We’re working on the latest piece in our client, Naukabout’s, marketing mix. This being the largest piece the lifestyle apparel company has produced, we’re planning the multi-page booklet to be as resource-efficient as possible.
The image above shows resources used and saved for the 16 interior pages of the brochure we’re designing.
We use the tools at re-nourish for all client projects so that we can make responsible decisions at the design level and plan accordingly.
We are a proud member of the Designers Accord. The following guidelines were inspired by a recent Designers Accord gathering where maintaining sustainable design practices in an (ugh) ailing economy was the topic of discussion. For the record, Studio 22′s stance is that these actions are “baked in” to our process.
1. Analyze what is in your control, such as paper selection, bindings, or packaging/containment method. Make choices as part of the design exploration process.
2. Make it as easy as possible to disassemble the piece (if bound or packaged) for recycling at the end of its life cycle.
3. Estimate quantities based on past usage of similar projects as closely as possible so that you don’t over-produce. Even if you recycle your leftovers, it’s still waste.
4. Cut back on unnecessary wordiness in your text to reduce page count – not only does this help save on production costs, it saves paper and reduces postage expenses.
5. Evaluate how your audience will use your communications piece. Do they want to read an 8-page product brochure, or would they rather have a line sheet with highlights? Making it convenient for the end user can result in reduced materials consumption.
In honor of National Trails Day, coming up on June 6th, we’ve launched a little promotion called “Get Out!” You may have received our gift encouraging you to get outside and enjoy yourselves.*
We hope you do (or did) “Get Out!” and have a story to share with us here. If you have a photo, just post the link with your story. Whether it’s a weekend of camping or quick spin around some single track, we’d like to know how you celebrate National Trails Day.
Update: Even while at the beach, Eryn was able to “Get Out!” and hit the trail for some bike riding. She logged about 8 miles on a clunky single speed beach cruiser with her husband and mother-in-law before enjoying some rest on a beach chair. Photo courtesy: destateparks.com
*If you didn’t receive a gift and feel left out, send us an email (info at studio20two dot com, subject line: Get Out!), and we’ll see what we can do…
What should you do during “recessionary times?” Both.
As stated on Twitter earlier this week (find us @studio_22), consumers 18-34 will be driving green trends in the next decade. We also said that when you promote your products to this group, you should do so in a sustainable way.
If you’re a brand that can demonstrate a genuine commitment to responsible practices, tell consumers your sustainability story. Do it authentically. Brands can gain a competitive edge when they engage consumers on issues that they care about. Do it on a hang-tag. Do it in your catalog. Do it on your website. The person buying your product or service will feel good about making the purchase because it supports a belief that they subscribe to. You’ll provide added value – an important quality at the moment.
Now, about those sustainable communications…those hang-tags, brochures, catalogs, reports. There’s more to a sustainable marketing piece than slapping some ink on 30% recycled content paper. We won’t bore you with substrates here, but care must be taken with the imagery and text, colors, sizing, and ink used in producing your communications. Even the firm you choose to work with has an impact on the footprint of your printed materials. Embracing this concept on the back end will push you even further ahead of the competition in the eyes of your customers.
Three pieces have been chosen to appear in Crescent Hill Books’ “Big Book of Green Design” due out this fall, and we are quite excited!
From Amazon: “This book is very much a ‘see what your colleagues are doing’, idea-sharing, inspiration-generating compilation for agencies, freelance designers, printers and other creative professionals. With a foreword by Eric Benson, creator of website named re-nourish and an expert on sustainable procedures within graphic design, the book will be comprised of eight chapters, all fully illustrated with graphic design ideas, drawings, and photographs: Recycled and FSC Papers; Vegetable-Based Inks; Green Clients; Repurposed Design; Natural Elements; Biodegradable; Anti-Packaging; and, Sharing the Word.”
The following sustainably-produced pieces will be featured:
Naukabout brand introduction brochure
Evolution Markets sustainability report
LEROS Point to Point driving guide and informational brochure
This Ad Council ad caught my eye on a local shopping center wall.
I grew up seeing Ad Council ads on TV and billboards. Who can forget Smokey Bear? I didn’t want to leave him out of this post. His ads have gotten a great facelift.
This past Monday, the Sustainable Business Network of Washington hosted a lecture given by the founder of a new performance clothing company called Atayne. They are based here in the D.C. area and are giving their company a great foundation.
A sustainable business, Atayne is creating their sport tops out of…well, trash. They are sourcing recycled polyester (from plastic bottles) and activated carbon (from coconut shells) for the fabric to make their clothing. They also have a take-back program to recycle retired garments, and sponsor running events where they collect trash and recycleables (not necessarily for their garments!).
Some interesting tidbits we took away from the presentation:
It was refreshing not only to listen to a company talk about starting up and the challenges they are facing to maintain their vision, but to learn about a performance apparel company that’s based in the D.C. area!
There’s an interesting interview with Cargill, Inc.’s CEO, Gregory Page, in this week’s Newsweek. We thought it timely to mention, as we are wrapping up a project with their Green Hercules Trading division.
You can read the article here.
Did a recent office move render your letterhead unusable? Is your letterhead simply unnecessary because you send office correspondence electronically?
Give your letterhead new life with these ideas:
*These can look especially cool if your letterhead design is graphic-heavy.
Call us behind the times, but we recently discovered Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles website. There, the apparel manufacturing company tells the story of specific products’ marks on the environment. The highly interactive site is not only well designed, but truly informative.
“We believe that to avoid complacency, we must constantly examine our internal processes to improve upon the positive and mitigate the negative,” said Casey Sheahan, president and CEO of Patagonia. “The Footprint Chronicles allows us to do this publicly — sort of learning out loud.”
Site users are also able to leave comments relating to each product detail. Pretty brave on Patagonia’s part!
Not every person or company can be perfect, but we can all implement strategies to reduce our impact. Could you do this in some way with your business?
