“Walking the Walk” of Sustainable Design

Working sustainably and avoiding the landfill is a goal that many graphic designers aspire to. In reality, creating work that adheres to the principles of sustainable design is often challenging and graphic designers sometimes find themselves struggling to “walk the walk.” Client budgets, availability of resources, and coming up with innovative ideas are just some of the obstacles they face.thomas.matthews studio has a number of projects that feature sustainable design. The "Your Ocean" project tells the story of the impact of human beings on the ocean and its ecosystems. The exhibit that was created for the National Maritime Museum in London was made completely from reclaimed, recycled and sustainable materials. Gallery walls are made from reclaimed wood. One of the walls is even clad in left-over materials from the gallery build itself. Other materials used are old road signs, charity shop fabrics, old mobile phones and crushed CD plastic. (1)Emergent Structures is another inspiring organization located in Savannah, GA. Their objectives include reducing waste streams from the built environment through community-based collaboration; utilizing renewable and reclaimed materials; increasing usage of construction and demolition waste; and creating new tools and models with communities. (2) One recent project utilized reclaimed wood from one of their ongoing deconstruction projects to create a center bar for a new business that opened in the historic district, The Sparetime. The project also involved a local craftsman and cabinet maker, Anders Thomsen, who constructed the bar from the reclaimed wood.What have you seen that inspires you to “walk the walk” and design sustainably?Here are some resources for practicing sustainable design; some feature case studies for more inspiration:http://www.designersaccord.org/http://www.livingprinciples.org/http://lovelyasatree.com/http://re-nourish.com/?l=homeNotes:1) http://lovelyasatree.com/casestudies.htm2) http://www.emergentstructures.org/?page_id=288Sources:http://thomasmatthews.com/http://www.rmg.co.uk/http://lovelyasatree.com/casestudies.htmhttp://www.emergentstructures.org/?page_id=288