Sam Hartman: superhero of sustainability
“Preserving the world for future generations is my superpower,” says Sam Hartman (M.F.A., design for sustainability). “I love figuring out how we can do better, be better, and provide a brighter future for us all.”
Sitting in her home in Cleveland, Ohio, surrounded by small plants housed in pots she sculpted herself, Hartman shared her fondness of art, records, and furniture restoration. “When I was young, my mother would take me to the Cleveland Museum of Art and I would sit and draw the suits of medieval armor on display. She constantly championed the power of creative expression. Being an artist is in my blood.”
Today, Hartman is applying her creativity in the service of sustainability. “Caring for our natural world is beautiful, relaxing, and therapeutic. It all starts by being more mindful of our habits.”
Sam Hartman:
After receiving my undergraduate degree, I was at jobs in the design field and it seemed like every potential employer I wanted to reach out to had SCAD on their resume. It was a recurring pattern and I realized I needed to take the next step. I remember shaking with excitement when I received my acceptance letter for the M.F.A. program in Savannah.
At SCAD I fell in love with sustainability design after I took a class with professor Scott Boylston. As part of his course, I worked on a project for the Tybee Island Marine Science Center where we used the design philosophies of biomimicry to educate visitors on our impact to the local ecosystem. That was when my superpower began to come to life.
I then participated in two SCADpro projects, one with Gulfstream Aerospace and the other with Delta Air Lines.
Delta approached SCAD with a request to reimagine how their drink carts could have a second life after they were unusable for commercial flights. Usually, old drink carts end up in landfills. My SCADpro team came up with five alternative options. My favorite one involved transforming each cart into a small wind turbine for homes. Delta originally thought we were going to design trash cans or small planters, but that isn’t what SCAD students do. They adored our solutions.
Sustainable design is imperative for the future of business. We need to change how companies traditionally operate and design their services and products. Waste needs to be factored in from the beginning. By designing for sustainability first, we will deliver better results for people, planet, and profits.
Alongside our corporate partners, individual consumers need to make a dramatic shift in our habits, design practices, and priorities for our world to continue to thrive. We need to support legislation on plastics and hazardous materials for manufacturers, and we need to take responsibility for our buying habits. In today’s economy our decisions affect everyone and everything.
What we really need to do is stop being lazy. People don’t fix their own clothes anymore, they just buy new ones. Stores sell pre-peeled oranges in individual plastic containers. We throw away home furnishings rather than re-upholster them or repurpose them in fun new ways. We cannot continue to waste in the way we have become accustomed.
We have the power to create long-lasting positive changes in our world, and I am committing myself to that end. SCAD presented me with the knowledge and tools to preserve and conserve for future generations and I am excited to get to work. We have do it now.
Visit Sam Hartman and learn more about her vision for our sustainable future.
Written by Robert Almand.
