Eco friendly design
- Started
- Last post
- 38 Responses
- Ianbolton
Ok, everyone bangs on about sustainability, the environment and how much we're screwing up this so-called lovely planet, but looking at the way we design stuff (print, whoops, print again, bin it, print, change empty cartridge, bin it, print 30,000 for the client who only really needs 20,000 – you get the idea) will us pretentious, design wankers ever think of anything other than ourselves and our money.
I want to set up an eco-friendly, thoughtful design company but not come across as one of those annoying greenpeace, hippy loving gypsies as that's not what I am.
Any ideas?
- Mojo0
Green companies are in. boing.
- Drno0
if I'm a wanker,
you're a fuckn hippy :)
- Dancer0
One Agency called Thoughtful that do not have a letterhead, business card, etc... printed they printg it B+W from their printer.
- Andy_ssw0
Just do it without rattling on about it. It's tired to boast about it.
- jamble0
I don't know that being eco-friendly should really be a selling point, it should be something you try and do as a matter of course.
I know a lot of companies these days do sell on their "green-ness" but I don't think it's something you should focus your entire business marketing on.
- yes!
usually people that advertise it, only do it for the wrong reasons.Meeklo
- yes!
- Ianbolton0
I agree.
I have bought the name Treehouse Collective and hope to build from that. Thoughtful is such a good name though.Suppose it's easy to just sit around working for other people and complain when they don't have the same visions as yourself. Getting out of that routine and doing things for yourself is a big step!
- detritus0
Hold on - you're at the "I've bought a domain name..." stage? Hmph.
Jamble and Andy have already made the single-most important point here - don't start off making The Green your prime USP. Don't set out with green-flecked unbleached paper backgrounds for your site and marketing, don't harp on about your sandal-wearing credentials. It'll only a) make you come across as more expensive to the people who are interested, and b) make you seem more expensive, more arcane and less approachable to the people who aren't necessarily.
Do approach each and every facet of your operation with sustainability in mind. Fix your house first - make your business inherently green - ie. before you do end up doing excess print-runs, actually be blunt with your client about their needs, regardless of it shaving a percent off your or their bottom line. Make the case for the use of greener stocks and inks. Actually make the effort to recycle the cartridges and the 10,000 redundant prints if they do crop up. Make yourself the responsible decision maker at every stage.
Then, you'll have earned the right to subtly promote the environmental angle more than the other readily-available options. Almost off-hand and matter-of-factly - like, it's just the best way to do it. Which you'll increasingly find it is.
Business has recognised the big green elephant in the room - now it's scratching its head trying to work out what to do with it - an instant changeover to all things green is unlikely and inefficient, so don't expect to go InstaGreen right away, but build your business with sustainability at its core, and make the resultant knowledge shine through in everything you do. But, otherwise, just do it 'normally'.
- stem0
Corporate Social Responsibility became the new Hard Sell about 10 years ago. It's just a corporate tool for enabling consumers to 'connect' with their brand.
- skt0
treehouse is a registered chartiy by the way.
now knit me some shoes you smelly hippy dogs on a string numpty.
- Ianbolton0
Only have fair trade wool. Is that okay?
Bought the domain name about 5/6 months ago and have done nothing with it. The Treehouse Collective isn't a registered charity.
Wasn't planning on banging on about the green-eco-friendly - I eat sparrow shit for lunch routine because surprisingly Im not a whinging bastard and realise how gay it all is. Just want to do something good in a time where people are more interested in image and disposable lifestyles.
All I wanted to know was what people thought of the the whole aesthetics, and it's obvious people are sick of hearing about it.
- detritus0
I sincerely hope that churlishness wasn't aimed at me - I was genuinely trying to help.
If you really want to "do something good in a time where people are more interested in image and disposable lifestyles", then stop being a graphic or whatever designer - most of what you do in life will be to market products or services that are largely superfluous to need.
- You can't be part of the solution if you're not part of the problem.joeth
- stem0
Whatever few independent companies that were out there using green values as a 'sales tool' have all lost their impact now the big boys are telling us how green they are...
- Ianbolton0
Detritus, I wasn't having a dig at you. Cheers for the comments. You are right though, being a designer without losing your soul can be a thin line to walk.
A carpenter for example with make something, put a lot of love into it and people will use it for many years to come. A graphic designer is expected/expects to produce something so loving too, but a lot of what we do it completely disposable. It's a psychological thing.
All fuel companies have to try and prove they are being respectable when it comes to the environment. I'm sure a rebranding helped, but doesn't cover up the fact they are the one's sucking the last drop of blood from this planets resources.
- stem0
Read this frank account on what it takes to run a company and retain your sense of values...
- Ianbolton0
Cheers Stem.
- dsb0
Ianbolton...I've sent you an email
- Meeklo0
There was a conference about this subject last week here in San Diego.
One of the speakers (I believe from celery design) had very interesting things to say, one being that doing "eco" printing is usually more expensive, so if you can't reduce cost of the production, you might be able to increase value:
So they were working on a LED light bulb packaging, that looks a lot different than the ones that are made of plastic and you need a combat knife to open.
The package is %100 recyclable, there is no glue golding the box together, all the folds lock together through inserts, and they are designed to fit more packs on the container box. When opened the pack reminds you of a flower.
Once you used the product, you may use 2 bulb packages to create a lamp:
I thought it was great, and very creative
- nice!
kona - Great stuff, thanks Meeklo.
Doesn't the extra cardboard offset the saving in glue? Nice though - very inspiring.detritus - the paper used is %100 from recycled materials and %100 compostable and their main competitor uses hard plastic!Meeklo
- "eco" printing is usually more expensive
...depends what you compare it with. china. yes.akrokdesign
- nice!
- stem0
Never actually read this, but one of my old uni mates wrote this...