Design Can Change - designing for sustainability

We've taken the pledge! Design Can Change is a group of graphic designers all over the world who are committed to making system-wide change to how our field of work affects the planet. This is especially important to us with Blustery Day Design, as the end result of our work is often a piece of paper with something printed on it. Vanessa, Christina and I have formally pledged our commitment to the cause, which is spelled out as such...

In my professional practice, I will endeavor to:
~Learn: Engage in the topic and seek to understand the issue
~Think: Make a sustainable mindset second nature
~Act: Put my knowledge to use in my daily work
~Inform: Share information and build awareness for sustainability
~Unite: Spark change through collective strength

Consider us committed!

Blustery Day Design has always had a focus in our studio on incorporating "green" practices to running the business - reusing scraps of paper, using both sides of paper to print on before recycling, etc. We've also recently been investigating some ways to reuse the by-products of our work to make our own packaging, which is an exciting development! Our products themselves frequently include recycled elements as well, and we encourage clients to forgo pieces like inner envelopes or extra inserts if they can be reasonably excluded. Similarly, we make every effort to use local resources and vendors – not only does this cut down on transport damage done to the earth, but supports our local economy too.

However, Design Can Change has inspired us to look beyond just our production and office management processes. We have lots more opportunity to improve in reducing the impact of our work on the world, and it’s thrilling to get creative on some ideas to do that!

For example, we can look at the complete life cycle of what we are producing. With a typical brochure for a small business, its general purpose is to represent the business and convey some sort of information. However, when the intended recipient of the brochure reads it and takes whatever action, will the brochure still be useful? If not, it’s most likely headed for the trash. One easy idea would be to include in the design a reminder to please consider recycling the brochure when you are finished with it! Or pass it along to someone else, or even return it to the business for reuse.

Something as simple as that could have big dividends in ensuring that our pieces that get sent out into the world are ending their useful life on a note that helps the environment. Another idea for the same brochure could be to include a tear off mailable response postcard, making the same piece have multiple functions, and utilizing a postcard to avoid needing an envelope.

We have lots more to learn and way farther to go in brainstorming new ideas for our design work, but Blustery Day Design is proud to make this commitment to continual growth. We’ll share our ideas as we refine them, and plan to feature more designs and supply choices on our website soon that encorporate earth-friendly options.

Here’s to taking care of the world we’re so lucky to have!