3 quick ways to become a more sustainable designer
Sustainability is on all of our minds. From climate change to human rights, for us to have real impact, we need clear and truthful messages to be more visible.
As creatives, we actually have a lot of power.
We help big companies with a lot of influence tell stories to their audience, and what message we decide to support makes a big difference.
As a former ecologist turned graphic designer, I try to bake in sustainability in everything I do, and today I will share three quick ways you can have a positive impact.
Choose your clients carefully
We always do better work when we believe in the mission of the company we are helping. If you are approached by a company with values or work practices you feel are problematic and could have negative effects on people and the planet, you can say no. The easier we make it for sustainable companies with inclusive ideas to get their message out there, the faster it will help us make an impact.
A good way to figure out if a client is someone you want to support is in the very first meeting and with some quick research. Since you are already asking questions to see if they are a good fit from other perspectives like budget and project scope, you can ask about their work culture, values and how their products are made. If you like to go further, do a quick search on their name and see if you can find any red flags on social media or in articles.
Push back on false or harmful messages
Ok, so let’s say that you are working with a client who seems like a good fit but partway through the project they ask you to create something that does not feel right. Maybe they are depicting people in a way that is very stereotypical or maybe they are trying to use greenwashing to build their brand.
The strategy I always use is to assume it is done unintentionally but be strict with me response. Let your client know that what they are trying to do does not feel right to you and will likely be harmful for their brand.
For example, I was once asked to create a design with a medical message I felt was highly exaggerating the actual effects of the product. Since I felt like it was misleading, I called the client and explained my thoughts. I also suggested an altered version of the copy that still showed the benefit of the product but in a way that could not be misunderstood and was a lot more transparent about how it worked.
It is all down to the specific situation so if something feels uncomfortable, talk it through with someone you trust and write down your thoughts before approaching the client. If you are asked outright to do something you feel is not right, you can of course refuse and/or fire the client.
Think about your digital footprint
Almost all the sustainability spotlight tends to fall on the physical and tangible things in our day to day life. Recycling, what food we eat and what materials our products are made of for example. This is important but as creative entrepreneurs who mostly work from our laptops, it can feel hard to see opportunities to improve our own sustainability.
Since anything that happens online requires servers that need energy, our digital footprint is a great place to make a big difference in our own business. Here are a few quick ways to lower your digital footprint.
Use smaller files and fewer animations/transitions on your website
Make your website more user friendly so people can find what they need faster
Only take the meetings that feel important and can’t be replaced with an email
Be conscious about using tools (this is why we build Kayla to be so fast to use - set up the request and it’s done)
Do you have a sustainability tip I missed or maybe a story of how you stood up for your values? Share it in the comments, I can’t wait to hear it!
