Aidan Hudson-Lapore

Ten months ago Aidan chose to focus her design skills on climate solutions. She talks to us about leaving her job, landing her first climate contract, and the role designers can play in helping the world transition to a climate-resilient economy.

Let’s dive in, you’re still transitioning into the climate space, so how did you get here?

I studied Industrial Design and Cognitive Science at school, learning how design can help shape behavior for the better. My first job was at a digital consultancy building apps for health and financial wellbeing. Over time I slowly realized that I couldn’t not work on climate solutions. Working on anything else is irrelevant if we fail to transition to a net-zero carbon world, it’s the most urgent thing right now.

When I think about climate change, I wish I was a designer because everything needs to change, so there is so much to redesign!

Absolutely. We need more designers! It’s interesting that design is not well integrated into climate solutions yet. It was one of the factors that motivated me to create The Climate Design Guide. Design is so common in health and finance, but I see it less well used in sustainability.

Tell me a bit more about why you created The Climate Design Guide. What made you put it together?

Honestly, it came from a place of frustration. I quit my job in October 2019, and it took me eight months before I could land my first climate-related contract. I used that time to learn more. I attended conferences, I researched climate solutions, I read Drawdown. I also found different online job boards where climate opportunities are posted and became part of climate design communities. I created the guide for other designers to navigate the space quicker.

What is your vision for how design is integrated into climate solutions?

I see designers helping bridge the gap between climate solutions and the users who are meant to adopt them. There's a high barrier to entry with climate solutions if only people who are familiar with the technical details can understand how they work. In other words, I think designers can help accelerate positive change by making solutions more accessible. That’s important for moving fast and for the scale of change we need to have.

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I think designers can help accelerate positive change…That’s important for moving fast”

I’ve noticed that a lot of people who have switched to work on climate solutions have taken time out to do so. What gave you the courage to leave your stable job and look for opportunities in this area?

I was fortunate to have savings. I had a sense of urgency to immediately begin working on climate solutions, and at a certain point, the existential pain of my day job became too much. It was actively hard to come into work each day, knowing that I wasn't working on what I believe is most important thing.

You recently landed your first climate-related contract. What was that like? It sounds like it took persistence to get there.

I reached out to a lot of people, and I did a lot of informational interviews. I got my current contract from See Change Institute through a connection made at the Behavior Energy and Climate Change conference way back in November. Going to conferences and meeting people is really helpful if you are in a position to do so. Not only was that a great opportunity to network but I also learned about the organizations working towards climate solutions and whether they would be interested in working with me. 

You mentioned the existential dread earlier that we all feel. What is it like waking up every day, knowing that you will be doing the work that you do?

Before I made the change, I experienced a lot of climate anxiety. I’d notice things like leaves falling from trees at the wrong time of year and there was nowhere to channel that anxiety in a way that was useful. Now, just ‘existing’ feels easier. When I finally got it, I felt so much pressure lifting off me, it took me by surprise. Even though the job search was stressful, it still felt better than when I was in my previous role, knowing that I was moving towards the work that I believe is important and towards the future I want more broadly.

It is hard to communicate that feeling to people who haven’t experienced it. Before you get involved and educated on climate issues you can pretend it’s not that bad. Then when you learn about it, it’s awful and paralyzing. When you cross over to starting to think about solutions it gets easier, now I can channel climate anxiety into progress instead of raw panic.

I love the imagery you have used. I am imagining a storm, you see it coming, then you’re stuck in it, then on the other side there is the sun breaking through the clouds. What are your plans for what comes next in this transition?

First, I want to work with the government and policymakers and implement climate change policies. How amazing would it be to work on implementing pilot programs for the Green New Deal? That's what I want to be doing, getting involved in the real change that needs to happen.

I’d also like to work with scientists on climate research. There is a whole field of implementation science to create interventions that help people shift to more sustainable behaviors. All these research projects build the body of knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. One of the things I ran into at my previous work in health intervention research was that I’d see a screenshot of the website that the scientist designed and I’d think, “Oh, no wonder no one used it”. The design is a barrier to actually evaluating whether the content of the program worked. I would love to collaborate with scientists in graphic design or web design capacity because I think there’s a high value add. Plus I enjoy working with scientists.

“How amazing would it be to work on implementing pilot programs for the Green New Deal?”

Why do you think it’s hard for people to shift into climate work?

There isn’t a model of professional positions and jobs in climate. There's a very good model for how you do climate advocacy, but nothing else to match it. I think it's important for people to know that resources like Climatebase exist. That there are concrete, actual job boards and postings that they can follow right now.

People also think a career in climate means sacrificing everything. That may be true to an extent, for instance, I took a pay cut for the job I am doing right now but it was worth it. The search accelerates once you meet one other person who's also committed to making that shift. It is very easy to feel like you're the only person who's trying because climate is such a taboo topic because it's so stressful. It really helps to have someone already in this journey themselves who you can talk to and share opportunities and resources with. 

What other communities are you involved with?

I volunteer with the Climate Designers Group, we meet up once a month for climate advocacy. I feel more comfortable with more interpersonal, behind-the-scenes stuff while attending advocacy meetings makes me more anxious. It is definitely true that different people are suited to, and effective, at different parts of climate solutions. 

It’s important that people start to move, not just care. Everyone's so afraid that they're paralyzed. You just need to get moving. We don’t need to get people to care, most people already do.