SustainAble: A Handbook of Materials and Applications for Graphic Designers and Their Clients

by Aaris Sherin

Sustainable design is gaining prominence as a pivotal issue for the future of contemporary practice at the best design schools and at professional design conferences. Graphic designers and their clients are increasingly demanding sustainable solutions. Designers want to address these needs when presenting their work for consideration. As businesses continue to adapt to and provide environmental solutions with their own products, they are demanding it from their creative partners, and designers need to be on the forefront of these initiatives by being well informed. SustainAble will provide the information they need to be ahead of the curve on sustainability issues, inform them on sustainable applications and to approach the issue of sustainability in the areas of paper, printing, formats, materials, inks, and executions.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Aaris Sherin is an educator, writer, and designer. She is an associate professor of graphic design at St. John’s University in Queens, New York where she teaches classes on typography, sustainable design, packaging and advanced projects. Sherin is the author of Sustainable Thinking: Ethical Approaches to Design and Design Management (Fairchild Books 2013), Design Elements: Using Images to Create Graphic Impact (Rockport, 2008), Design Elements: Color Fundamentals (Rockport, 2011) and SustainAble: A Handbook of Materials and Applications for Graphic Designers and Their Clients (Rockport, 2008). Sherin is currently working on the upcoming book Modernism Reimagined: The art and design of Elaine Lustig Cohen (RIT Press 2014). As guest editor of GroveArt (Oxford University Press), Sherin supervised the addition of more than thirty entries on female designers as part of the 2006 Women in the Arts update. Her writing has been featured in publications such as PRINT magazine, STEP Inside Design, Form, Leonardo (MIT Press), and Design and Culture. In research and client-based work, Sherin addresses complex issues including the environment, creative thinking, and innovative problem solving that can occur across media and disciplines.

Reviews

[Sarah Schaeffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this a while ago and it was an excellent resource. Saving it here so I don't forget about it.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but it's just so superficial. It's not really addressing the environmental issues we face right now. It is trying to. But by just changing the ink or paper you use isn't sustainable design, that is just maybe creating a little less harm, maybe. Graphic designers need to look at a design problem from birth to hopefully reuse. They also need to look as graphic design not as selling a product but as informing, for example find better ways to inform users on how to recycle a package than a tiny symbol that nobody understands at the bottom.

[Kristian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good enough look at making yourself a better, in terms of "sustainability," designer. Focuses on practical solutions and real case studies of companies implementing sustainable practices. Perhaps a little light on theories, but heavy on applicable information and places to look for new ideas and materials. Good start for anyone interested in becoming a "sustainable" graphic designer.

[Gage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, easy to read book full of sustainable design tidbits. I was able to start and finish this book in two days (on the plane), and it reads like a magazine – with small bits of digestible info. You're not going to know a ton about sustainable design after reading this, but it's a great way to get started.