We make sustainable living
a great experience.

"The entire economy is
a wholly owned subsidiary
of the environment,
not the reverse."

– Herman Daly

People choose what's easy for them. We need to make sustainable consumption easy.

Too often, the most convenient choice is one that's great for humans, but bad for the rest of our planet. (Think car commutes, plastic takeout straws.)But it doesn't have to be this way.Subsidiary Studio creates and refines convenient, sustainable experiences based on user research, behavioral economics, and design thinking.To achieve lofty environmental goals, we'll need all hands on deck: political advocacy, collective action, corporate commitments, and now: experience design. While our peers pressure leaders, we entice consumers.We have a lot of work ahead of us. Here are a few great examples of experience design put to work for sustainability, and a few projects of our own:

Lead with fun, follow with altruism

Tesla attracts buyers with performance and efficiency —— and pollutes less only as a perk

Bring back the milkman's circular economics

Convenient, waste-free doorstep grocery delivery service by Trashless

Make new technologies affordable with crafty pricing

Proterra's e-bus payment model mimics the gas-powered spending habits familiar to customers

Bring premium experiences to sustainable services

Transit, scooters, and bikes as seamless as rideshare, in the Transit app

Reduce public perception of risk

Passenger rail company Brightline uses strategic public-private partnerships to minimize both real and perceived financial risk to get projects up and running

Manage big events like Leave-No-Trace camping

Reducing the waste and emissions caused by a popular design conference

Help conscious consumers vote with their dollars

Merit Map, a directory of nearby sustainable businesses (proof of concept)

Remove emotional obstacles to greener lifestyles

A "commuter ambassador" text hotline helps car commuters feel better trying bikes or transit thanks to advice from seasoned veterans

Focus only on the most impactful consumer habits

Updated "Reduce, Reuse" graphic that turns the spotlight away from recycling alone