THESIS PROPOSAL
Introduction
For the past three years, I have been exploring key issues that are of great concern to me as both a designer and as a citizen of the world. The issue that has had the most impact on me is sustainability.
The role of a graphic designer goes beyond that of just selling something for someone else. Graphic designers play an important role in shaping thoughts, public opinion and policy through visual communication. We do this in every aspect of our profession from the kinds of clients that we take on to the types of material that we use to produce our work. In the twenty-first century, sustainability is at the center of this new design paradigm.
My interest in sustainability began when I read the 2006 Vanity Fair Green issue. The essay written by Al Gore entitled “The Moment of Truth,” served as a wake up call to me. The scientific truth about global warming is both startling and eye opening. To say this is a planetary crisis is an understatement. As global warming continues to escalate and the polar ice caps continue to melt, this inevitably will cause a chain reaction of catastrophic events that could endanger human existence. Although the situation sounds grim, we have the opportunity to change. For the design community this change will ultimately lead to a new design paradigm that will dictate future graphic design curriculums in schools, how designers work with clients, service providers and with each other.
Overview of the Inquiry
My thesis explores one aspect of social responsibility, green design. In Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility Steven Heller writes, “Being accountable to some moral standard is key. A designer must be professionally, culturally, and socially responsible for the impact his or her design has on the citizenry.” The purpose of my thesis is to explore the idea of ethics in design in relation to sustainability. I will study the process of design from concept to end product using sustainability as the guide.
Statement of Intent
Cause-related marketing has been a focal point of my course of study. Sustainability is the issue that I intend to explore in my written thesis. I will attempt to answer various questions pertaining to the graphic designer’s role in sustainability. How can we as designers develop skills and practices to respond to sustainability? How can graphic design as a profession be a catalyst for change? With the world at-large concerned about the environment, do we as designers wait for change to originate from consumers or corporations or do we as designers become the catalyst for change?
My artistic project attempts to demonstrate two things: 1) a green design from concept to completion and 2) how this green design can be used as an effective instrument for social change. I will create a poster series that will speak to the public on the importance of being environmentally responsible. My study is entitled RETHINK. RECYCLE. REDESIGN. The posters are a testament of how graphic design can be sustainable while at the same time, be an effective vehicle of visual communication. The posters are made of recycled material. The paper was made from shredded credit card offers and other junk mail I usually throw away. I highlighted ten tips to green living. These were silk screened using EnviroLine water-based inks. I will keep a detailed diary as well as pictures of the process.
The medium as well as the message demonstrate how graphic design can be used as an instrument for social change. My intent is to show at a gallery, other venues or online.
I took this one step further by creating an art exhibit exhibit and fundraiser that included other artists and designers from various fields. The larger event/ fundraiser was held in cooperation with Sustainable OKC (Oklahoma City) and Individual Artists of Oklahoma to promote green design and sustainability. It included a call to artists who were invited to submit up to three original one-of-a-kind pieces made from material that might otherwise be thrown away and become waste. I included my own artwork in the RETHINK. RECYCLE. REDESIGN. exhibition that was held on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at the IAO Gallery in Oklahoma City.
Guiding Research Questions
What problem am I trying to solve?
What led me to explore sustainability in graphic design?
What are the current atttitudes about sustainability in graphic design?
How can graphic design be an agent / instrument of social change?
Why is this important?
How will this investigation contribute to the field of graphic design?
What are the challenges of sustainable design?
What will the audience learn?
What will I learn from this investigation?
What will this investigation accomplish?
Should issues of sustainability or sustainable design lead to a new design paradigm?
Research Procedures
My research was quantitative and qualitative. I began my research by reading the book Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design Responsibility edited by Steven Heller and Veroniqe Vienne. This collection of essays will be a good starting point. I will also research my topic using the online library Questia as well as other online sources. I will keep a visual and written journal of my design process to produce green posters from making the paper, to silk screening, to framing and exhibiting.
Anticipated Portrayals
I read and evaluated what other design professionals, leaders in the industry, and professional design organizations say about ethics and social responsibility. From the information I gathered from this research, I was be able to draw my own conclusions and solutions. I kept notes in a small notebook that I carried with me to capture any ideas or information that come to mind.
I had never made paper or used silk-screening as a medium so this was a challenging process. I purchased a silk screening device in order to produce the posters.
Outline of Thesis Chapters
chapter 1: sustainability
what is sustainability?
360˚ design
chapter 2 green marketing
what is green marketing?
green washing
consumer awareness
green fatigue
chapter 3: the state of design
paper: trees glorious trees
packaging: the devil wears plastic
printing-what’s in an ink?
7 deadly sins of toxic design
chapter 4: social responsibility
social responsibility and the graphic designer’s role
it takes a village
the impact of the wal-mart packaging scorecard
cradle to cradle: designing for end of life
chapter 5: redemption-how one designer can make a difference
green poster project: an eco-friendly project from concept to completion
the poster series
the concept
making paper
silk screening
rethink: recycle: redesign
globalizing the cause
chapter 6: think green: design green: be green: a new design paradigm
become an activist — an educator— an advocate — an agent of change
be a part of the solution
new design standards
7 virtues of sustainable graphic design
it’s not easy being green
Tentative Bibliography
Carli, Don, ed. Print Design and Environmental Responsibility. Design Business and Ethics series, 7.
New York: AIGA. 2007.
Fowkes. Maja and Reuben. “The Principles of Sustainability in Contemporary Art.”
GreenMuseum.org. 2007. 31 January 2008
http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=265
Glaser, Milton and Mirko Ilic. The Design of Dissent. Massachusetts: Rockport
Publishers, Inc. 2005.
The Green. 2008. The Sundance Channel. 31 January 2008
http://www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen
Heller, Steven and Veronique Vienne. Citizen Designer: Perspectives on Design
Responsibility. New York: Altworth Press. 2007.
Nini, Paul. “In Search of Ethics in Graphic Design.” Voice. 16 August 2004. AIGA.
31 January 2008
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/in-search-of-ethics-in-graphic-design.
Ogando. Joseph. “Engineering Green Packaging.” Design News. 8 October 2007.
Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. 31 January 2008
http://www.designnews.com/article/CA6485773.html
Postrel, Virginia. The Substance of Style. New York: Harper Collins. 2003.
SpaceShare.com. 2006. SpaceShare. 31 January 2008
http://spaceshare.com/greenevents/.
Seale, Clive. Researching Society and Culture. London: Sage Publications
Ltd. 2004.
Silververman, David. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publications Ltd. 2007.
Stanczak, Gregory C. Visual Research Methods. London: Sage
Publications Inc. 2007.
USGBC.org. 2008. U.S. Green Building Council. 31 January 2008
Vit, Armin. “Born in Mexico but Made in America.” Voice. 10 March 2004. AIGA.
31 January 2008
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/born-in-mexico-but-made-in-america.
“What is Global Warming?” ClimateCrisis.net. 2006.
http://www.climatecrisis.net/thescience.
An Exploration of Social Responsibility in Graphic Design: The Art of Ethical and Sustainable Design and the Graphic Designers Role
