Package Design and Sustainability

Scott Boylston, Professor of Graphic Design, Savannah College of Art and Design

Graphic designers who work in the package design industry are confronted with an undeniable dilemma; very few disciplines are engaged in the process of material consumption as a means of encouraging further material consumption. Plainly put, package designers compound material usage in ways that are not sustainable. Thankfully, there are exciting and quickly emerging alternatives. Pedagogical initiatives often influence the priorities of future industry practice, and major shifts in industry behavior can only occur when an argument for change is clearly justified, concisely articulated and creatively demonstrated. This talk will argue that fundamental shifts in package design practice are already underway in niche sectors, and graphic design pedagogy must keep pace with these dramatic changes in order to, not only promote a broader diffusion of these ideas but, in deed, to remain relevant to the industry it aspires to serve.

Topics such as systems thinking, industrial ecology, and material efficiency will be explored. Innovations in form and function will be presented for their implicit sustainable values as well as for their relationship to managing closed loop systems of materials and services. Graduate-level explorations in sustainable package design from SCAD will provide a foundation for this discussion. This talk aims to empower graphic design educators and practitioners alike to actively promote responsible change in an industry that is in need of new ways of thinking. In doing so, it also addresses many challenges faced by any print designer striving for sustainable change.

Watch the video of the presentation here: http://www.socialstudiesconference.org/node/225