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We were thrilled to find the Greener Gadgets Competition in Rob Walker's Consumed column today--part of The Green Issue/Some Bold Steps to Make Your Carbon Footprint Smaller magazine special, and just in time for you-know-what day. Here's a taste:

The designers who submitted the idea are three recent Rhode Island School of Design graduates--Theo Richardson, Charles Brill and Alexander Williams--each of whom has a junior-level day job in art or architecture, but who also have a side collaborative group they call Rich, Brilliant, Willing. This is more of a creative outlet than a going business at this point, so the folks who got in touch with them asking where to buy an iPod-compatible Green Cell or offering vending-machine services sort of missed the point.

Then again, you might wonder: What is the point of a product proposed by three guys who aren't remotely in a position to make it a reality? Actually, purely conceptual or "fictional" products are commonplace in the design world and, as Chochinov has argued, can have value that's very real. Green Cell, he told me, is one example of "a graphic gesture" that shows the power of design to reveal an idea, a problem and maybe even a solution with unique clarity.

Check out Green Cell, the other winners, and over 70 notables at the Greener Gadgets Design Competition site, and learn out more about the Greener Gadgets Conference at GreenerGadgets.com.

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