Anuranjan Pegu

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND
NEW YORK NY

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is an environmental non-profit that works to find solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental problems. I am a multi-disciplinary graphic designer with 10+ years of experience working in two countries and multiple industries and mediums.

HOW AND WHY DID YOU COME TO USE DESIGN TO ADVANCE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE AND/OR SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS, CLIENTS AND CAUSES?

I have been involved with animal rights issues since I was ten years old. I have volunteered and provided design services for animal shelters, women-centric organizations and artist-focused non-profits. While my day design job was more “glamorous”, I felt that this work was actually making a real difference in people’s lives and that brought the most satisfaction to me. I started to see the potential of design to actually influence and change minds. This potential became even larger with the growing influence of the internet and smartphones. That, and my experience in advertising showed that how people respond to things depends massively on how the message is packaged, verbally and visually. In the end, design is the most effective tool because the goal is always to find the simplest visual solutions to the most complicated problems.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, URGENCIES, OBSTACLES IN 2019?

2019 is a great but very challenging year to be working in an environmental non-profit. Climate change and other environmental issues have become big issues that more and more people are talking about globally. This presents a unique opportunity to reach out to, and educate a huge, willingly-captive audience that is ready to listen. However, 2019 also places itself in the era of “fake news” and it becomes even more important for design (and any kind of communication) to be authentic and honest. We cannot be over-dramatic but we cannot also soften the harsh reality that faces the world at large.