Hey friends,

I’m the new kid at kitestring, Josh. There are two things I’m passionate about that are tied for the first place ribbon – graphic design and the Earth. When there’s an opportunity to combine these two passions I get really excited! There are so many options popping up to design in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way – it’s a great time to be residing on the greener side of graphic design. I’m happy to be a part of kitestring’s new green initiative, Swatch 383, and work on greening ourselves one small seed at a time. As most of us already know, there’s a number of small changes that businesses and individuals can make at work and at home. I’m hoping to share some of these small changes with kitestring and you in the days to come.

Talk to you soon!

As a small branding studio that knows the power of green in numbers, kitestring knows their new tagline and creative theme for CAA Autogreen will encourage Ontarians to begin making small eco-smart choices.

The campaign was  seen for the first time at the Green Living Show which began this past Friday, April 23rd^th at the Direct Energy Centre where the team documented their visit on twitter @kitestring.

The campaign was inspired by an article in the latest issue of SEED Magazine that pointed to new social scientific research on the subject of climate change indicating that “to the extent people (feel) they can’t solve a problem, they tend to ignore it” (SEED Magazine, 2010).

The campaign’s message and new CAA Autogreen tagline created by kitestring, “Your Small Choice is the Next Big Thing”, speaks to Ontarians about the potential of a collective impact from a single act of green.  With a focus on eco-friendly driving habits combined with cleaner service and product options provided through CAA Autogreen, the campaign aims to prove that each everyday, eco-smart choice adds up.

The kitestring gang had a blast at the Green Living Show today in TO. We met lots of cool people, learned a bunch, and even ate some organic ice cream!

Thanks to everyone who followed along on twitter and facebook submitting their questions and helping introduce Swatch 383. You all rock our socks!

Check out the video below to see how our day went.

Meet Swatch 383. It’s kitestring green.
We like to think it speaks volumes about our brand’s personality.
Then we put our ears up to it and took a listen, and realized it was trying to tell us something.

We’ve been getting ready for this for a long time and now we’re ready to take it on. Swatch 383 wants kitestring to go on a mission to try to become as green as possible in 2010.

How fitting it is that Earth Day is the kick off to the Swatch 383 campaign.

kitestring invites you to watch us as we’re taking eco-friendly trip to the Green Living Show tomorrow (Friday, April 23rd) beginning our day at 9:30 on the GO Train. Ask us a question or read our updates on twitter (@kitestring), send us messages and view our photos on our blog and on twitter throughout the day (Follow all of the conversation even here #swatch383).

We know there is a lot a small creative studio can do to make a big impact. Check back in the Swatch 383 section to see how although it ain’t always easy, it’s worth it trying to be green.

What a week! Things at the kitestring studio have been cookin’ the past couple of weeks as we navigate through some really awesome projects. Unfortunately, things came to a halting stop yesterday afternoon as Chris, Brandon and I were about to leave a client meeting in Toronto. I went to start the car but…nothing! No matter how much hope and good thoughts we channelled, each time I tried to start the car, nothing happened. Great! 3:30 in the afternoon on the East side of Toronto is not exactly where I would hope to run into car troubles!

I pulled out my trusty CAA membership card and told the lovely lady of our predicament. She said that she would send someone out and that I would get a call when they were 5-10 minutes away. Within minutes of hanging up the phone, it rang again – it was my notice telling me that they were close! Well, maybe this won’t be so bad, after all!

After an attempt at boosting and a test of my battery we concluded that my battery was indeed, dead. Not to worry though, the CAA truck was equipped with a new battery that he would install on the spot to get us on our way.

Coincidentally enough, one of the projects we have been working on for the past few weeks has been with CAA for their Autogreen program. The whole program is based on helping their members make eco-smart driving choices and offset their carbon footprint (Check it out at www.caasco.com/autogreen). One of the ways to do this is by choosing their Green Power Battery – an eco-friendly battery made of recycled lead and plastic materials.

Without hesitation, I asked if our CAA hero had a Green Power Battery with him. He actually looked at me a little funny – probably wondering why I know the exact name of the battery. After a quick explanation he laughed at my excitement of getting a new ‘car battery’. He brought it over to my car and installed it within minutes. He also took my old battery and ensured me that it would be recycled properly.

Keeping with Chris’ tradition of naming everything – I decided to call my new eco-friendly battery ‘Ellie’. Within 25 minutes, we were back on the road on our way to Hamilton.

Honestly, it’s one of the first times I’ve actually used my CAA membership for more than discounted tickets to Wonderland. What a great experience it was. Something that could have been a really big inconvenience was only a minor blip in the day and, I became a greener driver in the process.

Happy Friday!

-jenn