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Creative Sustainable Design

Do you believe that graphic design should be beautiful, the process should be enjoyable and the practice should be environmentally friendly?

CSDesign specialises in developing creative design solutions for print, identity and the web. We offer a friendly and professional approach to eco graphic design.

What is sustainable graphic design?

With a little careful planning we can all make a big difference to the impact we have on our environment. Sustainable design is a simple yet very important method of creating beautifully designed materials that don't destroy our environment.

People often think 'If it's Eco it's going to cost me more'. This need not be the case. Sustainable design looks at how to make best use of materials to reduce energy consumption, pollution and waste. This may be done by using less paper, less ink and less chemical processes - which all help to reduce expenses and environmental costs.

Sustainable design considers not only the aesthetics of the finished item but the project as a whole: Before production, during production and after production.

Does the designed item need to be printed? Could it be as effective in pdf, website or email format? If it does need printing, careful planning of the quantity required is essential. Printing too many will result in needless waste; printing too few will necessitate reprinting which is costly and not at all sustainable.

It is extremely important that environmentally responsible papers are used. Don't be fooled by thinking they won't look as good or will cost more money. Paper mills are having to become more responsible in their methods.

There are now a wide range of high quality paper stocks that are recycled from post-consumer waste, that haven't been chlorine bleached and that hold ink well to look, feel and smell just as good - if not better - than non-sustainable papers. And better still, they don't have to be more expensive!

Sustainable design practice also looks at the best printing and finishing methods for the job. For example, how pages will be laid out on a sheet. Sometimes using a slightly different size or format can have the same end result but without using another set of printing plates - saving you time, waste and money.

Does that navy blue and metallic logo really need to be printed out of CMYK and a metallic Pantone colour? That is 5 colours and nasty metallic pigment. It may look as good, or better, with just 2 spot colours. And why use hazardous chemical petroleum inks when vegetable and soy based inks are just as good and are also much easier to de-ink and recycle once the item is no longer wanted?

The above is just a brief example of key elements that are used in sustainable design.

The great news is you don't need to know it all. All you need to do is choose to design sustainably. CSDesign will work with you to do the rest and ensure that the end result is a beautiful, creative, sustainable design.