Sarah Aman
Climate Designer crafting craft messages that inspire sustainable action
Design is an immensely powerful tool, one that I want to use to help make the world a better place. Conservation of wildlife and wild places is especially important to me - I believe that the best way to advance conservation efforts is through inspiration and education, and the best way to accomplish that is through design. My goal is to cultivate respect and appreciation for the environment through my work and furthermore, inspire action in those who view it.
Projects
The Conservation and Education Center at the St. Louis Aquarium engages the community and inspires sustainable action through access and education programs, serving as a voice for water stewardship. As the sole exhibit designer on the project for this brand-new non-profit, I worked closely with our client through concept and message development to final exhibit drawings and on-site art direction, driving the majority of creative decisions in the space.
There are two primary galleries: the first focuses on waterways, explaining how our groundwater, rivers, lakes, and oceans are connected and critical to global health, laying the groundwork for understanding the pollution problem. The second gallery features the centerpiece: a sweeping installation of over 5,000 post-consumer plastic water bottles, illustrating the number of bottles consumed in mere minutes in the US. Supporting exhibits explain other challenges facing our waterways and empower visitors to take action after their visit!
Within my first year of employment at PGAV Destinations, I founded our company’s first Green Team, leading a variety of efforts including office-wide composting, Bike-to-Work days, guest speakers, lunchtime workshops, and our enrollment in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge. This waste sorting signage was one of my first “green” internal projects, and has had marked impact on our office behavior. These graphics were designed to go beyond just explaining what to put where - I took it as an opportunity to also explain the why. By extrapolating from national data, I estimated how much waste our office employees produced, using relevant visual metaphors to put it into perspective (tip: dinosaurs make everything more interesting). I also estimated how much waste we could divert with our efforts, reminding people that our actions have impact! The signs are printed on wood - when one needs to be replaced or updated, it goes to the office model shop as scrap to be reused in other ways. In the two years since implementing composting and introducing these signs, PGAV has diverted over 4 tons of food waste, helping to reduce our carbon footprint. As a result of these and other efforts, PGAV took first place in our category in our inaugural year of the Green Business Challenge, positioning our firm as an emerging leader within St. Louis’ green business community.