Designers have incredible agency and influence over how we make the world.  For graphic designers there is ample opportunity for impact, as designs are often produced in large quantities. If you are interested in taking climate action through your work, these resources will help you begin your journey.

Also be sure to check out our Getting Started Guides starting with What is Climate Design?

Introduction

As a graphic designer, you likely create both digital and physical products.  Physical outputs like print and packaging design have quite a big carbon impact, and there is much designers can do to move towards sustainable materials, circular systems, and designing out the need for them altogether.  Digital work can be made more efficient, which we go into more in our UX/UI Design Resources.

The content of the work is equally important.  Graphic design has the power to educate, influence, and shift culture.  We touch on this here, but go into more depth in our Communication Design Resources. This guide is focused primarily on the physicality of print and packaging design.

Here are some questions to consider:

• How sustainable are your papers, inks, shipping boxes, and third parties?
• How might you design for end of life? Is the final product recyclable or compostable?
• If you’re designing swag and collateral, could you opt for a digital alternative? Order less? Repurpose something you already have?
• Can the content of your designs influence the viewer towards sustainable behaviors and climate action?

Getting Started

• Creating Responsibly - A Practical Guide - Great primer on how to apply circular design principles in packaging design.
• What is Sustainable Graphic Design? - Case studies on what sustainability can look like in a graphic design context.
• Climate Friendly Print Design - From Renourish with lots of great resources included for paper and printer sourcing.
• Sustainable Graphic Design - Primer from We Made This on approaches for printing, paper, and digital design.