How are graphic designers responding to a need for more sustainability within the print industry?
Intro:
POINT 1:
Why there is a need for more sustainability within the print industry. Discuss ecology.
Point 1a: The ecological threat that print poses boils down to ink cartridges and non-ethical paper sourcing. But the damage is more than that, “Take - make - discard” culture means that the shipment and discarding of goods also affects the environment.
“The majority of the power used to make [ink cartridges] work comes from the burning of fossil fuels with coal-fired power plants being cited “among the biggest culprits”. In addition, another pressing and well-documented issue is that of waste, with the usage of office printers resulting in a drastic increase in paper waste, some types of which “release toxins into the environment” before they biodegrade.” (The Recycler, 2017)
“The most pressing concern for the publishing sector has become finding paper supplies that are not contributing to harmful forestry practices where certified papers are not available” (Bullock and Walsh, 2013)
To paraphrase Franklin and Till (2018) Our current/ past design process relies on “Take - Make - Discard” using natural materials, transporting them to factories, shipping the products around the world, using them briefly, and discarding them.
Point 1b: Donella Meadows questions this impact in the 70s, and states how we can choose to make a better future. However, this did not happen as it is seen as “uneconomic”.
“Are there enough resources to allow the economic development of the 7 billion people expected by the year 2000 to a reasonably high standard of living? Once again the answer must be a conditional one. It depends on how the major resource-consuming societies handle some important decisions ahead. They might continue to increase resource consumption according to the present pattern. They might learn to reclaim and recycle discarded materials. They might develop new designs to increase the durability of products made from scarce resources. They might encourage social and economic patterns that would satisfy the needs of a person while minimizing, rather than maximizing, the irreplaceable substances he possesses and disperses. All of these possible courses involve trade-offs. The tradeoffs are particularly_ difficult in this case because they involve choosing between present benefits and future benefits. In order to guarantee the availability of adequate resources in the future, policies must be adopted that will decrease resource use in the present. Most of these policies operate by raising resource costs. Recycling and better product design are expensive; in most parts of the world today they are considered "uneconomic."
Point 1c: Ecological design has always been downplayed by the mainstream because it does not benefit consumerism. Still to this day, sustainable design involuntarily invites criticism.
“Mainstream design ignored this holistic vision to the benefit of short term consumerism and for the profit of global shareholders.”
“Sustainable design is about criticism. Situated well within the comfort zone of an ever-hungry consumer society, the daily throughput of products born of trend-driven design slip quietly through the net, unchallenged, while their 'sustainable' counterparts, by default, seem to invite criticism due to their participation in what is a critical process. This mode of disruptive and un-inclusive assault is unnerving to many designers, and does not help encourage them to engage in more sustainable practice. Therefore, a less bold designer may remain perfectly content to piggyback trends as a means to achieve immunity from such criticism.”
POINT 2:
Why it is up to the designer to respond to this need, why choosing a sustainable printing method is not enough to combat the problem. Discuss greenwashing.
Point 2a: Designers have to make a choice whether to be ecological or not. They have, in the past, aided the rise of consumerist waste culture. Victor Papanek uses the example of aerosol cans as an example.
“If design is ecologically responsive, then it is also revolutionary. All systems - private capitalist, state socialist, and mixed economies - are built on the assumption that we must buy more, consume more, waste more, throw away more, and consequently destroy Life raft Earth. If design is to be ecologically responsible, it must be independent of concern for the gross national product (no matter how gross that may be). In pollution, the designer is more heavily implicated than most people.”
“The introduction of aerosol cans in the fifties revolutionised the merchandising of drugs, foods, home remedies, cosmetics, and many other items. Industry has embraced the aerosol concept eagerly: it makes it possible to sell a smaller quantity at inflated prices. Almost without exception, aerosol cans are constructed so that the consumer can not use all of the product. Hence, more waste. Designers, both industrial and graphic are much to blame in helping with the introduction of aerosol cans.”
Point 2b: Companies/ designers are guilty of greenwashing. Claiming a green agenda, but not utilising sustainable practises throughout the whole design chain. This is not enough.
“Companies are at risk today of being accused of ‘greenwashing’: claiming a green agenda whilst not actually observing green practises along the whole supply chain [...] This means businesses must demand strict sustainability standards at every stage. For their print suppliers, this includes printing materials, but also how they manage their waste and the impact of printing processes. In an environment where your brand’s every move is under the magnifying glass of social media, slapping a sustainability tagline on your brand simply isn't enough.”
Point 2c: How designers are integrating sustainability into every step of the design process. Designers are seeing this from a positive, creative point of view rather than a capitalist, economic one.
“[Sustainable design is] a necessary part of the design process and should be integral to every step, not something added on as an afterthought”
“Many are seizing the creative opportunities that working with print sustainably affords, seeing it as a breeding ground for new and exciting ways of working”
“Innovative designers are able to take waste matter that is broken down to create an entirely new and refined object.”
“Allowing supply to inform demand rather than the other way around.”
CASE STUDY 1:
It’s Freezing In LA!
Matthew Lewis, the magazine’s designer speaking to It's Nice That: “I limit myself to two dummy copies of the magazine before sending to print. We are utilitarian with the way we place content. After flowing in the articles, myself and Nina [Carter - head of visual content] work to allocate space for the illustrations before we commission them. This way we can make sure that space on the page is being used as economically as possible.” “Simple materials used to create a beautiful resource.”
“The publication comes in at just under B5 (the size it was originally planned to be) as shaving a few millimetres off means more copies can fit on the same paper stock with any compromises to the design. This paper stock is, of course, recycled and the magazine is printed using organic inks.”
CASE STUDY 2:
Apfel Brukt by Colllectttivo
“It’s a succinct yet impactful project that sees Collettivo embark on new, meaningful endeavours. Further commenting on what’s changed since last year, Matteo says: “I can’t really say that our process has evolved, we are still the same seven people meeting in a kitchen during the weekends. But I think we are more aware of what we can do and what we want to do.” That includes reducing the impact of production as much as possible, whether that involves printing the paper using Risograph – a technique that uses vegetable inks and masters in banana paper – using recycled paper, or even silk-screening T-shirts by hand.
“Obviously ours is a small gesture,” Matteo concludes, “but it’s demonstrative of the commitment without the presumption of truly saving the planet. The truth is that becoming eco-friendly today is not a choice, but a necessity. The design industry, like many others, is adapting but not fast enough.”
CONCLUSION :
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