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What does sustainability mean to you as a designer?
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Sustainability. It can be viewed as the environmental reality we live in today, the social equity that we all strive for, the economic realities that we deal with day in and day out, and the cultural vitality that we're all encouraging to flourish.
All of the above, or none at all.
We’re putting out the call—what does sustainability mean to you, being (or involved as) a creative professional and a valued GDC member? We know it's a vast idea, but let's keep it short and sustainable. (See what we did there?) Help shape our collected professional stance on sustainability and all that it means to us.
Alternatively, answer the question "Why is sustainability needed in our industry?"
Have fun!
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http://www.livingprinciples.org/framework/roadmap/
I've written a not-so-short essay related to designers and sustainability that appears in the current issue of Applied Arts magazine.
You can access an online PDF of the piece at this link: http://www.robertlpeters.com/news/?p=5823
Good design to me has always been about being sustainable: intelligent use of materials; concise messaging; accessible design; beautifully crafted typography; and an appropriate and respectful concept. Smart designers have always kept abreast of the non-design options that clients can integrate into their side of the equation: from simple things like printing only as many copies of catalogues or brochures as are really needed, to implementing cradle-to-grave policies for the "packaging" which we have created for them to help sell their products.
To me it simply means utilizing creativity and design to provoke positive thought in those who view. Creating something with the future in mind - how will it effect it's surroundings, and how it will effect the brain(inspiration for continued sustainable thoughts or opening doors of change)
Great posts above me!
To me, sustainability means living consciously with the fact that we are part of the environment. It is not separate from us and we are as affected by it as it is affected by us. Sustainability means living with the understanding that our world isn't finite; that we have to be resourceful and responsible with our consumption so we have something left for the next generation. It means as designers that we're responsible for reducing our impact on the planet, and have the ability to harness our power to affect change so that everyone else hopefully comes to the same wholehearted understanding. My work by the nature of its medium doesn't produce much "stuff" but it does have great bearing on persuading, informing and enabling people, and I do that by making the information as accessible and inviting as possible.
I'm willing to admit that I have a hard time truly grasping just what sustainability means to me as a designer. Many say it's about considering your impact in every way possible, and frankly that freaks me out at times.
The design process is rife with chaos and compromise as we pursue big ideas and the engaging ways delivering message and meaning, but somewhere in that process needs to be the consideration of the future. And that feels wrong at times considering how focussed visual design has been on the here and now.
I suppose sustainability comes into play as we consider options within that chaos, making decisions we can be proud of, even when we don't fully comprehend all the effects of our choices. We must make sustainability part of our checklist of procedures and issues to address during our design process. And we must teach the next generation to build this into their process.
I remember proudly telling people about how we migrated some clients from wasteful print runs of annual reports to online versions with simpler, smaller printed supplements as required. Then I learned more about the energy requirements for web and fact that many people just print A/Rs out on laser printers, potentially worse than printing them using lithography in the first place. That stung.
Sustainability, like change, scares me. But aren't all things worth doing a bit scary?
Sustainability, in a small way, has always been at the heart of design.
As designers we strive to create work that stands the test of time. Work that lives-on past the era in which it was created.
What's changing is how deeply sustainability permeates the process of creating that work. So now when we design sustainably, we not only create beautiful results, we create a beautiful process. A process that strives to be mindful of its impact on the planet, as well as its impact for clients.
So you see then, for me, sustainability just means being a better designer, because sustainability is not by accident, it's by design.
Eighty per cent of the products we buy today ends up in the landfill within six weeks. Disappointing but true. Communication design as it exists today is not sustainable—period. Our lives on the planet are unsustainable as we live now. That’s bad news and we’ve had enough of it. What we need now are the tools to start moving forward and generate momentum for change.
When we work towards sustainability in communications we focus on strategy, and in implementing this strategy, how to nurture the environment instead of harm it, to build community instead of scar it, and to feed our culture instead of negate it, and finally to maintain a bottom line to serve the needs of more than just ourselves.
We’ve got a long way to go yet, and the face of communication will be completely different in 50 years but for now we are responsible for championing this transition. We can decide to do nothing and wait for legislation to force us to begrudgingly change. Alternatively, we can take the reins, change our minds and move right now for something completely different. We can model design thinking to help build a deeper understanding of our practice, as well as push our creativity to heights never seen before. That excites me... I hope it excites many other designers too.
Sustainability as it relates to societal ethics and design education involves finding opportunities in curriculum to allow the dialogue to begin.
The classroom seems a natural place where design educators can mentor students and the public in project work which fosters an understanding for how design process can affect positive societal well being.
To do so means finding an appropriate project which will allow introduction and use of best practice design methods to affect and measure desired change.
Three necessary guidelines for choosing projects are :
1. The project must not take money / work away from professional designers;
2. The project must fit into curriculum, level of expertise and skill sets of the students are the main key focus to generate the desired results for the educational experience while also considering project requirements;
3. The project must provide clearly defined goals and objectives to arrive at solutions which can demonstrate positive impacts on education, health, culture or environment to benefit society.
To assist in the search for some suitable partnerships in the public realm, the following urls of government agencies in Canada define non-profit corporations and provide listings for charities, searchable by province:
http://www.bdc-canada.com/BDC/articles/Not-for-profit/What_is_a_Not_for_profit_Corporation.htm
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html
Sustainability can be observed in nature. A circular system that feeds into itself. When a life-span has ended and becomes waste—it provides nourishment for something else.
Sustainability in design could then mean adapting to this system and leaving this place in better shape than how we found it.
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Many firms and designers are now becoming more aware and interested in sustainable design, which is great but I find that much literature on this subject often fail to recognize that these ideas and concepts have been around for decades within the First Nations culture. Although I find the current interest to be encouraging I have found the history that is presented on this subject to be a tad disheartening.
Much of the literature states that it is widely agreed that Silent Spring by Richard Carson was the catalyst for the modern day environmental movement, and/or also noting the work and ideas by Buckminster Fuller and Victor Papanek to be the beginning of sustainable design. I would like to note that sustainable practices have been used within First Nations Culture for decades. Literature originating in the United States and Canada never seems to note the practices of their First Nations populations as being noteworthy or even a part of design history.
The practise of sustainability has been long standing with First Nations cultures. The Great Law of the Iroquois, holds appropriate to think seven generations ahead and decide whether the decisions they make today would benefit their children seven generations into the future.
I guess my thoughts and practices on sustainability are ones that my ancestors had practiced years ago and I would like to bring awareness that sustainability is no such a new or novel idea and that much can be learnt from the practices and culture of the First Nations communities if we only took the time and effort to look into “our” history.
CITY = FOREST When a city and forest are functionally indistinguishable that’s when you’ve reached sustainability. There’s no standard definition of sustainability. Biomimicry sets the simple standard of "life creates conditions conducive to life". BIOMIMICRY = very consciously place-based
I agree with so much of what is being said above - great posts.
I think that what 'sustainability' means, in the graphic design context, is taking responsibility as a maker of stuff to do so consciously - ethically and environmentally - with respect to 'mother earth'. What you said, Megan really resonates with me - it was my exposure as a child to First Nations culture that I believe lead me to really value our planet and the resources on/in it.
Like most systems, you change one thing and other things have cascading effects. I love this conversation because we're challenging the meaning of 'good' design to include this conscious behavior. I am constantly inspired with the power of design thinking and I feel like people just need to view 'sustainability' as yet another criteria to a client brief to challenge themselves and push forward more innovative solutions to the communication pieces we all create.
There's a huge cultural shift happening - designers of all kinds using their skills to solve some of these real-life problems can contribute to better solutions for the future.
Since incorporation in 1976, one of the GDC's objectives has been to improve the human environment. Paul Hawken said "Sustainability is about stabilizing the currently disruptive relationship between earth’s two most complex systems—human culture and the living world." In our profession, we strive to improve this relationship by paying close attention to both the big picture and the small details and by making adjustments to the ways in which we live and work. This includes educating ourselves on the issues, paying attention to carbon footprint, assessing business practices, interacting with suppliers to find efficiencies and improved products, leading clients to appropriate solutions, and creating work that has both immediate and lasting impact and value; working in ways that will allow the planet to thrive, now and in the future.
Sustainability begins with education. Educate yourself, your clients, and their clients. Be aware of the impact (environmental, social, economical, financial, etc.) your design decisions make. Designers today are in the best position to influence positive change...
"You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself." - Nelson Mandela
Thank you so much for contributing to this conversation folks. We'll be using some excerpts from these in the GDC national annual report being design by Foundry in Calgary.
Sustainability for me is a mind-set, or a guiding philosophy of life. It is a necessary cultural shift in today’s society that puts value on environmental, cultural, social and economic responsibility. Sustainability is needed in the graphic design profession, because we designers are the medium for the message. Presenting information in a way that is both accessible and memorable is a core responsibility of a graphic designer. Likewise, how that information is presented is also a core responsibility. By considering the full life cycle of products and services, and committing to strategies, processes and materials that embody sustainability, we add value to our clients’ projects.
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