Designers know there's more to our work than simply making things look pretty. We play an important role in our clients' success: package design impacts sales levels, identity design impacts brand equity, and so on. But our value doesn't stop there: product design impacts the human experience, ballot design impacts election results—are you seeing the pattern? What designers do—and, therefore, how we do it—matters.
And how do we design? Most designers already ask clients important questions when starting a project in order to fully understand the project scope and the creative opportunities open to us. It follows, then, that expanding this process—asking questions not just of clients, but of ourselves and our vendors—might lead to even better solutions. To design sustainably, then, is to simply ask an additional set of questions.
Clients often ask us for a specific deliverable without ever addressing whether or not it's the most appropriate approach. This gives designers the opportunity to guide clients to better solutions that are both environmentally responsible and more effective. But the only way to do this is to look at the big picture first:
It's time to expand our attention beyond the screen or sketchbook in front of us; we can have far more control over a project's impact when we see clearly what resources go into every physical artifact we design, and what's left behind when we're done.
In addition to budgetary resources, every project uses natural resources (energy, materials, etc.) and human resources (labor). Identifying these early on can reveal opportunities for elimination or substitution of materials, and improvements to your process.
Look for ways to reduce the amount of waste produced, as well the nature (toxicity) of it.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways to make your project more sustainable is to look at the project's entire life cycle. Consider the purpose of the design, how it will be used by people, and what will happen to it once it's disposed of.
As author and sustainability expert John Thackara points out, "eighty percent of the environmental impact of the products, services, and infrastructure around us is determined at the design stage. Design decisions shape the processes behind the products we use, the materials and energy required to make them, the ways we operate them and what happens to them when we no longer need them."
In other words, the design decisions you make on your next client project will bring you one step closer to a sustainable world of thoughtfully created things.
Sustainable design often starts with a smaller footprint overall. Ask yourself the following:
From loggers to factory workers to recyclers, we often forget about the people involved in the manufacturing chain.
Creating products with longevity means fewer materials in the landfill.
For more specific decision-making help, see our resources on print design, paper, printing, ink, packaging, and digital design, or use our our Project Calculator.
