by aleida, on April 28th, 2009I have to be honest, I walked into SEEing Green 2: Moving Beyond Green on Saturday without knowing who, besides Kevin, was going to be presenting. Not having looked at the schedule, I was surprised to meet Aaris Sherin. Aaris, an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at St. John’s University, has recently published a book titled SustainAble. Geared towards graphic designers, the book informs them on how to approach the issues of sustainability in the areas of paper, printing, formats, materials, inks, and executions. That book just happens to have been in my house for the last several weeks, so it was a treat to hear her speak. Her presentation, titled “The First 48,” explored some of the things the audience could do within the first 48 hours, days, or weeks after leaving the auditorium. She enumerated six steps to help us determine what to do: Consider your mission; Decide on targets; Come up with a plan; Find ways to implement; Assess your progress; and Continually raise the bar.
Not being a graphic designer myself, I unfortunately cannot find ways to implement her recommendations. However, she said one thing that absolutely stuck with me and that can be applied to any situation. She quoted Sebastian Guerrini saying “Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the GOOD.” How true! Especially in the green movement, there are so many companies who feel that the only way they can be genuinely sustainable is to go and immediately install sexy gadgets: solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal systems. These are all great, but they are so expensive that most companies cannot afford to do any of it. They shouldn’t feel they have to go this far immediately. There are innumerable green strategies that can be implemented before ever having to consider these cost-intensive measures, and that will ultimately build a strong foundation from which to develop a more comprehensive sustainability strategy.
Aaris gave a fabulous example of an easy thing that anyone can immediately do to help make a substantial difference: when sending something to print, call your printer and ask what colors will be on the press for the job before yours. Whatever colors they are, see if they can fit in with your design. If you can use what is already there, you will be avoiding the use of the many chemicals needed to clean and prepare the press for different colors. It may not always work out, but the increased communication between client and printer could lead to other solutions never before explored. Brilliant!