Chapter 1: Overview of Sustainable Design - page.12 - 13
- What is Sustainable Design? "Sustainability can be defined in many ways, but perhaps the easiest way to describe it is as the balanced use of natural, social, and economic capital for the continued health of the planet and future generations. Designers can enter into the discussion and begin to adopt sustainable practices at a variety of levels depending on there individual situations. Even professionals who have spent decades immersed in this issue agree that we have yet find the perfect ways of balancing our economic needs with the needs of the planet. Therefore, sustainable practice is more about working toward many small goals than it is about living absolutes.
- "As global citizens, we have a duty to ensure that our work practices are sustainable, whatever the industry. In simple terms, it's about ensuring that the actions of today do not compromise the needs of future generations." Annie Carlile - principal and founder of Viola Eco-Graphic Design.
- "Eco-friendly," "green," "eco-design," and similar expressions are frequently used to refer to processes and concepts that value environmental responsibility. Some designers and experts prefer to use these terms in addition to or instead of "sustainable." While not necessarily incorrect, it is important to understand that terms such as "green" and "eco-friendly" primarily refer to the environment, whereas "sustainability" also considers the social and economic implications of materials, designs, and production processes.
Introduction - page.9
- This book is a guide to sustainable thinking and processes for both professional and novice. It contains practical how-to information about: production, materials, and resources, inspirational stories, work by leading designers.
- Majority of the text highlights on print production, as it is the most resource intensive area in which many graphic designers work. Nevertheless the book does include sections on sustainable packaging, Web design and environmental graphic design (EGD).
- Unlike the environmental movement of the 1980s and 1990s, the sustainability movement is not motivated by guilt etc. It is instead led by a varied group of people who see the long-term environment, social, and economic benefits of working sustainably.
- Practicing sustainable design isn't just about doing the right thing; it's also a way of taking advantage of an emerging market.
- "Consumers are awakening to the power they wield in the marketplace, and companies are afraid that they are losing out because their competition stands for something that they don't." - Hank Stewart of Green Team Advertising New York.
How we got here - page.16
- "It is widely agreed that Silent Spring, Rachel Carson's 1962 book connecting impact to the environment, was a catalyst for the modern day environmental movement."
- Buckmister Fuller and Victor Papanek, began inspiring designers to consider their roles in environment degradation and social inequity long before it was cool to be green.
- Buckminster Fuller - Fuller's work can be seen as a forerunner to the contemporary sustainability movement. As an inventor, scientist, writer, and environmental activist, Fuller believed in doing more with less.
- Fuller's ideas about the integration of natural systems and human invention and his advocacy for environmental issues have been inspirational to many designers, environmentalists, and scholars who advocate the responsible use of the planet's remaining resources.
- "Our planet Earth is home to all humans, but scientifically speaking it belongs only to the universe. It belongs equally to all humans. This is the natural, geometrical law. Any law of men which contradict nature are unenforceable and specious." - Buckminster Fuller.
Victor Papanek - page.18
- Originally trained as an industrial designer, Victor Papanek challenged designers of all kinds to take responsibility for the social and environmental ramifications of their work.
- He railed against built-in obsolescent saying that, "In all pollution, designers are implicated at least partially." The definition of a designer put forth by Papanek is that of a fully thinking problem solver.
- It is a role both more powerful than that of visual stylist and one that requires greater accountability.
- In his second book 'The Green Imperative' (Thames and Hudson, 1995), Papanek included "The wisdom to anticipate the environment, ecological, economic, and political consequences of design intervention" in his list of the skills and talents that a designer should possess.
Cradle to Cradle - page.22
- In their seminal 2002 text, cradle to cradle, William McDonaugh and Michael Braungart proposed that proposed that products should be designed so that after their useful lives are over they can provide "nourishment" for something new.
- They see flawed design models rather than consumption as the most pressing problem.
- McDonaugh and Braungart advocate more intelligent and ecological design as a solution for sustainable prosperity.
- Cradle to cradle principles are guided by the nation that in the natural world waste equals food and that is there is no reason for human activity to be inherently wasteful and destructive.
- McDonaugh and Braungart argue that using the term "recycling" to describe a current system of recovery and reuse is somewhat disingenuous. They suggest that the contemporary industrial model is essentially a cradle to grave approach.
- We "down cycle" rather that recycle.
- With each subsequent use we produce lower grade material until we are finally left with unusable waste that can only be incinerated or stored in landfills.
- "Unless materials are specifically designed to ultimately become safe food for nature, composting can present problems as well. When so-called biodegradable municipal wastes, including packaging paper, are composted, the chemicals and toxins in the materials can be released into the environment,".
- Instead of focusing on the difficult task of re-using (or recycling) materials not initially designed for a second and third life.
- They suggest that we are in need of an industrial re-evolution in which we eliminate the concept of waste instead design products and systems that can provide nourishment for something new at the end of their useful lives.
- Cradle to Cradle in Use:
- Buildings that, similar to trees, produce more energy than they consume and purify their own waste water.
- Products that, when their useful lives are over, do not become useless waste but can be tossed onto the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals and nutrients for the soil or that can return to industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for new products.
- Transportation that improves the quality of life while delivering goods and services.
- A world of abundance, not one of limits, pollution, and waste.
- There are economists, environmentalists, and scientists who argue that respecting the environment and being social responsible can actually increase a company's profitability. Natural capitalism (Little Brown and Company, 1999) by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovings and Hunter Lovings is full of tangible examples of how businesses can thrive by achieving a balance between life and commerce.
- Biomimicry reduces wasteful output of materials; can be accomplished by redesigning industrial or biological lines.
- The problem with green washing:
- More consumers begin to make purchases based at least partially on a company's values, this can be quite tempting for businesses to hype their commitment to environmental or social causes simply in the hopes of bettering their bottom line.
- Green washing is a concern for both consumers and activists, with the latter worried that consumers who feel burned by green companies may turn their backs on an evolving industry.
- In early as 1995, Joe Entine wrote an article for the Utne Reader titled "Green Washing" in which he expressed concern that the dramatic increase in "cause-related marketing might lead to green practices being replaced by green washing."
- Ermine suggests that transparency, openness, and honesty are the ways to combat green washing and are the qualities that customers should look for from the brands, products, and services that they use.
- The best weapon against green washing is informed purchasing, coupled with knowledge and curiosity.
Sustainable Motivators - page. 26 - 27
- People become more environmentally and socially conscious for many reasons, and concern for the environment isn't at the top of everyone's list.
- Some people have ethical concerns about employee's work conditions, others wish to avoid risk, and many worry about the state of the world children will live in.
- Sonora Beam, principal of Digital Hive EcoLogical Design, suggests that sustainability is about pragmatism as well as idealism. "Negative or punishing messages aren't a real motivator for behaviour change."
- Managing Reputation and Brand Value:
- Reputation has a real financial value in today's market. People often purchase a company's products and services because they trust the company and believe the company is a force for good in the world. The company's brand is associated with positive ideas, values and feelings in the mind of consumer.
- Protecting the right to operate:
- Companies that are socially and environmentally responsible earn the public's trust.
Chapter 3: The Science and Practice of Sustainable Design - page.40 - 41
- Image on page 41 - Links in the supply chain of paper.
Sustainable Packaging - page. 102
- Packaging has a rather short history. It is only in the past 100 years that we started to use prepackaged goods on a larger scale.
- Good packaging has improved people's lives. Without contemporary packaging, we would be even less able to feed the growing world population.
- While packaging can solve problems, it can generate new problems. Creating packaging wastes and destroys valuable resources, energy, and materials. Packaging pollutes the world.
- Packaging engineers choose the technology and the materials.
- Controllers make decisions about the costs of packaging.
- Marketing and sales people want the packaging to be attractive.
- The European Packaging Directive is one such example - Under this directive, industries are forced to reduce the amount of packaging and improve recycling methods.
- But at the the same time, other directives require additional packaging for hygienic reasons.
- E.g - Some small items will be put into big packaging just to accommodate the mandatory information texts prescribed by consumer protection laws.
- The Problems with Questions:
- Customers did not often ask for sustainable solutions in their package design. The client insisted on using a materials that fulfilled the public's expected cliché of ecology, and the final solution looked ecological, but it was not sustainable at all. It was a lie and fake.
- e.g. People often think that a glass bottle is a more eco-friendly and sustainable container for liquids than a coated cardboard box.
- Glass is heavy and needs a lot of energy to manufacture and transport to stores and then back to be reused or recycled. Before a bottle can be reused it has to be cleaned, again using energy, water and chemicals.
- Glass is used in packaging lasts forever, while the contents inside usually has an expiration date of less than two months.
- Coated cardboard packaging is usually used once, then thrown away. Cardboard is a little bit better than glass. It is major is finding a better recycling process for coated cardboard.
- Packaging is a complex system, and it isn't limited to the container on the shelf of a supermarket.
- In packaging, one has to think about reduction, reuse, and/or recycling.
Better Question Equals Better Answers - page.104
- The difference between eco-friendly and sustainable. The eco-philosophy of the 1970s tries and still tries to save the world completely.
- On the other hand, sustainability is a philosophy of compromise. When we damage the world and waste energy, it's harmful.
Process Precedes Product - page.107
- Sustainable packaging design is the design of a process rather than the design of a product. The final graphics on the packaging are just decorations, not a design.
- Bionics, a new science between biology and technology, can be a resource to help sort packaging problems.
- Students studying at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland, proposed to breed and tame intelligent microbes to teach them how to shape packaging.
- After the expiration date of the packed goods, the microbes would recycle the pack content themselves and it becomes humus (soil).
- Ashes to ashes, earth to earth.
Chapter 4: Living and Working Sustainably - page.114
- There is no one right way to work sustainably. It depends on local conditions, on the resources available, and on the specifications for a particular job.
- Increasingly, it is only use of environmental labelling that allows a viewer to tell whether something has been produced using preferable production practices ad with social consciousness in mind.
Viola Eco-graphic Design - page.115 - 116
- Based in Melbourne, Australia, Viola Eco-Graphic Design is devoted to best practices in ecologically sustainable design.
- Viola demonstrates that visually sophisticated graphic design doesn't have to "cost the earth."
- There is a strong "values fit" with organisations that have an environmental, cultural, or community focus.
- Carlyle emphasises that when engaging in sustainable design, designers are no longer limited to making work that is any different visually or has a "grass roots" looks.
- If you look at an ecologically-produced piece, it will often look like every other job." Carlilie says. "It was the choices made in the early stages-such as stock and printer selection - that make the piece sustainable."
- Carlyle believes sustainability has reached a tipping point in the public's consciousness.
- It is Carlile's opinion that in the very near future sustainable thinking and a working knowledge of responsible production will be an absolute must for designers.
NAU - page.134
- A growing number of businesses have been founded on sustainable principles. This allows them to build on core concepts such as environmental responsibility and social conscience from the beginning.
- The high-performance clothing company, Nau, is one of these.
- Based in Portland, Oregon, Nau ess born with sustainability as part of its mission.
- Deserving to Exist
- Nau is lean and has the manoeuvrability to bend the brand to the company's social environmental ethics. Its talented in-house designers are just as concerned about yje sustainable production of building materials, clothing tags, and packaging as they are about growing a successful business.
Redesign of the Green Mao Website and Promotion Materials - page. 172
- All of Green map System's 400+ locally-led Green Map projects are unique in their perspective, and while they use the same set of icons to highlight green living, natural, social, and cultural resources, each map has its own look and feel.
Resources - page. 184
- GreenBlue - Founded by Cradle to Cradle authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart, GreenBlue is now an autonomous nonprofit institute that helps professional communities creates practical solutions, resources, and opportunities for implementing sustainability. They are great resource if you are dealing with packaging or work for a large corporation that can afford to join their corporate partnerships. Also see Sustainable Packaging Coalition, which is an industry working group spinoff of GreenBlue.
- Japan for Sustainability - This website, which is available in both English and Japanese, is not graphic design specific, but it i s run by dedicated group pf people who are very good about putting interested parties in touch with each other and giving general information about sustainability in Japan. www.japanfs.org
- Lovely as a Tree - Based in England, this website seeks to provides the answers to what a graphic designer needs to know to be more environmentally aware. It provides a great interactive print finder feature that lets users choose by type of service as well as location. www.lovelyasatree.com
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