SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY Sustaining the Graphic Design Industry: How Graphic Design Can Embrace Sustainability in Print Design Timothy Horn Arizona State University 1 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 2 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 3 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 4 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 5 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 6 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) SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 7 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. 8 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 9 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 10 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 11 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 12 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 13 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 14 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 15 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 16 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 17 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 18 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 19 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 20 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 21 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 22 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 SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 23 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. SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 24 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). SUSTAINING THE GRAPHIC DESIGN INDUSTRY 25 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.