I'm excited and proud to have been invited by the kind folks at the far-eastern end of our state to present at the AIGA Knoxville "Sustainability Speaks: The Living Principles + Practice" on Dec. 8.

Along with evangelizing the AIGA's "Living Principles" to my colleagues, I will be sharing the story of how Perdue Creative came to specialize in the areas of sustainability, corporate social responsibility and cause marketing, and — more importantly — how we all as communication design professionals can be SustainABLE.

Presented by Mohawk Fine Papers along with Hart Graphics, the event will be held at the Knoxville Museum of Art Auditorium, Dec. 8 at 6:00 p.m., with refreshments provided at 5:30 p.m. and sponsored by the Maryville College Environmental Studies Program.

75% of the proceeds will be donated to Community Shares of East Tennessee, a social change organization in Knoxville, connected to member groups focusing on poverty, health care, violence, education and environmental sustainability in East Tennessee.

Visit knoxville.aiga.org for more information and to register online.

You've heard that a tree grows in Brooklyn. Well, "Print Grows Trees" — the campaign designed by Perdue Creative to help preserve America's forests — has branched out to New York City's fabled Times Square. And we couldn't be prouder.

Developed for the Education Fund of Printing & Graphics Association Mid-Atlantic (PGAMA), “Print Grows Trees” connects consumers to the private landowners who control almost 60% of America’s woodlands. Age, demographics and financial pressures are causing these landowners to sell or transfer land at an alarming rate, and an average of 4,000 acres of forest is being converted to development daily. “Print Grows Trees” dispels the misconception that by using less paper, trees are saved. Facts show that using paper actually gives landowners the financial incentive to keep America’s woodlands safe from development and managed in a sustainable manner to contribute important ecosystem benefits such as water management, wildlife habitat and carbon sequestration.

For facts about America’s forests and the paper and printing industry, along with a personal account from Jo Pierce, who owns 2,000 acres of private woodlands in Maine, visit printgrowstrees.org.

Beyond simply reporting the incremental improvements in its reduced environmental footprint, Verso Paper Corp. wanted their 2010 Sustainability Report to convey the passionate way in which their employees support the company's sustainability efforts — financially, socially, as well as environmentally.

"At the heart of all we do..." became the over-arching theme used to encompass the abundance of anecdotes, updates, charts and data, which serve to tell the story of Verso's continuous sustainability efforts. Interspersed throughout the report are photographs with accompanying quotes from Verso employees, customers and environmental and community partners. Together, these testimonies put a softer, human touch on a report that is nonetheless filled with rock-solid facts and figures.

As with previous Verso sustainability reports, the 2010 report employs a printing technique that takes advantage of the tactical nature of paper. The cover features a globe made up of myriad laser die-cut symbols representing Verso's far-ranging sustainability concerns. At the center of these symbols is that of a heart through which is seen a brilliant green photographic image of nature on the inside preface page.

For more about Verso's commitment to "sustaining our planet, our business and our people," to download a PDF or to request a printed copy of the 2010 report, visit the Verso sustainability website.

In a thought-provoking post, Sustainable Life Media blogger John Friedman writes about the importance of your social media presence and how each of us is judged — for better or for worse — by the tweets, posts and photos we choose to share online.

"A few choice words can define you," Friedman says, and reminds us how easily information — positive or negative — can be shared these days. And how difficult it is to take back something you share online but later regret. (Just ask former congressman Anthony Weiner.)

So, if it's true that "you are what you tweet"...what are you? What few choice words define you?

Now there's a cool new tool that will show you. Tweet Topic Explorer lets you see the topics you (or any other Twitterer) mention most frequently in your tweets. And what's really cool is that Tweet Topic Explorer displays your topics in word bubbles grouped in cloud-like clusters and sized based on the number of times each word is used. (Adjunct words such as the, an, etc. are conveniently ignored.)

Here is the infographic based on our own Twitter account, @PerdueCreative:

It's not surprising to see words like marketing, social, media, blog, video, YouTube and Twitter, since that's the business we're in. But it's nice to see words like green, love, life and help bubbling up to define us as well.

Pretty neat, huh? Test drive Tweet Topic Explorer yourself, and see what words are defining you. And if you'd like a little help coming up with better words, better ways to use words, or a better social media plan,  use your words to contact us here or on Twitter @PerdueCreative. We'd love to help define you.