle and pick up trash, but in the grand scheme of things that is not much. My interest in environmental sustainability was slightly reinvigorated during my university studies courses at Portland State University. I am approaching my final year in college and have taken a variety of environmental courses including: environmental sustainability, global water issues and sustainability, environmental sociology, modeling social ecological systems, and ecology of war and peace. I have since learned about the stark reality of the environmental disaster at our feet, where species are dying off at an alarming rate and still people have a hard time caring or being informed. I believe the solution is as much an individual lifestyle change as it is a systemic change on a global scale. I have learned that in previous courses and in Wheatley and Frieze’s Walk Out Walk on that most people take action after things have gone to shit and not before. As the book states, citizens of America have the opportunity to take action before things get really bad. From my experiences I have learned that excitement serves as a great source of motivation.
As a graphic design major and environmental sustainability minor, I am interested in the intersections and opportunities there are present between sustainable product design and development, sourcing sustainable raw materials, diverting other material from the landfill, the manufacturing processes, and the life after the product has been discarded. I have thankfully found a way to bring my interest of design together with environmental sustainability by establishing relationships with small businesses. My most recent relationship with a small business that I believe in has been facilitated by this capstone class.
The past few years have been eye opening and somewhat life changing, but also mentally taxing and have slowed the progress of my personal goals. With that said, years of stagnant growth in my career and unhappiness led me to cash out my 401K and quit my full time job as an administrative assistant. This gave me the ability and time to work for the people I want to work for, to learn from people that I want to learn from, people that are doing things that I believe in, starting their own businesses and working toward living their dreams. I apprenticed for a letterpress printer who designs and hand prints geometric neighborhood maps under the name Archie’s Press. I designed and coded his website, in the process I met my current employer , MC Laser Labs, who shares the same building as my letterpress teacher. Through my current employer, and by working in the same building I met Christian and Emily Sellers of Pushfins, a sustainable surfboard fin project. Pushfins source manufacture rejected skateboards, that would otherwise go to a landfill, fiberglass scraps from the surfing industry, and a plant-based resin to make surfboard fins. 90% of their materials come from waste, the other 10% is the plant-based resin. Similarly to the Warriors Without Weapons and Elos of Brazil who upcycle beer and soda can tabs to make hand bags or plastic bags into shoes, and the Zapatistas of Oaxaca that make water pumps out of salvaged bicycles, Pushfins is upcycling beautiful and useful products out of waste materials. I am thankful and very excited to be working with Pushfins as it has given me a project that involves my love of skateboarding with design and consulting. Pushfins’ sustainable approach to manufacturing is the icing on the cake.
I am working as a designer and consultant with Pushfins with the ultimate goal of structuring and organizing digital assets, establishing their brand through a set of brand guidelines, redesigning their website to embody the look and feel of their brand, redesign their business cards, design product packaging for each model of fin they produce, assist in the design, organization, and video production of their Kickstarter campaign. The goal is to elevate the look and feel of the brand to match the look and performance of the product, something that is very difficult with little to no budget. This type of work is important to me because I believe it has the potential to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices, as well as show manufacturers that it is possible to get a high performance product out of waste. We have participated in two events recently to get people excited about sustainable American manufacturing. We hosted a group of middle-school aged girls at our shop, where we had workshops showcasing the technology and processes we use in the hopes of exciting them about science and technology. This past weekend we participated in a surf contest and party in Pacific City where we had a booth. The following day, party goers were invited to participate with us and others for a day of cleanup on the beach. There is a community of surfers and skaters in the Pacific Northwest, as well as local skateshops, skateboard manufactures, distribution companies, surfboard shapers that we could tap into and inspire to be more sustainable. We are hoping for a successful Kickstarter campaign to get the funds to spread this idea.
My most recent contribution to this sustainable surfboard fin project was prototyping packaging from recycled and plant-based components. I combined my printmaking knowledge with my knowledge of laser engraving to develop product packaging that uses no plastic, petroleum based ink or raw materials. Our final packaging will be recycled chipboard which will be screen printed with vegetable-based ink. I am currently working on a thoughtful use of the product packaging after it has been sent to the consumer. I am really excited to be working with both Christian and Emily of Pushfins, for the relationships they have with the surfing and skateboarding industry but also for their relationships with non-profit organizations. We are currently figuring out a program where we give back either a dollar amount or a percentage of each purchase to an organization such as the Surfrider foundation, which we volunteered with the past weekend. I look forward to developing relationships of my own with this world and continuing to refine the building process and product development process to be more thoughtful and sustainable.
There are many connections I can draw from organizations in the readings and Pushfins. I think that I am just a small cog in the machine and as I become more involved I can see myself as being an agent of change. Similarly to how Elos of Brazil see newspapers, CDs, empty beer cans, even paper clips as a building supply rather than a heap of trash, Christian of Pushfins, saw a broken skateboard and fiberglass scraps as a suitable building material for surfboard fins. Similarly to how Daniel of Unitierra allowed himself to learn from the building process to form something new and suitable for different communities, Pushfins did the same by creating many different models of fins with different purposes. Pushfins also stumbled upon one of the strongest, most flexible, and lightest building materials that just so happens to be one of the top five most sustainably harvested hard woods; rock maple used in skateboards. Allowing curiosity and tinkering to take the place of a scientific rigid manufacturing processes has allowed communities in the readings and Pushfins to create products that work differently for different people. I am just glad to be a small part in getting the word out about this product, solidifying the look and feel of the brand, and creating packaging for their products.
This interest in environmental sustainability sparked early on during my childhood, however it did not become more of a focus until my later teen years. I took a couple of environmental biology classes during my junior year of high school where my classmates and I were outside nearly every class period and volunteering nearly every weekend. I learned about native and invasive species, dendrochronology or tree-ring dating, and the impact that humans have on the environment. I have fuzzy memories of a hole in the o-zone layer, and a wave of bans or reduction in the use of aerosols during my early childhood. This was my introduction to humanity’s impact on the earth. During my junior year I came to understand the severity of it.
As I stated earlier, I do not really invest my whole self into one particular thing. My years after high school I occasionally volunteered planting trees, removing invasive species, and picking up trash. I walk around my neighborhood nearly every day armed with a trash picker and bucket. Though, I do not see myself as making much of a change, sure I’ve inspired others to recycle and pick up trash, but in the grand scheme of things that is not much. My interest in environmental sustainability was slightly reinvigorated during my university studies courses at Portland State University. I am approaching my final year in college and have taken a variety of environmental courses including: environmental sustainability, global water issues and sustainability, environmental sociology, modeling social ecological systems, and ecology of war and peace. I have since learned about the stark reality of the environmental disaster at our feet, where species are dying off at an alarming rate and still people have a hard time caring or being informed. I believe the solution is as much an individual lifestyle change as it is a systemic change on a global scale. I have learned that in previous courses and in Wheatley and Frieze’s Walk Out Walk on that most people take action after things have gone to shit and not before. As the book states, citizens of America have the opportunity to take action before things get really bad. From my experiences I have learned that excitement serves as a great source of motivation.
As a graphic design major and environmental sustainability minor, I am interested in the intersections and opportunities there are present between sustainable product design and development, sourcing sustainable raw materials, diverting other material from the landfill, the manufacturing processes, and the life after the product has been discarded. I have thankfully found a way to bring my interest of design together with environmental sustainability by establishing relationships with small businesses. My most recent relationship with a small business that I believe in has been facilitated by this capstone class.
The past few years have been eye opening and somewhat life changing, but also mentally taxing and have slowed the progress of my personal goals. With that said, years of stagnant growth in my career and unhappiness led me to cash out my 401K and quit my full time job as an administrative assistant. This gave me the ability and time to work for the people I want to work for, to learn from people that I want to learn from, people that are doing things that I believe in, starting their own businesses and working toward living their dreams. I apprenticed for a letterpress printer who designs and hand prints geometric neighborhood maps under the name Archie’s Press. I designed and coded his website, in the process I met my current employer , MC Laser Labs, who shares the same building as my letterpress teacher. Through my current employer, and by working in the same building I met Christian and Emily Sellers of Pushfins, a sustainable surfboard fin project. Pushfins source manufacture rejected skateboards, that would otherwise go to a landfill, fiberglass scraps from the surfing industry, and a plant-based resin to make surfboard fins. 90% of their materials come from waste, the other 10% is the plant-based resin. Similarly to the Warriors Without Weapons and Elos of Brazil who upcycle beer and soda can tabs to make hand bags or plastic bags into shoes, and the Zapatistas of Oaxaca that make water pumps out of salvaged bicycles, Pushfins is upcycling beautiful and useful products out of waste materials. I am thankful and very excited to be working with Pushfins as it has given me a project that involves my love of skateboarding with design and consulting. Pushfins’ sustainable approach to manufacturing is the icing on the cake.
I am working as a designer and consultant with Pushfins with the ultimate goal of structuring and organizing digital assets, establishing their brand through a set of brand guidelines, redesigning their website to embody the look and feel of their brand, redesign their business cards, design product packaging for each model of fin they produce, assist in the design, organization, and video production of their Kickstarter campaign. The goal is to elevate the look and feel of the brand to match the look and performance of the product, something that is very difficult with little to no budget. This type of work is important to me because I believe it has the potential to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices, as well as show manufacturers that it is possible to get a high performance product out of waste. We have participated in two events recently to get people excited about sustainable American manufacturing. We hosted a group of middle-school aged girls at our shop, where we had workshops showcasing the technology and processes we use in the hopes of exciting them about science and technology. This past weekend we participated in a surf contest and party in Pacific City where we had a booth. The following day, party goers were invited to participate with us and others for a day of cleanup on the beach. There is a community of surfers and skaters in the Pacific Northwest, as well as local skateshops, skateboard manufactures, distribution companies, surfboard shapers that we could tap into and inspire to be more sustainable. We are hoping for a successful Kickstarter campaign to get the funds to spread this idea.
My most recent contribution to this sustainable surfboard fin project was prototyping packaging from recycled and plant-based components. I combined my printmaking knowledge with my knowledge of laser engraving to develop product packaging that uses no plastic, petroleum based ink or raw materials. Our final packaging will be recycled chipboard which will be screen printed with vegetable-based ink. I am currently working on a thoughtful use of the product packaging after it has been sent to the consumer. I am really excited to be working with both Christian and Emily of Pushfins, for the relationships they have with the surfing and skateboarding industry but also for their relationships with non-profit organizations. We are currently figuring out a program where we give back either a dollar amount or a percentage of each purchase to an organization such as the Surfrider foundation, which we volunteered with the past weekend. I look forward to developing relationships of my own with this world and continuing to refine the building process and product development process to be more thoughtful and sustainable.
There are many connections I can draw from organizations in the readings and Pushfins. I think that I am just a small cog in the machine and as I become more involved I can see myself as being an agent of change. Similarly to how Elos of Brazil see newspapers, CDs, empty beer cans, even paper clips as a building supply rather than a heap of trash, Christian of Pushfins, saw a broken skateboard and fiberglass scraps as a suitable building material for surfboard fins. Similarly to how Daniel of Unitierra allowed himself to learn from the building process to form something new and suitable for different communities, Pushfins did the same by creating many different models of fins with different purposes. Pushfins also stumbled upon one of the strongest, most flexible, and lightest building materials that just so happens to be one of the top five most sustainably harvested hard woods; rock maple used in skateboards. Allowing curiosity and tinkering to take the place of a scientific rigid manufacturing processes has allowed communities in the readings and Pushfins to create products that work differently for different people. I am just glad to be a small part in getting the word out about this product, solidifying the look and feel of the brand, and creating packaging for their products.