Wendy Jedlicka - Sustainable Graphic Design: Tools, Systems, and Strategies for Innovative Print Design

Wendy Jedlika, CPP

with

Paul Andre, Dr. Paul J. Beckmann, Sharell Benson, Arlene Birt, Robert Callif, Don Carli, Jeremy Faludi, Terry Gips, Fred Haberman, Dan Halsey, Jessica Jones, Curt McNamara, Jacquelyn Ottman, Dr. Pamela Smith, Dion Zuess

Biomimicry Guild, Carbonless Promise, Chlorine Free Products Association, Environmental Paper Network, Eureka Recycling, Package Design Magazine, Printing Industry of Minnesota, Promotional Product Solutions, Sustainable Green Printing Partnership,SMSustainable Packaging CoalitionSM

Additional contributions by:

Amelia McNamara, John Moes, Tom Nelson, Holly Robbins, Sharon Sudman

Foreword by: Marc Alt

Copyright 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Jedlicka, Wendy, 1959

Sustainable graphic design : tools, systems and strategies for innovative print design / Wendy Jedlicka.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-24670-2 (pbk.)

1. Graphic artsSocial aspects. 2. Commercial artSocial aspects. 3. Sustainable design. I. Title.

NC997.J37 2009

741.6dc22 2009017330

Sustainability isnt all just feel goodbut sometimes thats just what the doctor ordered. Celery Design created this promotional door hanger for Elephant Pharmacy. These cards with wellness tips and fun activities (like finger-Pilates using the natural latex band) are made from 100 percent post-consumer-waste fiber and are chop-cut to minimize trim waste.

A paradox of sustainability is that there is an underlying, commonsense simplicity beneath what appears on the surface to be a very complex discipline. One of the key points that the authors of Sustainable Graphic Design have made in their years of educating, evangelizing, and writing about sustainability, and one that is reinforced gently but persistently in this book, is that Sustainability isnt hard; its just not simple.

It is an interesting challenge to write the opening remarks and observations for a book that may be looked at in a few decades as quaint and outdated, a relic of an earlier age. I should take a step back and mention that many proponents of sustainability feel that their purpose and mission is in essence to make themselves obsolete. Their basic calling is to reveal missing or forgotten connections between cause and effect, between decisions and consequences.

Where we find ourselves today is the result of millions of these disconnects, accrued steadily over time, consciously or unconsciously, as our population and its ever-expanding need grows at a pace that outstrips traditional or balanced ways of doing things. Exactly when, why, or how our society lost that balance and began outrunning the carrying capacity of the planet is the subject of endless debate. One thing we can all agree on, however, is the need for immediate solutions.

Designers like to claim privilege of being in a unique position to change things. I dont disagree with this opinion, but I think it needs an update. A new generation of designers has realized that in order to deliver on this promise, the profession needs to move beyond its traditional calling and embody a new set of universal principles that address the consequences of design.

It is said that design decisions account for an average of 80 percent of the life cycle impacts of a product or service. Understanding the importance of this math and building the discipline and leadership to equip current and future generations of designers with the knowledge, direction, and inspiration to take responsibility is the challenge of this decade.

This book is filled with inspiration, ideas, and actionable advice from an extraordinary group of sustainability leaders. It will give designers at any stage in their careers frameworks for rethinking and assessing their daily design activity. It gives dimension to complex ideas and brings a sometimes-daunting topic to life in a way that is understandable and approachable. It provides a solid foundation in the underlying principles of design for sustainability that are a fundamental discipline of our time. Im optimistic about a future in which there will be no need for a book entitled Sustainable Graphic Design. Until that day, this volume is an essential guidebook, a road map to an achievable future where all design is well considered, and where sustainability is systemic.

Marc Alt
Co-Chair, AIGA Center for Sustainable Design

Wendy Jedlika, CPP
02 International Network for Sustainable Design

One day, son, this will all be yours.

Photo: W. Jedlika, 1996

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

In theory, picking an eco-material is better than a non-eco one. Lists filled with materials and vendors can be found in an ever-growing field of green books and on green supplier Web sites. But these are only simple indexes of companies that offer materials, goods, or services with some level of green/eco/sustainability as part of their point of difference. Many of these companies are third-party certified and are willing to back up their environmental marketing claims; many are not.