Category: Design Process: Context, Communication and Audience_4005

Visualising Sustainability

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Design plays a fundamental role in sustainability because it is the design that determines which resources are employed and how they are used.

Sustain: an ability to sustain over time, endure. for example, over a number of years. Sustainable development: without impacting too much on future generations. For example, preserving the environment.

In business, a sustainable business plan is (not just about the environment) but can be about making sure the business is using their resources economically.

What Is Sustainability?
The most common definition of sustainability comes from the 1987 Brundtland Commission report for the United Nations. It defines the concept as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sustainability.asp

How are human rights sustainable?

Human rights create conditions essential for sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda recognizes that inclusive and participative economies, and societies in which government is accountable, achieve better outcomes for all people, leaving no one behind. 

Civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights and the right to development build on each other and advance together. 

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/ManagementPlan/Pages/sustainable-development.aspx

https://scadmanor.com/greenwashing-the-brain/

“Don’t be misled by pretty pictures or use of earth-friendly colors on product labels. MacDonalds or Coca-Cola might have green color on their logo, that doesn’t make them eco-friendly!” https://easyecotips.com/learn-how-to-avoid-greenwashing/

https://cuesonline.org/2021/10/28/green-or-greenwashing/

In everyday life there is an element of greenwashing. There is a gap between the things we know and what we do. For example, we know that reusable alternatives are the greener option but need to put the knowledge into action.

Campaigns & Case Studies

Turn it off!

Campaign supporting Ubiquity, documentary by Bregtje van der Haak

Using the language of the online world – emoticons – we designed a simple, but bold visual language, which draws attention to the downside of staying connected all the time.

De Designpolitie
https://www.designpolitie.nl/projects/turn-it-off/

The use of green and red immediately suggest traffic lights and the action of stop and go/ on and off. The strength of the colour carries the message, so the designer is able to use black lights and keep the design simple. The emoticon graphics suggest the original faces made from type.

These will be familiar to people from a certain generation, which suggests to be that this could be the target audience. The bold typeface presents a clear message to the viewer. ‘Schakel Uit’ being Dutch for ‘Turn Off’ in the above designs, is paired with the green. Off which is often a negative word, is contrasted with the positive green.

The banner below is hard to miss due to its clarity and bold simplicity:

LEVI’S WATER> LESS

MY00 Agency, Johnny Lighthands, USA & U.K.

Levi’s developed a sustainable range of jeans to decrease their huge carbon footprint. They wanted to bring their message to people through educational posters and comic strips. They achieved this by using illustrations of water-conserving creatures drawn by Illustrator Johnny Lighthands.

Lighthands’ hand-drawn style gives the campaign a light-hearted touch while getting the message across. The style is rememberable and the characters are lovable. Levi jeans have a reputation for being traditionally well-made and ‘cool’. These drawings challenge the serious reputation of Levi’s. The off-white colour of the ground in these posters suggest natural materials.

Zara- Join Life

I really like the lack of colour in Zara’s graphic design for their Join Life campaign. It looks neat and stylish while also giving the impression of minimal wastage.

https://www.zara.com/uk/en/sustainability-innovation-mkt4823.html?v1=1965796
An image from the campaign for Zara’s eco-conscious Join Life collection.
https://www.carmenbusquets.com/journal/post/fast-fashion-amp-sustainability-will-zara-owners-pledges-mean-real-action
https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2021/04/21/amazon-delivers-on-its-sustainability-commitments-and-then-some/?sh=12d5229a299d

The cheerful animations on Amazon’s website are light and joyful. The illustration encapsulates the entire process of the items shifting through Amazon’s process. It is interesting as an animation because of the moving parts featured in the image.

Greenpeace –Protect the Antarctic, The Lovers

‘A global movement to protect the Antarctic’

The agency, The Lovers, decided on colours and simple graphic design, inspired by the landscape and light of the Antarctic. They chose the penguin symbol to represent the wildlife affected by climate change. Their message was translated into many languages to reach a wider audience. This is important because the issue affects every person on the planet and is affected by every country.

The chosen typeface was inspired by naval/maritime fonts.

Write for Rights Campaign

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https://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/

The global movement, Amnesty International have a focus on protecting human rights. UNESCO identify human rights as an important issue of sustainability. By allowing people to exist and thrive, communities can build over time.

I liked the simplicity of this message by Amnesty. The rainbow colour pattern tells us that the message relates to LGBTQ+ rights without needing to tell us with text. This relies on the audience understanding the connotations of the rainbow as used in recent times to symbolise the LGBTQ+ community by convention. This results in a simple and concise image with more impact than over-cluttering the page.

Write for Rights is a yearly campaign and because of this, I found a variety of designs relating to this cause. I chose this campaign because it represents taking action for people who cannot take action for themselves. It is about achieving justice for people who have been wronged in a variety of ways. If I am fortunate enough to be able to read and write, I can use that skill for good.

Writing has the power to change the world – and Amnesty International is proud to include all in their efforts to do so. For the past 15 years, the organization’s global letter writing campaign has inspired millions of written letters to support those whose basic human rights are being attacked. 

http://deweydivas.blogspot.com/2017/11/write-for-rights.html

The simplicity is effective in this image , the contrast between dark and light, to me, signifies hope. The hands are reaching up as in prayer, asking for help. The dark background helps to highlight the hands and adds to the strength of the message. The size of the text is small, suggesting a whisper. The campaign is talking about people who cannot speak up for themselves. This makes the small text relevant and symbolic.

“The stark image shows a pair of bound hands that is meant to mimic the shape of a pen or pencil, and the ads read: “Write for Rights. Write a letter. Change a life.” in English and “Écrire, ça libère. Participer au marathon d’écriture.” in French.

The print campaign ran in top Quebec news publications, including: Le Devoir, Journal de Montréal and Journal de Québec. A web banner version was deployed on LaPresse.ca, in addition to wild postings in Montréal. And a 30-second French radio spot aired in the regions of Montréal, Québec City, Ottawa, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières in early December.”

(below) The spacing of the text expresses the message clearly, to an audience who would be walking or driving past. The full-stop punctuation mark suggests a finality and an answer to the problem presented. The CTA here is the word ‘write’.

The image surprises the viewer. At a glance, it appears to be a fountain pen. When doing a double-take, the viewer sees that the photo is of a pair of hands. This element of surprise makes the poster memorable.

https://strategyonline.ca/2018/12/17/amnesty-international-asks-quebecers-to-write-for-rights/

“This education pack contains five activities on human rights for young people. It can be used as an introduction to human rights, to global solidarity, to campaigning and activism, and to the wider work of Amnesty International. The activities provide a broad perspective on these issues and others.


They are useful in opening young people’s minds to global concerns and involving them in actions which can have a real impact on people’s lives.”

This design from 2015, has been designed with young students in mind. The doodle-style illustrations reflect the imagination of the target audience. This design focuses on the positive impact of letter-writing, compared to the Canadian poster which emphasizes the suffering.

The Amnesty logo and name of the campaign are presented within a yellow box with edges that resemble a postage stamp. The above poster has been cropped for the cover of the ‘education guide’ booklet.

“Dear Educators,

Amnesty International USA invites you and your students to join Write for Rights, our global human rights letter-writing project focusing on 12 specific cases of human rights abuses around the world. Write for Rights frees prisoners of conscience, protects human rights defenders, and spreads hope.

Amnesty International USA has created an Educator’s Guide, focusing on 5 cases including girls forced into marriage in Burkina Faso; a journalist imprisoned in Uzbekistan; and Albert Woodfox, subjected to over 40 years of solitary confinement in Louisiana. By learning about these 5 cases and writing letters to help end these abuses, students will gain an introduction to human rights and effective letter-writing skills, and the knowledge that their words have the power to make a difference around the world. We invite you and your students to participate from now through December.”

Write for Rights, Cossette, 2020

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/integrated/amnesty_international_write_for_rights

“This vision was made possible by the valuable collaboration between Cossette and Owen Gent, a world-renowned illustrator based in the UK whose aesthetic is similar to painting. His drawings are luminous, vibrant and emotionally charged.

Integrated advertisement created by Cossette, Canada for Amnesty International, within the category: Public Interest, NGO.”