A local woman who has carved out an environmentally-friendly niche in the design world, is looking to team up with more Macclesfield organisations and businesses.

Kerry Ann Cleaver works as a designer, finding planet-positive ways to impress her clients.

Her work gets both clients and the public to question themselves and their behaviour, towards a better society.

"I work as an Eco-vention designer [a portmanteau of eco and invention]," she said.

A recent piece 'Masculinity Squared' explores the relationship between meat and manliness, and melds together the physical and digital world with a QR code for those curious to find out more. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

"It is essentially just designing things consciously, and trying to push clients to question what they are briefing me.

"So every designer knows the task of 'here's a book cover we want, I want to sell this product, do a bunch of marketing for it', but I look at it through the lens of 'If this has been printed, how are we printing it? Are we using a local supplier? What sort of paper? It is going through that process of what design is, and applying sustainable methods.

"The values that I try to pursue within my work are being authentic, sustainable and local.

"As soon as that knowledge has been applied, you can then train it to other people that can pass it around, and as soon as people have that knowledge, they can develop it and work with it in their own way.

One project saw her design an advertising board which was a livestream of somewhere else in the world, usually of nature. This was to get people to question the small actions they can make for the planet in their daily lives, and particuarly hit home as it came together during the pandemic when people were longing for the great outdoors and to get away on holiday.

"There are so many great ideas, it is just about getting that conversation going. That's what I want to promote.

"The important thing with sustainable design, is that we should actually go back to what we have done in the past to make sure it is working. It is easy to forget about past projects and let them fail.

"For example, if you design a system at a supermarket that interacts with customers, or you have rearranged furniture in a shop but it is not being friendly to people with disabilities, the designer will have left and that institution that commissioned them will have to fix it themselves or worst case get a new designer in. So if we are going back to make sure a design works over a period of time, that is what sustainable is.

"We already do this [in society] with technology or waste, so why aren't we doing that with design?"

You can email her at [email protected]. (Image - Kerry Ann Cleaver)

The multimedia producer has a BA in Illustration and Visual Media Art. She explained how her Planet-positive niche came to be.

"I was really into collages, but then I realised I was just hoarding stuff in my room, instead of it being things that were being seen and actually worthwhile, these were things that I thought needed to be thrown out," she recalled.

"So from there, I started to look into environmental and sustainable design, to try and change my way of working as a creator, to make these positive choices. And that's when I decided to do a Masters in Communication Design to be that person who has the tools, knowledge and the skills to create sustainable projects.

Kerry came up with a concept for a supermarket organised by environmental and nutritional value. (Image - Kerry Ann Cleaver)

"My favourite project - called locATE - was designing a supermarket laid out by how many carbon miles each ingredient has, so the customer could choose to shop for the goods that have contributed the least carbon emissions. It was also organised by nutrition.

"A lot of my design is human-focussed. Because our supermarkets currently are laid out by attributes, to drive sales, locATE was a benefits system to both people and planet.

"It was my favourite project as it allowed a platform to present a concept which put the consumers first, and not the objects, while expressing the everyday routine of shopping, can benefit from being de-designed to focus more on conscious decisions which have wider positive notions."

"I am really open. I want to work with people who want to make a change,

An old artbook takes inspiration from Macclesfield Forest. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

"I'd love to work with Councils, as I don't think they interact with the creative industries as much as they should.

"You can still be ethical and cheap, it is just doing the right way to go around it, which is why you bring in designers.

"The dream client would be doing workshops with the RSPB, I am a big birdie. I love teaching people new skills too, so doing work with them would be iconic.

"My favourite part about my new career is that I get great satisfaction from doing things that are really positive, and they encompass everyone. I love working with people, and having those conversations in getting people to change in an easy way.

Click the red link below to browse her full portfolio of work, and find out about how you could work together. (Image - Kerry Ann Cleaver)

"I think a lot of people are scared about having change, they feel they have to completely evaluate their lives over, but it is not. That is where good design comes in. You dont have to change anything if design has been implemented well, as it becomes a part of our lives without question."

If you have a project, and want to be flexible with a brief, or make it more eco-friendly, why not get in touch with Kerry?

Macclesfield: You can browse her full portfolio on her website and Instagram.