Three University of Minnesota-based projects — Earthducation, Ensia and North of Sixty — received prestigious 2013 (Re)design awards recently from AIGA, one of the world’s largest professional organizations for design. The projects competed against hundreds of competitors worldwide. Earthducation and Ensia also received additional recognition as “Judge’s Choice” award winners.

The AIGA (Re)design Awards competition has been held biennially since 2009 as a way to recognize exemplary sustainable and socially responsible design. The awards showcase “design that challenges us to (re)think the world and our choices” and are based on the philosophy that “through masterful storytelling, compelling visuals, and beautiful design, we have the power to shape the future and ignite change,” according to AIGA.
Other 2013 award recipients include projects done for Human Rights Campaign, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s National Medical Center, Earthjustice and more.
North of Sixty is a project of the LT Media Lab in the University’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), while Ensia is housed in the Institute on the Environment (IonE). Earthducation is sponsored by both CEHD and IonE.
North of Sixty aims to create a global tapestry of climate stories, weaving together the history and culture of Arctic communities worldwide and preserving the voices and ecological knowledge of generations.
Ensia is a magazine and event series showcasing solutions to Earth’s biggest environmental challenges. The online magazine was designed by Vancouver-based creative agency smashLAB.
Earthducation is a series of seven expeditions to every continent over the course of four years (2011-14) designed to create a world narrative of the dynamic intersections between education and sustainability.