E c o s y s t e m

n e w s l e t t e r

E c o s y s t e m March 2010

Shredded Artworkby Luis Baltazar

As graphic designers and artists, we all use a computers and printers to create and produce our work. Almost automatically, we print different versions of our design projects, or worse yet, we print the same design piece multiple times in hopes to find an error that could easily have been fixed on screen. This type of routine adds to the demand in paper, resulting in deforestation. There are many people throughout the world doing everything they can to save energy, water, paper, and an endless list of natural resources.

The job of a designer depends mainly on a computer, which utilizes energy. Design-ers also print work on paper, which comes from trees: basically no trees = no paper + no energy = no computers = no job.

Artists like Alfredo Garcia, who creates art from unused paper, is well aware of the problem, and he does his part by utilizing unused paper in his artwork. How often do you get unwanted mail, such as mail from banks offering you a lower percent rate? Garcia gets at least an offer per day, and so do you, unless you are 9 years old.Most people open their mail and toss it into the non-recyclable trash bin. People like Alfredo Garcia shred that mail and turn it into artwork. Garcia is currently working on a sculpture made from wood glue and shredded paper.

Garcia volunteered to help his neighbors get rid of their unwanted mail; he takes their mail, shreds it, and makes sculptures from it. It’s a good way to save paper and time, because we all know what it feels like to shred paper we don’t need for hours at a time. As graphic designers and artists, we too can innovate and come up with creative solutions to help the over-pruning of trees. Remember no trees = no jobs.

Go Greenby Daniel Rodriguez

Is going green good for the earth?

On a global scale, going green is good for the earth. It joins the worldwide effort to save our planet and to preserve the resources we have for generations to come. In a business sense, it can work to your market-ing advantage. It can also keep your expenses down all while giving you a warm and fuzzy feeling. Also, in terms of design, it uses the skills we have for the greater good. We can use our knowledge of self-promotion to help our clients to market themselves in a more eco-friendly manner. Imag-ine how much paper could be saved if all designers thought this way!

Being that graphic designers do use so much paper, it’s important to look at our recycling methods. Did you know that for every ton of paper that is recycled, the following is saved: 7,000 gallons of water; 380 gallons of oil; and enough electricity to power an average house for six months?

Thinking in terms of creating a more eco-friendly design solution tends to keep the end-result more in mind. Asking yourself, “What will happen when the user no longer needs this piece? Can it be turned into some-thing else? Is it something that people would want to hang on to? Can be recycled?” become routine questions.

So if you have to print, do it wisely. Print the quantity the client will really need; not enough to store on their bookshelves in boxes behind their desk, nor enough to leave you with 400 “samples.”

Green Graphic Designby Isamar Serrato

Can graphic designers contribute to the effort towards being green? Over the past several years, society has grown closer and closer to the idea of being eco-friendly. Everyone wants to do his or her part in making the world a better place. When you think of going green, you usually think of big corporations like McDonald’s, or of simple things like recycling, but one of the first things to come to mind isn’t the graphic design industry.

Not surprisingly, graphic artists have been taking many steps to becoming more eco-friendly. There are many advantages that come with going green: considering simple things like how your company will show responsibility to the environment and offer clients sustainable pricing are both steps toward more sustainable design practices. By going green, not only can designers help save the environment, but they also can save money on overhead and earn more business from eco-mind-ed clients.

I’m sure that by now you have heard that you can save money and energy by switching to fluorescent or LED light bulbs, and this is a great first step for graphic designers, considering that for creating visual art we need plenty of light. Many designers are also incorporating green into the process of producing their artwork. Such things as getting eco-friendly ink and paper are a great way to do something positive toward sustainability. The most popular is soy ink, ink that is made from soybeans. As opposed to traditional petroleum-based ink, soy-based ink is more environmentally friendly. It is available in brighter colors, and makes it easier to recycle paper. Its only disadvan-tage is that it is slower to dry than many types of ink, but we can all live with that, can’t we?

There are many things you can change and up-grade to be a more eco-friendly designer. You are changing your way of life and making the world a better place. Let’s face it: every product that we as human beings make has an impact on the en-vironment. So it’s up to us to determine if this im-pact is going to be a good one or not. Go green.

Talkin’ Trash with Yuckmouthby Renetrice Pierre

Yeah, yeah, yeah…. I know you’re tried of hearing, reading, being hit on the head like a puppy that didn’t go on the paper about the global warming, reducing waste, recycling, uh-huh, uh-huh-, uh-huh… -But wait a second! - Worldwide temperature shifts are real and are happening, and let one online environmental blog, The Good Human, tell it, people are throwing away enough wood and paper to heat 50 million homes for 20 years! By us designers being the initial causes of much tree-death while in pursuit of creating the pamphlets, envelopes & stationary, maga-zines, I ♥ NY postcards, and all that jazz, here are ten ways of reducing paper refuse on the job (and ten is mighty generous coming from me; normally you’d have to pay for this kinda grade A expertise).

1. Print on recycled papers (Well isn’t this a DUH moment.)

2. Print on BOTH sides whenever possible

3. Try reviewing documents on screen, only producing final edits on paper.

4. Create and send electronic media when ever you can.

5. Recycle used paper. (Once again, duh.)

6. Update mailing list so people who’ve moved or kicked the bucket don’t get pre cious 20-lb squandered on them.

7. Reuse old paper for notes.

8. Buy paper from companies who use good environmental practices.

9. Use two-way send & return envelopes for interoffice communications.

10. Ban those sneaky little paper cups. (Buy a mug for crying out loud.)

H e l p !

Ecosysten Newsletter March 2010

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