LED maker Cree Inc. has teamed up with The Noun Project for something called an Iconathon taking place at the Cree campus in Durham on Saturday, Feb. 25. The point of the meeting is to create universally recognizable symbols for LED lighting and other energy-efficient technologies.
Says Cree social media specialist Ginny Skalski, “After Saturday, the world will no longer be forced to use the inefficient, old-school incandescent light bulb to represent ‘bright ideas’ or the toxic, mercury-filled CFL to represent ‘efficient lighting.’”
The Noun Project says it collects, organizes and adds to the highly recognizable symbols that form the world's visual language. The symbols it comes up with are all free.
The event will include presentations from Noun Project co-founder and creative director Edward Boatman, and Cree systems architect Paul Pickard. During the half-day design workshop, attendees will help craft the basis of a new symbol for LED lighting and other important energy-saving technologies, including solar panels, weatherized homes and wind turbines. The final symbols will later be added to the public domain and available for anyone to download for free at TheNounProject.com.
The Iconathon for LED lighting isn't exactly a new idea. The Noun Project organizes Iconathons around the country to collaboratively design new sets of civic symbols. Twitter users can keep up with the Feb. 25 Iconathon for Energy Efficiency by following the hashtag #CreeIconathon.
The Noun Project: http://thenounproject.com/mission/
Cree Inc.: www.CreeLEDLighting.com