Can’t we make the logo bigger? At its heart, it’s a simple request but professional designers cringe at the lack of understanding it reveals about so many things: balance, composition, white space, scale. You can’t just make the logo bigger, or you’ll have to adjust possibly every other element of the design. This is the simple principle behind sustainability: everything affects everything else.

Yet we often fail to apply such an obvious principle at the macro level. We think about designing a package that the consumer will want to pick up and purchase, but we don’t think about where that package ends up (most likely in the nearest trash receptacle). This isn’t particularly the designer’s fault. There is so much conflicting information and the issues are so broad, that it can be difficult to really grasp what sustainability and sustainable design even mean.

It’s enough to make a designer give up and forget the whole the mess. But imagine if there were a way to approach the issues without overwhelm, without constantly feeling like you are swimming upstream. There is a way, and it starts with deconstructing the myths and misunderstandings that stand in the way of creative discovery:

Myth 1: Sustainability is a fixed result.

Stop now if you think sustainability refers to some utopian state of green perfection. Sustainability is a means, not an end (or as one designer at Ideo likes to say, “sustainability is a verb, not a noun”). It might best be compared to the creative process itself: every designer’s methods are different, but we each engage in questioning, thinking and exploring ideas. How we do so directly informs what the final design looks like, but the process is not the product. Sustainability is the learning curve and as such, it is a constantly shifting thing. Just as the way we think, question and explore changes depending on the design challenge, so the sustainable steps we take may change depending on the multitude of variables we’re faced with and the interplay of external forces. When seen along a continuum, the prospect of moving towards sustainability becomes much more manageable.

Myth 2: Sustainability is the same as being green.

I hear folks confuse these terms constantly; just because a product is “green” does not mean it’s sustainable. “Green” is a descriptive term used to indicate that a product or service conforms to certain environmental standards (I’ll discuss green materials in an upcoming column). Green is certainly good, but it is not the entire picture. So what, then, does “sustainability” really mean?

There are a number of accepted definitions among those who talk or write about it for a living, but they all basically say the same thing: sustainability is balancing what goes in with what comes out so that the entire process is regenerative in nature. Think about that high school physics class you took when you learned about the first law of thermodynamics: energy can be neither created nor destroyed (it’s simply reformed). Sustainability focuses on making sure that energy morphs into life-supporting forms instead of life-threatening ones, be they environmental, economic or social in nature. Sustainable design focuses on using our own tools of the trade to do the same thing.

Myth 3: Sustainability is boring.

This might be the saddest myth around. We’re creatives! If we can’t find a way to make sustainability interesting, then we’re not doing our jobs. Science doesn’t have to be dull; just remember the Golden Mean if you need proof that the science of nature plays an integral and fascinating role in design. Imagine: an auto manufacturer designs a car that actually filters the air entering the radiator so it comes out cleaner than it went in! Or, what if your next invitation design was mailed in a double-sided envelope that could be unfolded and used as a reply card? The challenges posed by a commitment to sustainability are not insurmountable, nor are they dry and lifeless.

Myth 4: Sustainability is expensive.

Gone are the days when recycled papers cost twice as much and look half as beautiful as their virgin counterparts. Nowadays trusted manufacturers like Neenah, Domtar and Mohawk offer recycled options, some of which are even produced with wind power. Not only are the materials competitively priced, we can often save money on production by creating sustainable designs. Reducing the amount of materials used inevitably results in cost savings while simultaneously decreasing raw materials consumption, which in turn reduces the energy consumption needed to produce and ship those raw materials, which in turn reduces the pollution created by that production process…are you starting to connect the dots? There are additional ways sustainable design can actually be profitable for a design firm in the long run: it can increase customer loyalty and retention, and offer a strategic advantage in the marketplace (I’ll discuss that down the road).

Myth 5: I have a limited impact.

I was appalled by a letter to the editor in a recent issue of Graphic Design USA, in which Michael Stanard, Creative Director of design firm One Zero Charlie, writes: “Graphic designers talk about social responsibility, recycled paper, soy inks, global warming, saving the planet and all that…However, designers are kidding themselves if they think they make any real impact on society.” Wow. But if this were really the case, there wouldn’t be a graphic design industry, would there? The truth is that there are over a quarter of a million graphic designers in the U.S. alone.* Thirty percent of them are self-employed, giving them even more decision-making power. Each of us alone has the power to influence vendors, clients, colleagues and the audiences who are eventually exposed to our work; imagine what each of us together can accomplish.

Don’t buy into the myths: sustainability is both an approachable and practical system for the environment and for your business. Next month I’ll show you how sustainable design can increase your profits, land you new customers and reduce your company’s operating costs.

Stay tuned to The Sustainable Studio,
Jess

Jess Sand | Principal | Roughstock Studios
Author, Small Failures: Sustainability for the Rest of Us | BoDo Author | The Sustainable Studio