SUSTAINABLE DESIGN - SO WHAT?
- Katy Clark
- Oct 9, 2018
- 4 min read
I could write about this for aaaaaages but will try and keep it brief-ish. Sustainability and zero waste are big buzz words at the moment thanks to the rise in awareness of social and environmental issues, which has led to an increased global consciousness, and shift towards conscious consumerism. “People now demand businesses and their brands to do more than just make a profit. They expect brands to…create a better future” (Thompson, 2018, pp.15-16 in Clark, 2018). If Thompson’s statement is true of brands, why should people’s expectations be any different from their designer? If a company says they care about the environment, what better way to show it than with business cards printed on recycled FSC certified card, and providing 100% recycled and recyclable or reusable packaging? (Note: this is just one way of incorporating sustainable into design practice, blog post coming soon for more on that one!)
I believe that as designers we are in a unique position where we have the opportunity to influence a client’s choices by educating them on the sustainable options and alternatives, and at the risk of sounding like a cliché or something you'd see printed on a tote bag (which of course I totally want to design and make now), I believe in being the change you want to see in the world.
I wrote my final degree essays on sustainable design and designing for positive social change in the context of ethical brands, and we are taking steps at home to live a more sustainable life, so it seemed only natural to incorporate these personal values into my professional ones. To do otherwise wouldn't feel right. I still have some way to go personally and professionally, but the intention is there, and am taking steps towards my goal every day. Some are beyond our control for now, but we're doing our best, and that's all anyone can ask, right?
So that's the why, but as for the what, I'll refer to my 2017 essay 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. How Graphic Design Can Save The World'. In it, I mention how Sherin (2008) defines sustainability as “the balanced use of natural, social and economic capital for the continued health of the planet and future generations" (Sherin, 2008). Designers are responsible for creating the plethora of packaging and printed materials which end up in landfill sites, once their primary purpose has been fulfilled, and this realisation has ignited a growing resolve within the field to minimise such negative impacts. According to the Gaia Theory “everything in nature is connected” (Acaroglu, 2013), and given the multifaceted nature of sustainability described in Sherin’s definition, and depicted in the diagram below, in order for design to be truly sustainable, it must embrace a systems-based approach, where each facet is considered as part of the whole.
In terms of sustainable practice, my primary focus is currently environmental, in terms of incorporating sustainable practices and materials into my process. For example, I am working towards my goal of only using recycled, chlorine free and FSC certified paper in the studio, and researching low VOC alternatives to my current home printer inks. Printing comes with the territory of being a designer, as we need to print proofs to make sure stuff looks as awesome on paper as it does on screen - but I try to wait as long as possible before printing, in an effort to save paper, ink and all that good stuff!
As I am still setting up the studio and finishing off my degree, time is tight, and I can't do everything at once, and the decision to go firm on a sustainable practice is still relatively recent, so I need to make a sustainability to do list, and right at the top will be to write a sustainability policy - a manifesto if you like, that I can aim towards and be held accountable for. As a friend once said to me, if you don't know where you're going, how do you know when you get there?
I will save more detail on how I am being sustainable for a future post so keep your eyes peeled.
As I wrote in my essay, if graphic design is to succeed in saving the world, practitioners will need to embrace sustainability as an opportunity for creativity and innovation rather than a problem, invest in long term thinking, and commit to putting the needs of future generations ahead of the today.
I'm going to stop there, as I have already failed monumentally at keeping this brief, I promise I will try and get better at this blog writing malarky...
IMAGES
Gonzalez, T. (2018). Reminder. [Photograph] Available from: https://unsplash.com/photos/Alm7tmPVmSU [ Accessed 9 October 2018].
Sherin, A. (2008). What is Sustainable Design? [Online Image] Available from: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/9781592534012 [Accessed 21 August 2017]
REFERENCES
Sherin, A. (2008) SustainAble : A Handbook of Materials and Applications for Graphic Designers and Their Clients. [Online] Rockport Publishers, Osceola. Available from: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/9781592534012 [Accessed 21 August 2017].
Acaroglu, L. (2013) Why We Need to Think Differently About Sustainability. [Online Video] June 23rd 2013. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lOSIHWOp2I [Accessed 21 August 2017].