Article by parker jue

Celery Design Collaborative

Focus on wicked problems, design killer solutions

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“The three of us talked about wanting to create a design agency that really focused on design for change”

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any people walk by Celery Space, a gallery located on San Pablo Avenue, and can’t help but walk in and browse this quirky storefront.

Almost immediately, all of their attention will most definitely be on the twisted rulers turned plant holders, sleek chairs made from sustainable materials, or any of the other eyecatching appealing art featured in the space.

Celery Space features unique artwork created by local artists, and just through the back door is the home of Celery Design Collaborative.

Celery Design Collaborative is

a green graphic design agency that does “mostly graphic design but it relates to branding, brand strategies, website developments, some advertising, [and] product design for some projects” (Dougherty). They use design as a platform to promote and create solutions in order to help solve the many environmental and societal flaws that are present today and collaborate with numerous companies that are eager to create a positive impact on the world.

When three friends and fellow designers, Brian Dougherty, Rod Deweese, and Patrick Castro, found-

ed Celery in 1997, they had no idea that Celery Design Collaborative would become an influential figure in the green graphic design world. Although the sustainable design movement has gained much more popularity in the recent years, Celery was one of the first to be working in that particular niche (Dougherty). Deweese recalls, “The three of us really talked a lot about wanting to create a design agency that really focused on design for change. We were young and had really no restrictions and so we decided to come together and form this new type of

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“We’ve tried to create a design space that invites innovation and new ideas”

agency. And so, we did.” The company has evolved throughout the years; Deweese is now in charge of the office that Celery opened up in Paris in 2007, and in 2013, Celery moved into a new space in Berkeley. nce you step inside the studio, it is evident that it is an interesting and almost quirky space (it reflects their design style), and it is hard to grasp that it was once a rug repair warehouse. Celery has transformed it into a creative, modern space but has still kept a post-industrial vibe via the brick wall in the back that is currently covered in papers regarding a current project. Additionally, you will find dogs running around, a garden outside (complete with celery, of course), and chickens in the backyard (Dougherty). A typical work day at Celery is not something that you would normally observe at other firms. The designers are hard at work, but when someone calls out for assistance, Dougherty quickly rolls (on

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his chair) to the rescue. He, along with everyone else in the studio are able to do this due to their open office format. In addition to Celery’s spacious workspace, just up the stairs is a bright room surrounded by whiteboards covered in sketches and marketing strategies. When they aren’t gathered around the table downstairs, you will find Celery employees holding conference calls and brainstorming sessions here.

“Our aspiration has not been to take the path of least resistance... focusing on sustainability and social change is not the obvious or the easiest way to be successful” (Dougherty). Although founded nearly twenty years ago, Celery

has found numerous ways to remain relevant and successful, thanks to the company’s ability to constantly discover new and fresh ways of doing things. In his book, Green Graphic Design, Brian Dougherty writes, “Our job as green designers is to enable the best possible destiny for our work. We can’t know what other will do, but we can do our part by creating designs that won’t

necessarily end up in landfill” (62). In order to do this, Celery uses non-toxic ink and recycled

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paper to print designs as often as possible. They experiment with recycled and more environmentally friendly media; Deweese states that the work that they do is challenging since they try and make it better for the world. The space itself is mostly made from recycled building material as well.

Celery has also developed its very own process of “designing backwards.” In an interview, cofounder and creative director of Celery, Brian Dougherty, explains it as a “method or technique that Celery has developed to work with companies...collaboratively so that we imagine a future state and then think about not just a single goal in the future but really a whole scene.” Celery begins by think about the user and their end experience or exposure to whatever it is that they are designing and then work backwards from there. Eventually, they were able to successfully apply this innovative strategy to numerous projects; one in particular was the Charlie Cart Project.

Recently there has been a great deal of focus on popularizing school gardens, but according

to Co.Exist, it has proven difficult to find ways to teach children what to do with that healthy produce since it is rare for these 44

schools to have a kitchen due to the lack of space and/ or funding. And with one in three American children and teens suffering from obesity, something needed to be done (American Heart Association). A solution was found when Celery collaborated with Carolyn Felderman, former executive director of the Edible Schoolyard Project a couple of years ago, and the

“Focusing on sustainability and social change is not the obvious or the easiest way to be successful”

Charlie Cart was born. Shannon McGill, former intern and junior designer with Celery as of last Spring, gushes, “I think the mission of that project is so important and such an important thing for the country to accomplish, learning how to cook for yourself especially as a kid is such an important skill and [Celery has] found a way to do it in a unique and engaging way.” Celery designed an affordable, modern day mobile kitchen

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hence the name Charlie Cart – to which Dougherty refers to as the grandchild of a Chuck Wagon. Dougherty opens the Charlie Cart, revealing a sink, stove, microwave oven, and drawers containing cutlery and other essentials. The design team at Celery clearly had the children in mind; their intention was to make it part of their world. This method has appeared to be successful for children mail in letters and colorful drawings of their experience with the Charlie Cart.

So far there are 15 Charlie Carts in various schools throughout the country and in California (Dougherty). “We’re about to do another run of 25 mobile kitchens and we’ll be ramping over the next year or so hopefully we’ll be in hundreds of sites within another year.”(Dougherty) Already, there are designs being drawn and constantly tweaked for a Charlie Cart 2.0.

At the moment, the Celery team is hard at work, they are planted in place only getting up to write notes on the papers covering the back wall of the office. They are prepping for an exhibition display for Lunera, a lighting company based in the Silicon Valley. They focus on manufacturing industrial LED light bulbs

“‘It tastes good and it’s good for you”

that not only serve as alternative solutions for metal halide lamps, CFL lamps and so on but also save 80% more energy (Lunera). Celery has been involved with Lunera since it was established and have designed their logo, website, brochures, and most recently some of their products. Brian showcases a new, sleek lamp model designed by Celery that will be released on the market in a month. While Lunera is developing new and exciting technologies, Celery is helping them immensely on their mission to promote sustainable energy with their designs.

When it comes to choosing projects, Celery deliberately gets involved with organizations or companies that intentionally work to try and solve various problems, whether is be health and wellness, or sustainability.

McGill explains that “Celery is unique in that a lot of graphic design agencies tend to work with big brands and corporations.

Celery seems to focus on working on projects that make a positive impact on the world.” She adds that this is one of the factors that drew her to Celery in the first place. Dougherty often referred to Celery Design as an extension of himself due to his values.

Deweese is aware that designers have the power to influence the way people think or act: “I think we’ve always been very consistent that our focus always really revolves around design for change, design for good.”

When faced with the question of Celery in the future, Deweese gestures to Celery Space, which he refers to as a “face” for what goes on behind closed doors.

“You’ve got this new gal-

lery and a kind of community workshop space here in the front. And I think one of the ways that we are growing is really finding ways to connect with our community, and ways to really bring the message of design for change to the street.” He hopes for Celery to design their own products to feature in the gallery in the near future. Just like their garden in the back, Celery hopes to continue to grow and evolve while continuing to make a positive impact on the world.

Having explained Celery in a nutshell, one burning question still remains: “Why the name Celery?”

Brian chuckles and says, “It tastes good and it’s good for you’”

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Works Cited Page Celery Design Collaborative. Celery Design Collaborative, n.d. Web.

1 March 2016.

Deweese, Rod. Personal Interview. 6 April 2016.

Dougherty, Brian. Green Graphic Design. New York: Allworth Press,

2008. Print.

Dougherty, Brian. Personal Interview. 6 March 2016.

--. Personal Interview. 16 April 2016.

Lunera. Lunera Lighting Inc., 2009. Web. 5 March 2016.

McGill, Shannon. Personal Interview. 16 March 2016.

“Overweight in Children.” American Heart Association. American Heart Association, Inc, 17 August 2015. Web. 19 April 2016.

Peters, Adele. “A Mobile Kitchen Designed to Help Kids Learn to Like

Their Vegetables.” Co.Exist. Fast Company & Inc, 4 December 2014.

Web. 11 April 2016.

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