Sustained, Sustainable, Sustaining

SUS TAINED SUS TAINABL E SUS TAINING exploring environmentally conscious design through where we were and where we are going

Inspired by the manifesto “Sustainism is the New Modernism: A Cultural Manifesto for the Sustainist Era� by Michiel Schwarz and Joost Elffers

A N N A BO S WO R T H Created for SUNY Purchase “Design Issues” class taught by Warren Lehrer Published May 14, 2019

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CONTENTS Ground Knowledge One: An Introduction Two: Hopeful Incorporation Three: A Reformation Endnotes

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This book hopes to explore sustainability through the profession of graphic design, and how attitudes towards incorporating sustainable practices have shifted over time. As the planet’s future becomes more dire every passing year, graphic designers must understand the history of sustainability in their industry to implement sustainable solutions and ethos throughout their work.

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G R O U N D K NO WL ED G E SUS TAINABIL IT Y: able to continue or keep going; able to maintain its viability by using techniques that allow for continual reuse 1

G R EEN WA SHING :

conveying a false impression that a company or its products are more environmentally sound than they really are2

E C ODE SIG N: Sometimes known as green design, this is the practice refers to

comprehensive actions that take the environment into consideration, minimizing the consumption of energy and natural resources as well as the production of waste and emissions.

An ecological product is produced, used, recycled and disposed of in a natural manner3

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PL AN NED O BSO L E S CENCE :

a method of stimulating consumer demand by designing products that wear out or become outdated after limited use4

M AT ER IAL IT Y: What something is made from; in context of environmental

practices, the impact of material on the earth, in relation to its production, consumption, and disposal.

L IG HT G REEN AND DAR K G R EEN SUS TA IN A BIL IT Y: A scale used in the environmental movement of the 1980s to signify attitudes towards the environment; the scale ranges from grey to dark green, with dark green representing the most radical environmental action and ideology5

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“The unquestionable merit of ecodesign consists in having articulated concerns which put into question paradigms of design and industrial production and consumption that we took for granted.� 6 -Pauline Madge

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an introduction

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A BR I EF HIS TO R Y OF T H E R E VOLU T IO NS O F G R APH I C D E SIG N T HE PRINT ING PR E S S : The printing press originated in China; the date is

unknown but historians speculate that some early version was created in ~860 A.D. Johannes Gutenberg, who brought the technology to Europe, is mostly commonly accredited with inventing the printing press in 1440. This technology allowed the printed word to be mass produced and paved the way for modern graphic design.7

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T HE IND US T RIAL R E VOLU T I ON:

Ranging from the late 1700s through the early 1900s, the industrial revolution marks a period of rapid technological advancement. Populations shifted from rural to urban areas and the vast amount of new inventions necessitated advertisements which has shaped the modern graphic design industry.

Distance and speed of communications improved drastically, and the ability to mass produced changed the way that populations consumed product. Although modern living is founded on the inventions of the industrial revolution, frameworks established in this time are main drivers of ecological destruction today.8

T HE PER SO NA L C OM P U T ER : In the 1990s, the computer

revolutionized both the ease and the accessibility of graphic design. Computer-based tools helped designers reach larger communities than ever before and offered a myriad of solutions to design problems. The personal computer also posed a series of new challenges for designer and removed materiality from much graphic design work, further separating the design from the products used to create it.

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E A R LY EN VI R ONMENTAL I S M AMERIC A:

The American environmental movement began in the 1960s with publications of texts such as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and Stewart Udall’s The Quiet Crisis. Environmental legislation that demands clean air and quality water was passed. April 22, 1970 marked the first national Earth Day, in which an estimated 20 million people participated. Protections were steadily added until 1982, when President Reagan cut the power and budget of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

G R APHIC DE SI G N: 10

Graphic design was largely in the thralls of Modernism in the 1960s, with clean, Swiss design being held in high esteem9 . Sustainability in design was not at the forefront of discussion and did not reach popular status until the early 1980s.

“Green” became a buzzword in the 80s, both worldwide and in graphic design.

“Unlike architecture, [...] graphic design has only recently, within the last fifteen years, begun making its mark in environmental sustainability.�

-ADRIENNE SCHWARTE, 201110 Although sustainable practices were present in other forms of design, green graphic design has only become prevalent since the early 1990s. Graphic designers were involved in Earth Day marketing and other eco-minded campaigns, but the industry as a whole focused its efforts elsewhere. In the 70s and 80s, activist work primarily surrounded the AIDS crisis, war, equality, and poverty11 .

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S US TAI NABIL IT Y I N G R A PHI C DE SIG N 12 1969: Concerns about materiality, consumption, and production are brought up in Buckminster Fuller’s teachings14

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1972: Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek is published, advocating for sustainable design and less consumption

1970: As Earth Day approaches, marketing increases stressing the importantance of environmental action.13 1963: The Clean Air Act passes

1962: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is Published

1965: The Water Quality Act passes and standards for car emmissions are set

1970: The National Environmental Policy Act passes

1969: Energy reforms 1970: The first occur after massive oil spill national Earth Day off the coast of California.

1982: Evelyn Moller created the phrase “ecological functionalism” and made a green check list for product designers and manufacturers

Mid 1980s: Green becomes a popular buzzword

1988: The “Green Consumer Guide” is published, marking the beginning of green consumerism

1986: An exhibition called “The Green Designer” goes up in the U.K.

1985: Nature Magazine reports a hole in the O-Zone layer over Antarctica

1977: President Carter establishes the Department of Energy, which oversees research of sustainable energy forms

1981: President Reagan cuts the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget, first by 12% and then by 44%

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Mid 1980s: Green becomes a popular buzzword

EN V IR O N M EN TA L M O V E M EN T- US A 1 5

E A R T H DAY 1970

hopeful incorporation

TWO

1980 s

“Green” is the buzzword of the 80s. Taken from the political terminology of politics, “green” was adopted in many situations to hint at a more progressive or environmentally minded set of beliefs. Because it is vague, it is open to many interpretations and possibilities for misuse.*

ea r l y 19 9 0 s

Ecological design, or eco-design, replaces the term “green” in fear that the phrase will go out of style. “Ecological” also reflects a more nuanced, deep-ecology understanding of environmental issues that is more representative of the changing landscape of design.**

mi d 19 9 0 s to p re s ent

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“Sustainable” becomes the buzz word of the 1990s and is misused in a fashion similar to “green” because it promotes a “business as usual” attitude. In the 21st century, sustainable design looks at the life of a product and its impacts on the world through ethical and material lenses.*** *,**,***16

G R APHI C DE SIG N G E T S G REEN ER The 1990s marked a period of increasing awareness of environmental issues in the graphic design community. A focus on recycled materials and sustainable consumption17 showed more consideration over the lifecycle of a product. The practice of greenwashing promoted the idea that sustainable consumption was a viable road forward in the increasing environmental catastrophe. Materiality changes were are the forefront and philosophies surrounding sustainable design and its impacts on the world began to reveal a more complicated landscape than originally depicted.

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U N S US TAINABL E PR AC T ICE S At first glance, graphic designers seem

to have very little ability to impact the sustainability of their industry. Choosing environmentally friendly brands can be a luxury that not all designers can afford, and in many cases, graphic designers have little or no control over production of their designs. Attempting to be sustainable in design practice can be complicated, inaccessible, or confusing, and designers 18

face making these moral and ethical choices for themselves.

As makers become further removed from the materiality of their product, it becomes more necessary to think about what resources are used to manufacture a product. In printing, designers face choice of paper– both its makeup and its possible disposal– and ink, which is often filled with toxic chemicals.

Too many graphic designers think their role and responsibility extends no further than making what are too quickly called ‘ethical’ decisions at a project’s production stage.

-Anna Gerber, 200818

Makers must also consider the lifespan of their tools and work. Computers often fail after a short time span due to a consumer trend called planned obsolescence. Many projects that graphic designers face are communications based and therefore ephemeral, losing power and worth over a short period of time. Increasingly consumption-based lifestyles also lead to messages, products, and advertising having a shorter shelf life.

With sustainable methods increasingly making their way into the mainstream, choosing more eco-friendly options is getting easier. However, even environmentally minded products and practices still impact the earth and deplete resources.

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E C O N OMIC IMPAC T S OF S US TAI NABIL IT Y “Despite the fact that sustainability is fast becoming a top-level business priority, and that it represents a progressive issue for which many designers should be sympathetic—design community awareness currently trails existing business initiatives” -Phil Hamlett, 200519 20

In 2018, a consumer report concluded that 81% of consumers worldwide noted that sustainability was either very or extremely important to them20. The market has reflected consumer interests, with increased sustainable options in nearly every category of product. As businesses focus more on selling to the environmentally-minded customer, they change marketing to reflect perceived sustainable attitudes.

communication, graphic designers balance the responsibility of relaying information accurately and effectively. In faux-sustainable products, these often cannot both be achieved.

However, some companies are doing an exemplary job of responding to market interests– and often, their own moral >>

Increased interest in sustainable products is a positive step towards a more sustainable future; however, as noted by Phil Hamlett, the graphic design community has been behind the curve. As masters of https://www.s-packaging.com

<< compasses– to make products that are as ethical and low impact as possible.

Graphic designers can do their part by marketing effectively and advocating for more sustainable materials and packaging of products. This is already being done in many industries and is a positive step towards a more sustainable design system and world.

Sustainable materials are often harder to find for graphic designers than in other design fields such as architecture.

Industry standards don’t require sustainability, and as such are often less than environmentally friendly.

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“Sustainability is one of those waves, like the rise of modernism in the 1930s and the personal computer revolution in the 1980s, that change nearly every aspect of our society– and every design industry, including graphic design.”21 -Brian Dougherty

G R EEN WA SHING

Because sustainability is now considered a consumer trend, some companies choose to embody an imagine of sustainability rather than implement better business practices. Words such as “green”, “natural”, “organic”, “sustainable”, and “recyclable” are vague and can be co-opted to project more ecologically positive business attitudes than are reflected in reality.

This is an extremely common trend, and one that graphic designers have a direct hand in.

Choice in language, color, and symbology can be used to mislead customers, or it can be a way to inform customers what practices actually guide the production of products and serve as an educational tool.

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G R EEN WA SHIN G : WHAT TO LO O K F OR x “Organic” x

“Green”

x

“Eco-Friendly”

x

“Sustainable”

x

“Recyclable”

THERE ARE NO INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR THESE WORDS... ...SO WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

Coca Cola’s environmental campaign is a prime example of a successful initiative that still cannot be considered sustainable. A plant-based, 100% recyclable bottle does not mean the bottle will be recycled26, nor does it promise that plants have been gathered ethically and workers treated fairly. Coca Cola is making great leaps in their impact as a company, but to even cut waste in half leaves an incredibly harmful amount behind. While Coca Cola is a responsible for their environmental impact, they are but a small cog in a much larger machine.

It could be argued that Coca Cola’s sustainable initiatives are more an example of greenwashing than true change. If a multi-billion-dollar company wanted to change to biodegradable or low impact plastic, they have the mobility to do so.

However, Coca Cola has decreased their water usage and made substantive goals27 and changes as a result of their initiatives. Is this an example of a business trying to lower their environmental impact or just another example of greenwashing? In respect to the profession of graphic design, a designer must make the choice for themselves.

Sustainability in graphic design is determined at large by a collection of individual choices, and designers can choose to work for companies that promote sustainability or for companies that use â&#x20AC;&#x153;sustainabilityâ&#x20AC;? as a marketing strategy. Graphic designers are the people designing the packaging that convey the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s values, and as such have a social responsibility.

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U N SUS TAINABL E I ND US T R Y ?

It is a rather recent development that consumers or governments are demanding more sustainable products, and new solutions are constantly being produced. Graphic design is in a period of constant flux, and every moving part must be thought of in terms of how it effects another. Throughout the time that environmentalism has played a large part in the design field, the computer has also evolved and changed every facet of society. Despite the urge to rely on technology to solve major environmental problems, people are recognizing the negative impacts of those very technologies. The environmental crisis cannot be solved by designers alone, but a design-based approach to sustainability can help to reimagine what a sustainable future could look like.

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At its root, graphic design is an industry of consumption. Some consumption is certainly more ethical than others; using renewable resources, safe respectful labor, and considering the life of product are fantastic way to further sustainability in the industry. However, as graphic designer Scott Boylston writes:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;WHAT WE DO AT A DEEPER LEVEL ... GENERALLY 24 SPEAKING... BOLSTERS MYTHS THAT TEAR AWAY AT THE FABRIC OF OUR LIFE-SUPPORTING ECO- SYSTEMS.â&#x20AC;?28 To understand the issue of integrating sustainability into design and production practices, it must be understood that mass production, and capitalism as a whole, rely on an always growing economy that takes advantage of natural resources for personal gain. Only then can designers evaluate their own participation in the system and realize the inherent lack of sustainability that comes with constant consumption.

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a reformation

THREE

D E SIG N ER CHAL L ENG E S Combatting harmful attitudes begins with asking yourself questions about your work and values:

• How do I design in a way that lessens my negative impact on the environment?

• How do I design for the long term?

• How can I advocate for environmentally conscious design?

• How are my attitudes contributing to environmental problems?

• How do I balance client and consumer needs while working ethically?

• What is my responsibility?

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Sustainable design necessitates a revolution in the way that society views consumption, production, and need. Many designers have theorized that graphic designers must be reunited with the process of making in order to work sustainably. Designer Anna Gerber writes “Reconnecting the designing and the making is an implicitly political act and re-establishing this connection helps pave the way to a more environmentally sustainable future.”29 She argues that control over the production system reclaims power from large unsustainable producers and inherently slows down the “In a world where the process of making, which begins to shift unintended consequences of ideas of consumption to need as opposed to want-based. our actions as consumers are Reconnecting to the process of making helps connect designers and consumers to the materiality of their consumption. Scott Boylston writes, “In a world where the unintended consequences of our actions as 30

rarely easy to comprehend, graphic design has succeeded in creating fore and aft blinders.”

consumers are rarely easy to comprehend, graphic design has succeeded in creating fore and aft blinders: We can’t see what’s happened before our glorious widgets land in our shopping cart, nor can we see what happens after they take flight from our garbage bins.” 30 Understanding the implications of mass consumerism on a planet with finite resources helps to reframe exactly what society is using and the consequences of its depletion.

Designers take pride in being problem solvers and considering sustainability as a problem to solve can help instill environmentally-minded praxis in design communities. As the ecological disaster continues to worsen, it is imperative that good design is sustainable, and that sustainable design is good.

“Learning to be a green designer is simply a process of redefining that internal compass that guides our design so that it includes social and ecological considerations.”

-Brian Dougherty31

T ENA N TS O F S US TAI NABL E DE SI G N • Design is durable and well made • Focused on quality over quantity: less consumption, better design • Materials are sustainable and ethically sourced • Advertising is truthful and educational • Design is viewed as process rather than product • Design is not separated from the natural world 32

T HE VER Y C ONCEP T OF ‘SUS TAINABIL IT Y ’ UNDERL IE S O UR F E AR F OR T HE NE X T G ENER AT ION ’S F U T URE , AND F OR CE S T HE Q UE S T ION; IS A HARMONIO US B AL ANCE BE T WEEN T HEIR PR OD UC T DEMANDS AND T HE E AR T H ’S E C OLO GY P OS SIBL E AND HOW C AN IT BE SUS TAINED? -PAUL INE MAD G E 3 2

EN D N OT E S 1 “Sustainable.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/ browse/sustainable.

2 Kenton, Will. “What You Should Know About Greenwashing.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 18 Apr. 2019, www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenwashing.asp.

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“EcoDesign.” EcoDesign, www.ecodesign.fi/.

10 Schwarte, Adrienne. The Rapid Expansion of Environmental Sustainability In Graphic Design in the United States in the Late Twentieth Century: A Decade of Change from the Ground Up. p.1. Maryville College.

Design History Society Annual Conference 2011, Barcelona, Spain 11 Schwarte, Adrienne. The Rapid Expansion of Environmental Sustainability In Graphic Design in the United States in the Late Twentieth Century: A Decade of Change from the Ground Up. p.3. Maryville College.

Design History Society Annual Conference 2011, Barcelona, Spain

4 “Planned Obsolescence.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www. dictionary.com/browse/planned-obsolescence?s=t).

12 Madge, Pauline. “Ecological Design: A New Critique.”

Design Issues, vol. 13, no. 2, 1997, p. 45-46.

5 Madge, Pauline. “Ecological Design: A New Critique.”

Design Issues, vol. 13, no. 2, 1997, p. 46.

13 “The Modern Environmental Movement.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-modern-environmental-movement/.

6 Madge, Pauline. “Ecological Design: A New Critique.”

Design Issues, vol. 13, no. 2, 1997, p. 55 7 Editors, History.com. “Printing Press.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 May 2018, www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press.

8 Müller, Boris. “Design in Four Revolutions.” Medium, Medium, 27 Jan. 2017, medium.com/@borism/design-in-four-revolutions-fb0f01a806d2.

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9 Miller, Eric. “What Events Shaped Modern Design?” Lifewire, Lifewire, 13 Nov. 2018, www.lifewire.com/key-moments-in-graphic-design-history-1697527.

14 “Evolution of Design for Sustainability: From Product Design to Design for System Innovations and Transitions.” Design Studies, Elsevier, 19 Sept. 2016, www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142694X16300631.

15 “The Modern Environmental Movement.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-modern-environmental-movement/.

16 Thorpe, Ann. “Designs Role in Sustainable Consumption.” Design Issues, vol. 26, no. 2, 2010, p. 4.

17 Madge, Pauline. “Ecological Design: A New Critique.”

Design Issues, vol. 13, no. 2, 1997, p. 45-52.

tions Management, 4 Nov. 2016, rctom.hbs.org/submission/coca-cola-is-opening-happiness-sustainable/.

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27 “Coca-Cola: Is ‘Opening Happiness’ Sustainable?” Technology and Operations Management, 4 Nov. 2016, rctom.hbs.org/submission/coca-cola-is-opening-happiness-sustainable/.

Gerber, Anna. “Design and Sustainability.” Creative Review, 2008, pp. 21.

19 Hamlett, Phil. “Sustainability and Graphic Design.” Communication Arts, 1 May 2018, www.commarts.com/columns/sustainability-and-graphic-design.

20 Wilson, Julia. “Consumer Preferences Continue to Shift Toward Sustainability, Market Research Shows.” Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line & Sustainable Business News, 13 Nov. 2018, www.triplepundit.com/story/2018/consumer-preferences-continue-shift-toward-sustainability-market-research-shows/55496.

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Dougherty, Brian. Green Graphic Design. Allworth Press, 2009. p. 21.

22 WEICHEL, KATHRYN Mary. “Nestle Green Washing.” Greenwashing: Nestle’s Eco-Shape Bottles, 25 July 2011, www.personal.psu.edu/kmw130/blogs/ my_blog/2011/07/greenwashing-nestles-eco-shape-bottles.html.

23 “Volkswagen/BMW/Chevy/Ford/Mercedes-Benz (‘Clean Diesel’ Autos).”

EARTH DAY 2019: COMPANIES ACCUSED OF GREENWASHING, 22 Apr. 2016, www. truthinadvertising.org/six-companies-accused-greenwashing/.

24 Lodhi, Arwa. “Unseen Tradeoffs.” ELuxe Magazine, eluxemagazine.com/ magazine/greenwashing/.

28 Boylston, Scott. “Graphic Design and the Anthropocene.” PrintMag, vol.

71, no. 3, 2017, p. 83.

29 Gerber, Anna. “Design and Sustainability: pt2.” Creative Review, 1 Dec. 2008, p. 32.

30 Boylston, Scott. “Graphic Design and the Anthropocene.” PrintMag, vol.

71, no. 3, 2017.

31 16.

Dougherty, Brian. Green Graphic Design. Allworth Press, 2009. pp.

32 Madge, Pauline. “Ecological Design: A New Critique.” Design Issues, vol.

13, no. 2, 1997, p. 53.

33 Boylston, Scott. “Graphic Design and the Anthropocene.” PrintMag, vol.

71, no. 3, 2017.

25 Frick, Walter. “Green Advertising Helped BP Recover from the Deepwater Horizon Spill.” Harvard Business Review, 5 Feb. 2014, hbr.org/2014/02/studygreen-advertising-helped-bp-recover-from-the-deepwater-horizon-spill.

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“Coca-Cola: Is ‘Opening Happiness’ Sustainable?” Technology and Opera-

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“Don’t listen to your elders so much. Sure, they know their grids and ligatures, but never believe that your desire to make a living and do right by the world is naive. Instead, ask them what they’ve been doing while the world’s been coming apart at the seams. Just make sure that the next generation doesn’t have the same 33 opportunity to reproach you for similar reasons.”

-Scott Boylston