Sustainable design for print and physical products
In the previous story on sustainable brand identity, we talked about how the brand is applied at every touchpoint. Some touchpoints are physical (print), and some are digital. In this story, we delve into the world of print. How many brochures, books and packaging end up in landfills or incinerated, and how many of them have clear functionality and effectively deliver the messages we need? For these products, it is key to consider the circular economy, but also aspects such as inclusive and accessible communication.
How can we design sustainable printed communication products?
Are communication and marketing sustainable?
We may not even have considered that communication and marketing, even if done for sustainable projects, can have negative impacts.
In the event that we have considered it, we may encounter challenges such as the following:
It is difficult to find "sustainable materials and processes".
Printers and manufacturers do not always give us all the information. And of course, there are limitations to the process itself. For example, there is inevitably waste left over from cutting the graphic product we are making - nothing is 100% sustainable!
We do not see the whole life cycle.
As design and communication professionals, we don't see the entire life cycle of the graphic products we design. Or maybe we think that our responsibility for the product ends when we deliver it to the client. And in the case that you do want to look at the life cycle and take responsibility beyond delivery to the client...
The client "doesn't ask for it" / the designer "doesn't offer it".
If you're the design person, you'll often find that the client "doesn't ask" for a more sustainable design - and therefore doesn't value it in the budget. And if you're the client, perhaps your designer doesn't offer it as part of his or her process, even though you'd like to commit to sustainability.
What about people? Sometimes they are left out of the concept of "sustainability".
People, that's what communication is all about. If we are concerned about sustainability, we can't just look at the environmental or "green" impact.
Focus on people, how to improve impact?
We want to make our communication inclusive and accessible, to make sure our product is used as we intended... but how do we make sure we are doing it right?
From strategy to the design of sustainable graphic products
We need to change the focus on how we design communication products intended to be printed.
Strategy.
The first point is to start from a good strategic definition of what we need and how we need it. This way we will avoid designing graphic products that are not effective, and we will minimize production. Tools from our methodology such as the Service Blueprint can help us with this. Thus, it is about identifying the touch points along the brand experience, and defining very effectively what communication products we are going to create.
Beyond the material.
We can apply creativity beyond materials, inks and processes, which have their own limitations. Let's think more strategically. Can we create a product to be reusable and reused?
The power of messages.
We are talking about communication, so we should not underestimate the power of the immaterial: the messages and the culture we generate. Small actions (communication and cultural change) can trigger big impacts.
Materials and processes: alliances with our printing company.
We can adopt a collaborative attitude with the printing company or factory that will materialize our communication products.
Some success stories in this regard:
- Collaborating with Impresum. They help us in each project, telling us about the impact of each material and each ink. We talk to them about their processes and machinery, how much they consume and what measures they have taken to improve their impact. And they can even, in confidence, save the waste left over from our projects for us to use in other ways.
- Circular packaging thanks to Tot Cartó. Thanks to knowing their process, and getting involved with them, we achieved optimal solutions for the packaging waste of the waxed fabric kit. One of the strategies was to use the residual shavings from the process as an internal padding for the product inside the packaging.
- Book 'Circular Design for Fashion' by Ellen MacArthur Foundation. A great example of circular and safe design. As soon as you open the book, it explains the production process, which minimizes water and energy consumption and ensures durability. This would not be possible without the close collaboration with the printer.
Testing, testing, and more testing!
How do we know that our communication is inclusive and accessible? Without a doubt, there is a lot of information available that we can consult. But the best way to be sure is to evaluate the product live with the people who are going to use it. And, from there, implement changes.
Or maybe you want to consider a reuse strategy, but you are not sure if the end user is going to reuse it effectively. This was our case with the waxed fabric packaging we talked about earlier. What we did was to make prototypes and evaluate them with real users. We also conducted interviews to better understand their context and how they could use the product in a second life.
Design your sustainable communication
Now, we present you with a challenge.
- Choose a graphic product from your environment, it can be a brochure, a book, a business card, a package... whatever.
- Try to analyze it from a strategic level, what is it for, what is its purpose? Identify if you could avoid some components, materials, or even the whole product, and still offer the same communicative function.
- Study the life cycle of the product, what materials and processes have been necessary for it to be in your hands now? You can try to contact the manufacturer, or if you don't know the manufacturer, a similar manufacturer you have access to who can help you with this.
- Does it test the product with different people? Does it have an accessible communication? Does it fulfill its communicative function in an optimal way?
- Design a more sustainable alternative for this product.
Remember that you can use some of the tools in our methodology to help you with this.
In our Regenerative Branding program, we will see how to approach the impact of a brand from strategy to application in these printed products. And if you want to talk about all this, we are at your disposal.
