SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY
Sustaining the Graphic Design Industry:
How Graphic Design Can Embrace Sustainability in Print
Design
Timothy Horn
Arizona State University
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Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore how the
graphic design industry can embrace sustainability theories
and practices to lower the environmental impact print
design imparts. It intends to provide new knowledge about
how sustainable design can be pragmatically modified to
develop premium quality results that the graphic design
community can easily embrace to reduce negative
environmental impacts.
Methodology
A qualitative approach will be used to analyze
indeterminate ideas of the semi-structured interviews
component of research. Quantitative methods will also be
used to capture data from a large group of industry leaders
for an online questionnaire, which will help in identifying
potential candidates for the interviews.
Intended Result
From the research results, a thesis paper will be created
and presented, detailing the measures that can be taken
within the graphic design industry to embrace sustainability
theories and practices in order lower the environmental
impact print design.
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Introduction
This research will explore how the graphic design
industry can embrace sustainability theories and practices to
lower the environmental impact print design imparts. By using
both quantitative and qualitative method analysis and
researching vital components of print design, such as earthfriendly paper and ink substitutes, print alternatives, ink
reducing design and vendor impact, a better understanding
can be achieved regarding how sustainable design can be
pragmatically modified to develop premium quality products
that the graphic design community can easily embrace to
reduce negative environmental impact.
Justification and Significance
The human race is frequently faced with various
challenges in this world, and all require adaptation, change,
and learning. Recently, humanity has been facing one of these
challenges: climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (2007) has discovered that the Earth’s surface
temperatures are increasing. In fact, since 1995, the Earth has
experienced 11 of its 12 hottest years on record (IPCC, 2007). A
major contributing factor to this dramatic shift in global
climate is the industrial production of greenhouse gases. The
paper and pulp industry is the fourth largest emitter of
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greenhouse gases, and it alone contributes 9% of the total
CO2 emissions for all manufacturing industries (U.S. EIA, 2000).
Deforestation resulting from wood harvesting is another
direct climate change consequence of the paper and printing
industries. Forest’s store roughly 50% of all terrestrial
carbon, a pivotal safeguard against climate change, but
unfortunately, it is estimated that 42% of all industrial
wood harvested is used to produce paper (Kinsella et al., 2007).
By profession, designers are solution seekers, in that
“design involves solving problems, creating something new, or
transforming less desirable situations to preferred
situations” (Friedman, 2003, p. 507). A designer’s job is to help
clients change the way audiences perceive their products,
and with the increased interest from the general public in
recent years for high-quality design products, designers are
increasingly being utilized to do just that. Following this
notion, graphic designers are uniquely positioned to
influence a positive force for change (Dougherty, 2008). This
position provides the design community possibilities to build
interest towards, and generate awareness about,
sustainability philosophies. Through this research, the role of
graphic designers as agents for change will be explored in
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hopes of providing new insights as to how the design
community can positively affect the world.
Scope and Limitations
This research will focus on the environmental impacts
of the print and paper manufacturing industries and the
sustainability theories and practices that can be applied to
them, specifically related to the graphic design field. For the
purposes of this study, the word sustainability is, “paths of
progress, which meet the needs and aspirations of the present
generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs,” as defined by the World
Commission on Environment and Development (1987). When
using this term in conjunction with phrase graphic design,
the definitions are then characterized as, “the process of
developing products, services, and organizations that
comply with the principles of economic, social, and
ecological sustainability” (Dictionary of Sustainable
Management, n.d, “Sustainable Design,” para. 1).
The print industry research scope will be characterized
by the U.S. Census Bureau’s (2002b) Manufacturing subsector
NAICS 323, Printing and Related Support Activities Industries, as
defined in Appendix B. Similarly, the paper industry research
scope will align with the U.S. Census Bureau’s (2002a)
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Manufacturing subsector NAICS 322, Paper Manufacturing, as
outlined in Appendix A. Because these defining scopes are based
on U.S. Census Bureau categorizations, this research will be
limited to only the United States, and any content dealing
with print or paper industries that fall outside of those
definitions or location will be excluded.
Research data will be obtained through online
questionnaires and semi-structured interviews conducted
with experts, professionals and higher educational students
in related fields. All documented findings and research
conducted will contribute to a thesis paper, providing new
interpretations of how the graphic design industry can
embrace sustainability theories and practices to lower the
environmental impact of print design.
Conceptual Framework
Research will be based upon the following conceptual
framework, showing how the integration of sustainability
theories and practices to graphic design and printing allows
the graphic design community to better prepare for
sustainable printing.
SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY
Research Topics and Questions

What are the current sustainability philosophies and
practices used in the graphic design community?
Learning what the current knowledge level and
discourses of sustainability efforts within the graphic
design community are will help establish new initiatives
not yet used by the community.

Who are the major players utilizing sustainable practices
in everyday workflow in the print, paper and graphic
design fields?
Understanding who has major sustainability influences
in the respective fields will assist in developing how
sustainable practices and theories can be better
promoted.
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How can graphic design encourage and increase the
utilization of sustainability philosophies and practices in
the print and paper industries?
Determining how the graphic design community can
leverage their position as agents of change will help to
generate knowledge about sustainable print design.
Review of Literature
The literature review for this research falls into three
separate categories displayed in the diagram below:
Environmental Concern
Growing scientific evidence is being revealed favoring
the truth of climate change. Scientists from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) have
spoken publically about their certainty that human
activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere
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and that increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases
will change the planet's climate. For example, the Earth's
average surface temperature has increased by about 1.2ºF to
1.4ºF in the last 100 years (IPCC, 2007). These experts in science
have created climate models representing that, if greenhouse
gases continue to increase, then the average temperature at
the Earth's surface could increase up to 7.2ºF above 1990 levels
by the end of this century (U.S. EPA, 2010).
There are many theorists that attempt to define
sociological environmental concerns, especially as society
becomes increasingly conscientious of their own
environmental impact. This research will use a paradigm shift
theory, discussed by William Catton and Riley Dunlap, as an
explanation for the societal shift to environmentalism. The
paradigm shift from the Human Exemptionalism Paradigm (HEP)
to the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) proposes that society is
literally switching from an old paradigm, one where humans
are separate from the biophysical environment and exist to
exploit natural resources for the creation of wealth, to a
new paradigm, one where humans need to maintain a
environmental balance to live within the natural world’s
limits because they are interdependently involved in the
global ecosystem (Canton & Dunlap, 1980). There are
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ideological issues that can arise from a shift such as this,
where what people say and what they do are disconnected.
Author Michael M. Bell (2004) defines this theory as the A-B
split, in which A (Attitude) represents what people
acknowledge to believe, and B (Behavior) represents how they
actually act. While the cause of each individual’s A-B split may
differ, it is representative of the social structure of the
paradigm shift from HEP to NEP. Following this thought
sequence means that societal structures must change to
close the gap between people’s beliefs and their actions.
Graphic Design Philosophy on Sustainability
Referring back to Ken Friedman (2003, p. 507), “design
involves solving problems, creating something new, or
transforming less desirable situations to preferred
situations,” and so it can be said that design, in essence, is
about creating change. When clients become dissatisfied with
the way their product is perceived, they look to designers to
change the consumers’ perception, positioning designers as
agents of change (Dougherty, 2008). In his book, Green Graphic
Design, Brian Dougherty (2008) speaks on this increasing
influence of graphic design as a power to shift the status
quo towards sustainable solutions. More specifically, he
mentions the partnership between printer and graphic
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designer, which can leverage the increasing influence to
educate consumers and persuade the flow of materials and
energy to more sustainable pathways (Dougherty, 2008).
In relation to Dougherty’s philosophies on graphic
design, Nathan Shedroff (2009), in his book, Design is the
Problem, discusses how design encompasses the fusion of
usefulness, usability, desirability, appropriateness, balance and
systems that lead to better solutions. He explains that good
design is efficient and therefore, by nature, should be
sustainable.
Industry Philosophy on Sustainability
The literature review for this section focuses on the
philosophies written in Adam Werbach’s book, Strategy for
Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, Werbach (2009) explains
that sustainability is not singularly concerned with
environmentalism, rather there are four quadrants of
sustainability that industries should be concerned with:
social (acting as if people matter), economic (operating
profitably), environmental (protecting and restoring the
ecosystem), and cultural (protecting and valuing cultural
diversity). This sustainability strategy idea differs from what
Werbach (2009) calls the green strategy, which emphasizes
environmentalism above all other concerns. However, he
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argues that for industries, a solely green strategy is not
sustainable, in that focusing on the environmental issues
only will surely create an unbalanced relationship between
the social, economic and cultural elements, which in turn,
will inevitably lead to failure (Werbach, 2009).
The proposed research will utilize these three literature
facets to advance knowledge and assist in the development
of new innovative theories on sustainable graphic design.
Methodology
Because indeterminate theories will be researched, a
qualitative approach will be necessary to collect data. To
best gather this information, the primary research
instrument used to assemble data and collect personal
insights of sustainable design philosophies will be semistructured interviews with print, paper and graphic design
experts, as well as higher education design students. Also,
because this research content deals with sociological and
environmental aspects, an ethnographic approach will be the
most suitable methodology for this research. A pilot semistructured interview study will be conducted in January 2011
with Alan McAbee, General Manager of Phoenix, Arizona based
print house PrismaGraphics, in order to refine interview
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questions and techniques, as well as collect data, prior to
launching quantitative data collection methods.
Quantitative methods will be used during the course of
this research, specifically, an online questionnaire. As one of
the specified research questions asks whom the major players
in the sustainable print, paper and design fields are, it will be
imperative to capture data from a large group of industry
leaders. The purpose of this is to find out the significance of
their contributions to sustainable graphic design, in hopes of
identifying suitable and relevant interview participants.
In addition to interviews and online questionnaires, a
literature review of current case studies featuring
sustainable design theories and practices will be analyzed.
Research Design
The research data will be collected continuously
throughout the investigative process. A database will be
created for all information to be cataloged into, and data
will be periodically analyzed to continuously account for
newfound theories and knowledge.
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The final research data analyzed will be used to carry
out a thesis paper, detailing what measures can be taken
within the graphic design industry to embrace sustainability
theories and practices in order lower the print design’s
environmental impact.
Provisional Work Schedule
Below is a provisional work schedule, envisioning a
thesis defense in May 2013. Since the expected defense date is
not until May 2013, data analysis and collection will be split
into two phases, one beginning in June 2011 followed by the
other phase in March 2012. Following this timeline will lead
to a thesis design beginning in August 2011, culminating with
a defense in May 2013.
Resource Requirements
The potential committee for this research project
includes Mookesh Patel, Philip White and Braden Allenby.
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Professor Patel was selected as committee chairman for his
extensive visual design knowledge, as well as his expertise in
print design. Professor White was selected for his professional
experience with sustainable design theories and regulations.
Dr. Henderson was chosen for his expertise and interests in
sustainable technologies and sustainable product design.
Committee Chairman: Mookesh Patel
Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Landscape
Architecture, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
Committee Member: Philip White
Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Design, School
of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Herberger
Institute for Design and the Arts
Committee Member: Mark Henderson
Professor, Department of Engineering, College of Technology
and Innovation
The proposed budget below includes travel and lodging
for possible interview sessions outside of Phoenix, Arizona.
GPSA and other research grants will be applied for to fund
such travel expenses. In the event no funding is available,
travel will be canceled and interviews will be conducted via
phone or Internet.
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References
Bell, M. M. (2004). An invitation to environmental sociology
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London: Pine Forge Press.
Catton, W. Jr. & Dunlap, R. (1980). A new ecological paradigm for
post-exuberant sociology. The American Behavioral
Scientist, 24(1), 15-47.
Dictionary of Sustainable Management. (n.d.). Sustainable
Design. In Dictionary of Sustainable Management.
Retrieved December 7, 2010, from
http://alayta.pair.com/milohoss/triple/mt-closed/mttb.cgi/1402
Dougherty, B. (2008). Green graphic design. New York, NY:
Allworth Press.
Friedman, K. (2003). Theory construction in design research:
Criteria: Approaches, and methods. Design Studies, 24(6),
507-522.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2007). Climate
change 2007: the physical science basis: contribution of
working group I to the fourth assessment report of the
intergovernmental panel on climate change. S. Solomon
et al., Eds. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge Univ.
Press.
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Kinsella, S., Gleason, G., Mills, V., Rycroft, N., Ford, J., Sheehan, K., &
Martin, J. (2007). The state of the paper industry:
monitoring the indicators of environmental
performance. In Environmental Paper Network. Retrieved
December 6, 2010, from
http://www.environmentalpaper.org/stateofthepaperindu
stry
Shedroff, N. (2009). Design is the problem: the future of design
must be sustainable. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Rosenfeld Media.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2002a). NAICS 322 Paper manufacturing . In
U.S. Census Bureau Industry Statistics Sampler. Retrieved
December 6, 2010, from
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/naics/sector31/322.h
tm
U.S. Census Bureau. (2002b). NAICS 323 Printing and related
support activities . In U.S. Census Bureau Industry
Statistics Sampler. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/naics/sector31/323.h
tm
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2000, May 31). Energy-
related carbon emissions in manufacturing 1994.
Retrieved December 6, 2010, from
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http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/efficiency/carbon_emissions/c
arbon_mfg.html
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2010, May 20). Climate
Change Basic Information. In U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html
Werbach, A. (2009). Strategy for sustainability: a business
manifesto. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987).
Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Appendix A
322 Paper Manufacturing (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002a)
Industries in the Paper Manufacturing subsector make pulp,
paper, or converted paper products. The manufacturing of
these products is grouped together because they constitute
a series of vertically connected processes. More than one is
often carried out in a single establishment. There are
essentially three activities. The manufacturing of pulp
involves separating the cellulose fibers from other impurities
in wood or used paper. The manufacturing of paper involves
matting these fibers into a sheet. Converted paper products
are made from paper and other materials by various cutting
and shaping techniques and includes coating and
laminating activities.
The Paper Manufacturing subsector is subdivided into
two industry groups, the first for the manufacturing of
pulp and paper and the second for the manufacturing of
converted paper products. Paper making is treated as the core
activity of the subsector. Therefore, any establishment that
makes paper (including paperboard), either alone or in
combination with pulp manufacturing or paper converting,
is classified as a paper or paperboard mill. Establishments that
make pulp without making paper are classified as pulp mills.
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Pulp mills, paper mills and paperboard mills comprise the first
industry group.
Establishments that make products from purchased
paper and other materials make up the second industry
group, Converted Paper Product Manufacturing. This general
activity is then subdivided based, for the most part, on
process distinctions. Paperboard container manufacturing
uses corrugating, cutting, and shaping machinery to form
paperboard into containers. Paper bag and coated and
treated paper manufacturing establishments cut and coat
paper and foil. Stationery product manufacturing
establishments make a variety of paper products used for
writing, filing, and similar applications. Other converted
paper product manufacturing includes, in particular, the
conversion of sanitary paper stock into such things as tissue
paper and disposable diapers.
An important process used in the Paper Bag and Coated
and Treated Paper Manufacturing industry is lamination,
often combined with coating. Lamination and coating makes
a composite material with improved properties of strength,
impermeability, and so on. The laminated materials may be
paper, metal foil, or plastics film. While paper is often one of
the components, it is not always. Lamination of plastics film
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to plastics film is classified in the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) Subsector 326, Plastics and Rubber
Products Manufacturing, because establishments that do this
often first make the film. The same situation holds with
respect to bags. The manufacturing of bags from plastics
only, whether or not laminated, is classified in Subsector 326,
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing, but all other
bag manufacturing is classified in this subsector.
Excluded from this subsector are photosensitive papers.
These papers are chemically treated and are classified in
Industry 32599, All Other Chemical Product and Preparation
Manufacturing.
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Appendix B
323 Printing and Related Support Activities (U.S. Census Bureau,
2002b)
Industries in the Printing and Related Support Activities
subsector print products, such as newspapers, books, labels,
business cards, stationery, business forms, and other materials,
and perform support activities, such as data imaging,
platemaking services, and bookbinding. The support activities
included here are an integral part of the printing industry,
and a product (a printing plate, a bound book, or a computer
disk or file) that is an integral part of the printing industry
is almost always provided by these operations.
Processes used in printing include a variety of methods
used to transfer an image from a plate, screen, film, or
computer file to some medium, such as paper, plastics, metal,
textile articles, or wood. The most prominent of these
methods is to transfer the image from a plate or screen to
the medium (lithographic, gravure, screen, and flexographic
printing). A rapidly growing new technology uses a
computer file to directly "drive" the printing mechanism to
create the image and new electrostatic and other types of
equipment (digital or nonimpact printing).
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In contrast to many other classification systems that
locate publishing of printed materials in manufacturing, the
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
classifies the publishing of printed products in Subsector 511,
Publishing Industries (except Internet). Though printing and
publishing are often carried out by the same enterprise (a
newspaper, for example), it is less and less the case that these
distinct activities are carried out in the same establishment.
When publishing and printing are done in the same
establishment, the establishment is classified in Sector 51,
Information, in the appropriate NAICS industry even if the
receipts for printing exceed those for publishing.
This subsector includes printing on clothing because
the production process for that activity is printing, not
clothing manufacturing. For instance, the printing of Tshirts is included in this subsector. In contrast, printing on
fabric (or grey goods) is not included. This activity is part of
the process of finishing the fabric and is included in the
NAICS Textile Mills subsector in Industry 31331, Textile and
Fabric Finishing Mills.