In 2005, the same year that the Association of Sustainability Practitioners was founded, I planted the first seeds of my graphic design business.
In the August newsletter, I shared stories from my early encounters with nature, moments that shaped my appreciation for the wild. I was also drawn to the arts and crafts used when wildlife was much more abundant. I loved art college and learning about screen printing, lino and etchings, photography, hand-drawn typography and letterpress printing.
Now, design and marketing are usually assumed to be digital assets; yet print is not dead. When Egon Spengler stated that ‘print is dead’ in the first Ghostbusters movie from 1984, he may have seen something from the Future (wait, wrong film!). He did not foresee that, 41 years later, our digital footprints would rival Mr Staypuffed in size – or that no ghost could be as terrifying as the staggering water and energy consumed by data servers, diverting resources that could instead support clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). Why am I rambling on about an old film? Surely, this should be about design and sustainability, right? Stay with me!
Good design doesn’t begin on a computer or a social media feed – it starts with problem-solving. It’s about creating something that not only meets a brief but endures. Critical thinking, brainstorming, and research are essential to shaping meaningful outcomes. When a client asks me to design something – more importantly, for their audience – I always consider its lifespan. Ethical design should include a commitment to responsible consumption and production (SDG 12). That means choosing the right medium, especially in education or charity marketing, which isn’t always digital. Two decades since founding my business, I’m still asked to design for print. And I welcome it – so long as it’s done with responsibly sourced materials and sustainable processes.
Scary as it may be, I’m proud to have spent 20 years helping many charities and ethical businesses by designing fundraising projects, educational guides (SDG 4), promotional materials for good health and well-being (SDG 3), and visually accessible design. Throughout November, I will be sharing design tips to help sustainable organisations reach a wider audience. All in the spirit of IKAGI.
Get in touch if you would like help bustin’ bad design. If you would like to know how I plan to spend my business birthday, I think the words ‘pub’, ‘quiz’ and ‘charity’ may be used.
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Yours creatively
Tracy Weeks
Graphic Information Design, BA
Purplelily Design
creative@purplelilydesign.co.uk
07799 455041
https://www.purplelilydesign.co.uk
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