"An Inconvenient Truth" brought the awareness of the problem of Global Warming to consumers across the globe. While it wasn't the first or only vehicle to explain the issue, it was one of the most impactful deliveries in the way in which it brought the message to life. As communication designers, we are regularly tasked with making the complex simple.

Technology enables us to tell stories in both productive and dynamic ways, while the Internet and other forms of mobile media offer an outlet for sharing them with the masses. As the conversation around sustainable design continues, how do we make the science more consumable and make the issues around consuming more experiential?

Here are a few examples of sustainability messaging, told through dynamic storytelling, highly revved from 90 seconds to a bit more lengthy at just over 20 minutes.

We'll start with one of the most straightforward approaches: The Story of Stuff is provocative in message and yet incredibly elementary in approach. Utilizing talking head narration and simple, yet charming illustration, we are taken on a 20-minute tour of consumer-driven culture. Writer Annie Leonard shows us what happens from the inception of product development, to resource utilization, through to disposal, illustrating the impact on and the cost to the planet.

In the second of their "Secret Life of" series, INFORM uses a series of interview clips, on-site video and illustration to take us on a 5-minute journey following the trail of paper consumption. The Secret Life of Paper features AIGA/LA's very own Fellows Partner, Mohawk Paper, as well as some great examples of game-changing behavior.

In another example, Better Place, a for-profit organization, uses beautifully polished illustration to illuminate the impact on the environment of our dependence on oil and argue for the adoption of electric cars. This two-minute segment, featuring vibrant blue graphics and black dots to symbolize good vs evil, is part of an overall brand identity that shapes the way consumers interact with the brand.

Finally, the shortest example, and certainly a powerful message, in just about 90 seconds and 0 words, 350.org communicates the red line for humans: carbon dioxide in the atmosphere must be reduced to 350 parts per million. With just graphic images, this telling of an urgent story can be communicated across language barriers.

When it comes to environmental messaging, we are living in a time when the artistry of the technology goes a long way to not only simplify, but humanize, the experience of it. The opportunities for designers to innovate on strategy and execution are growing as all kinds of companies are paying serious attention to fossil fuel use and carbon emissions, to manufacturing, packaging and supply chain issues and how they must approach their messaging.

Let's end on a cautionary note. There also exists the problem of greenwashing. We must avoid at all costs misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or benefits of a product. While making the message consumable, one must not discount the beneficial implications of authentically and thoughtfully approaching sustainable design.