Sponsored By Rolland
Sustainability continues to exert a powerful impact in design decisions. In our June 2014 Print Design survey, roughly eight-in-ten GDUSA readers specify eco-friendly papers sometimes, and more than a nine-in-ten say that sustainability is a factor in their design assignments and solutions.
At one time, designers identified “green” with the specific attributes of a product ‒ the best example being the recycled content of a paper grade. And, at one time, “greenness” often seemed driven by hot passions and heartfelt zeal. Nothing wrong with that. But, frankly, what we found in preparing this 2014 report, was that a more holistic concept of sustainability has taken hold.
For most creatives, being “green” still means seeking out sustainable products, services and vendors, which seem to be getting easier to find. However, it also means taking into account concerns such as energy and emissions, forest stewardship and conservation, third party certifications and sourcing, media alternatives and relative footprints, shipping and distribution, internal studio procedures ‒ all now seen as integral factors in responsible and sustainable design. Increasingly, it means aligning sustainable designs with the client’s brand, products, mission, processes in ways that is real, verifiable, transparent, commonsensical. And, finally, it means adopting an ever-widening perspective that goes beyond even lifecycle analysis to embrace responsibility writ large ‒ linking environmental responsibility, fiscal responsibility and social responsibility.
It all feels a bit cooler, more deliberate, more mindful, more matter-of-fact. Which makes “green” design (if you will forgive me) a more sustainable business practice going forward. Meaningful movements, they say, are conceived by fire in the soul but best executed with clinical coolness.
WANDER
LOS ANGELES CA
Wander is a creative collective providing concept, production, design and postproduction with additional branding and marketing capabilities. The collective’s Syncopated Storytelling first debuted with the “Rainforest Alliance – Follow The Frog” film that was awarded with a 2013 Cannes Lion, a TED Ads Worth Spreading, AICP Next, and many other honors. The collective has since gone on to create nationally and internationally recognized branded content and PSAs for LinkedIn, Oxfam America, the American Museum of Natural History, the American Heart Association and Coexist. The company was founded by Aaron Weber (pictured) whose 5-minute short film “Wander” tells the magical story of a young boy who discovers his inspiration on his way to school; it was a hit at international film festivals and won the IFC Media Lab Award. Comments Weber: “Wander operates as a collective. This makes us nimble. We can put a single person on the ground in a remote region of Africa tomorrow or an entire crew in a village in Central America. This scalability and global reach makes us suited for the cause-marketing sector, and our approach allows us to deliver dense and complex narratives in a clear and hopefully entertaining way. We love working on projects that have the potential to make a difference. One topic we are passionate about is sustainability ‒ because, really, all else pales when faced with the basic idea of keeping our planet functioning. But as serious as this and other issues are, it helps to cut through the clutter and sometimes humor is the best way to connect audiences to serious topics. People really identified with Follow The Frog, for example, because they often feel helpless in the face of massive issues. We aren’t going to leave our lives … even our desks … to change the world. And that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes a click, a social media post, a well-written email and a monetary contribution is the most appropriate action. The thing is to not be complacent ‒ we can all do a little bit to help, and I hope the work we create encourages change and is part of something bigger.”
“Be David” is a long-form PSA crafted in collaboration with Oxfam America. Wander created an information-rich narrative that blends enthusiasm and a touch of humor to activate viewers to champion for change with Oxfam America. In other words: find their inner David. The “Be David” project highlights the story of Ghana’s Joanna Manu, who attended a training session sponsored by Oxfam America and stood up against land threats and environmental hazards wrought by an open pit gold mining company. The larger message ‒ that we all have inner power to influence and make change ‒ is deftly conveyed using quick cuts, graphic design, and unexpected imagery to punctuate the film’s voice-over narration with warmth and humor. Says Oxfam America’s Creative Director Jane Huber: “Joanna Manu is emblematic of how people can create real change if they have access to information and can exercise their rights. Our hope is that ‘Be David’ will close the distance between Oxfam’s beneficiaries and American viewers and that it will inspire people to join our community to become activists in their own right.” The film can be seen at www.oxfamamerica.org/david
GOODTHREE
YORK PA
GoodThree is a green branding and design firm with a desire to invest in the client-designer relationship through a “Design Thinking Forward” model. They believe that innovative design requires uncommon creativity, that images and copy must flow seamlessly together to visually tell an audible story, and that the earth offers life worth fighting for ‒ inspiring them to mindfully care for it’s many resources. GoodThree begins with the end and ends with the beginning, ensuring that their first step paves the way for an engaging finish, motivating them to relentlessly review their design process. At times, they believe their forward-thinking philosophy brands them as perfectionists and dreamers. So, how does this “forward-thinking” ideology benefit their clients? It offers a promise to constantly labor until they see flawless design. It shares a commitment to engage in meaningful relationships and to the customer being heard. It guarantees that they meticulously analyze every resource, benefitting the long-term health of the earth.
The world of non-profit organizations is constantly expanding, both in diversity of missions and in the number of groups emerging, This makes it increasingly difficult for them to start up, gain support, and make a difference. When the Annual Report for 2 Seconds Or Less (2SOL) was created, GoodThree not only wanted to create a piece that helped the organization stand out, but also one that would make an impact through sustainability. The report is centered around the organization’s achievements through their methods of sustainable agriculture, and is backed up by its design.
ELEMENTS
BRANFORD CT
Elements is an award-winning marketing communications and design agency founded by principal and creative director Amy Graver. The Elements team works closely with clients to develop brand stories that reflect the company’s core values and mission, positioning them as leaders in their respective fields. A big part of this strategy is implementing sustainable design solutions that not only save their clients money, but reduce waste by using fewer materials and smarter eco-friendly printing options or online. It may seem like a no-brainer, but when creating a mailer for a client, the first thing Graver asks is how good is your mailing list. “We want to make sure it’s clean and lean so we’re not needlessly printing and mailing 4,000 cards when only 1,000 of them will be read, responded to and kept. It seems like a simple idea, but many companies use the same mailing list for years, which is completely ineffective from a marketing and waste management point of view,” she notes. “We convince clients to only print materials that make sense in the long run to extend their shelf life and stay relevant and effective. We also try to use every part of the sheet on a print run, which can mean printing in the margin. It all adds up.” Packaging is another area where Elements helps to steer clients in the right direction. “When working with perishable items, the first packaging concern is how to keep products fresh and retain their flavor, while presenting them in an appealing way,” Graver says. “But, our second goal is helping our clients to see alternative packaging solutions that are recyclable and leave a smaller footprint when disposed ‒ keep it simple vs. making it more than it needs to be. We help our clients become leaders in sustainability and set an example in the packaging industry.”
Every year, as part of Elements marketing activities, the firm prints a series of monthly postcard mailers on a paper grade that contains 50 percent postconsumer recycled waste and is processed chlorine-free. “We always have overruns when the mail house sends out our cards, but year over year we use those cards and add the extras to the following year’s mailing list ‒ which we update continuously throughout the year. There is absolutely no waste. We never have extras and use every single printed card,” Graver says. The cards are printed using vegetable-based inks, which are not harmful when run-off, but also look vibrant and beautiful. To maximize the print runs, they print 15 months worth of cards. The images on the cards themselves are chosen for their timelessness and beauty. We include trackable phone numbers to establish effectiveness. Clients collect and keep the cards. “One client used a few years’ worth of our cards to make a wallpaper border around her office,” says Graver. “Another pulled open her file cabinet and fanned out about 25 cards, saying she was waiting a long time to get the go-ahead to hire our agency. Bottom line is we are aware of the trends and stay current to the best, most green technology in paper and printing options. We can be experimental, because the project is for us and not a client, and we care more about the overall effects to the environment than the cost difference.”
ODGIS + COMPANY
NEW YORK NY
Janet Odgis writes:
Odgis + Co. is an award-winning woman-owned design firm. For over 25 years we have worked with some of the world’s most prestigious corporations and foundations reinventing ways to define and express their brands. By providing our clients with total creative expertise across multiple platforms, we help them to captivate and engage their key stakeholders. As a practice, we work with vendors who use environmentally-friendly materials and printing practices. We also encourage our clients to choose papers and processes that are environmentally conscious. We recycle paper and toner cartridges in our office, and when we moved recently we donated our leftover materials to Build it Green. Our offices are in the heart of midtown Manhattan, an area of the city known to be more concrete then green. But we hope through our environmental practices, we make the world a little greener.
Vornado Realty Trust has been ecologically minded for a long time, as evidenced by its ownership and management of 31.2 million square feet of LEED-certified properties. For their 2013 Sustainability Report ‒ “From The Ground Up” ‒ Odgis + Company tells the story with a floor-by-floor analysis of how the company’s properties are operated and managed in accordance with efficient, earth-friendly practices. The reader journeys through the building from the sub-basement to the roof. The report was printed on FSC certified paper.
BOUTILIER DESIGN
KENNETT SQUARE PA
Shannon Boutilier writes:
Boutilier Design offers its clients the power of good design with an earth-friendly approach. We have been designing invitations and branding solutions for clients to tap into the core purpose of their business needs. With two Emmy Award nominations under our belt, and years of corporate design experience, Boutilier Design has a continuing mission is to save trees, reduce waste, and create materials in the most environmentally friendly way. Like a moth to a flame, we have an irresistible attraction to eco-friendly materials. Together, designers and clients have come to realize that sustainable strategies can increase the bottom line. It is our duty as designers to have a sustainable mindset for every project. It is up to designers like us to use problem-solving designs to provide sustainable change in our field. We ask ourselves and our clients this: does it need to be printed or can we utilize a complete web based marketing strategy? Deciding the complete cycle of a branding and marketing strategy is the first step in limiting our footprint while staying within budget. Working with printers and suppliers certified by third party groups ‒ and who embrace environmental elements such as soy-based inks, tree free, and recycled papers ‒ has made finding the proper materials relatively simple. We are lucky, for example, that right in our own backyard one of our digital printers receives electricity from solar panel usage, helping to reduce their own footprint. It is our choice to embrace the notion that “green” is not a trend but a philosophy to embrace a sustainable future. Designers have the ultimate power to make a real difference in today’s environment.
In branding Chef’s Muse, personal chef services, Boutilier Design highlighted the seasonally inspired cuisine served to their clients. It was an easy fit, since they are committed to using local and sustainable food from local farms. Chef Mike told us that “the foodservice industry has many opportunities to become green but the most difficult part is keeping our branding consistent.” We started branding from the top-down. Our goal was to keep all the marketing materials and paper products consistent and green. We needed to rethink the marketing strategy to prefer a web-based approach over printed material since the menu changed so frequently with the seasons. This meant directing and increasing traffic to the site through better branding strategy. When print advertising was necessary, we used eco-friendly materials and printers. Today Chef’s Muse has reduced its footprint while increasing profits through smarter branding and design.
SANGER & EBY
CINCINNATI OH
With over 25 years in business, strategic design and technology firm Sanger & Eby helps Fortune 1000 companies create effective communications for their associates and stakeholders across a variety of platforms. Founded by Lisa Sanger and Donna Eby, Sanger & Eby is one of the largest women-owned businesses in Cincinnati. Clients include Macy’s, Twentieth Century Fox, Ohio Department of Education, Fifth Third Bank, Luxottica, and Roto-Rooter. The firm states: “Social responsibility is one of Sanger & Eby’s core values ‒ so we put our money where our mouth is. Sustainability is worked into all aspects of our work, including our design, workflow, and office atmosphere. We firmly believe in integrated communications. We save resources by creating solutions that strategically transition well from print to digital. We work from the cloud to enhance our internal and client workflow, saving on multiple resources, from printing to delivery. And our office is littered with recycling cans, energy-saving lighting, and a water cooler equipped for reusable bottles, to name a few. Specializing in employer branding and corporate communications, we know that in today’s marketplace, corporate social responsibility is not only an asset ‒ it’s a prerequisite to attracting and retaining top talent. These values are what job candidates, especially millennials, look for in a company. Corporate social responsibility is a win-win situation. Not only does it make good business sense, at the end of the day it’s just the right thing to do. Our clients constantly work to improve sustainable and social business practices ‒ and we work to help them communicate it.”
Sanger & Eby designed and developed a website for Macy’s that provides behind-the-scenes insights into the sustainability efforts of the Fortune 100 retailer. Macysgreenliving.com is responsive site that works on all platforms, with a fresh and intuitive feel. The firm also worked with Macy’s to enrich the content and provide more interactive features, including a motion graphic video executed inhouse by Sanger & Eby. Previously intended to share information and insights exclusively with Macy’s employees, the redesign makes the site available to the public. It came just in time for Earth Day 2014, and showcases the work that the company accomplished to reduce its carbon footprint, and become a leader in sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Says partner Lisa Sanger: “Macy’s understands there is no finish line in corporate social responsibility, and they continue to make great strides in sustainability.”
RULE 29
GENEVA IL
Rule29 strives to be known for making creative matter. They believe that part of that goal is to see the world differently than most ‒ colors, images, messages, fonts, and people. Principal & Creative Director Justin Ahrens says: “Part of seeing from a unique perspective includes making a positive impact on our world, both the environment and the people in it. The bottom line is that we want to make a difference in both. While we may not spend our free time actually hugging trees, we do take our design capabilities and their implications seriously. We realize that our everyday activities, at work and at play, affect our communities, our environment, and our planet, and not just today, but for generations to come. As a result, Rule29 is consistently improving our sustainable inhouse recycling process, carbon footprint tracking, employee and client education, and our promotion of environmentally friendly printing practices. We strive to not have these as initiatives per se, but a natural and day to day part of our culture and our work. In other words, it is simply a part of our creative matter process.”
In an early summer initiative, Ahrens and Brian MacDonald of Wonderkind Studios, a visual media production company, rode from Boston Harbor to Lake Michigan for Wheels4Water, with the goal of raising money to provide an entire Ugandan community with safe water and sanitation resources for life. As a “Design For Good” initiative, Ahrens and MacDonald harnessed their respective companies’ creative capabilities to raise funds and raise awareness about water sanitation problems, while sharing their journey through a variety of media platforms and creative means. The Wheels4Water project is in collaboration with Lifewater, a nonprofit working to address the worldwide water epidemic. Says Ahrens: “What started off as a pipe dream last summer ended after 15 days on the road, 1,205 miles, and over $93,000 raised so far to provide safe water and sanitation resources for 2,350 people in Lira, Uganda. It is unbelievable how this journey turned out, and we are so grateful to everyone who made it a success!” For more information, to view recap videos, or to donate, visit www.wheels4water.org
EVOLUTION MARKETING
OCONOMOWOC WI
Evolution Marketing, llc is a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) that opened in January of 2008. The design and marketing firm is managed in an environmentally responsible manner and their niche is environmental, socially responsible and sustainable business communications. The Evolution Marketing staff works hard to “lead by example.” As an example, they were the first business in Wisconsin to purchase the zero emission Nissan Leaf, and over the last two years members of the team have tracked and monitored energy use data, and shared their experiences and findings with the public via alternative fleet vehicle talks throughout Wisconsin. In addition to creative, the team also provides consulting services for sustainability strategy development, local food marketing, sustainable event management and business-to-consumer earth friendly product development. President Lisa Geason-Bauer, is actively involved in issues of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. She has been an Advisor to the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council (WSBC) for the last four years, and her firm is a business participant in the WSBC’s Green Masters Program. In 2013, Evolution Marketing was the first communications firm in Wisconsin to be recognized at the “Master” level, demonstrating exceptional commitment to sustainability leadership. And in April, Geason-Bauer was the first recipient of WSBC’s Earth Day Business Sustainability Award, as a 2014 Sustainability Leader for small businesses in the state. In particular, she was recognized for integrating sustainability principles into day-to-day business operations and for being a local sustainability advocate for sharing cutting edge knowledge and best practices in the areas of alternative fuel vehicles, waste management, green buildings and local food. www.evmkting.com
The Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (WGBA) contracted with Evolution Marketing on their organization’s rebranding efforts. Korinne Haeffel WGBA Executive Director further says, “We really appreciate the holistic approach to sustainable design and environmentally responsible project management that members of the Evolution Marketing team have brought to our attention. This ranged from suggestions regarding sustainably sourced Wisconsin-made, third party certified papers, to recommendations on which print house to use based on the printers sustainability credentials. When we tell our sustainable operations story, it is nice to be able to share with our members that Evolution Marketing (our marketing/design team) and Watertown Budget Print (our printer) both align well with the mission by having embraced sustainable operations within their own facilities such as implementing composting programs at their respective offices. It is wonderful to have found a trustworthy organization that has sustainability interwoven into everything they do.”
ROLLAND
ORIGINAL BRAND / GENUINE QUALITY
A MESSAGE FROM THE SPONSOR | Rolland is back!
After more than 130 years in existence, 22 of them with Cascades, Rolland is back!
Original Brand / Genuine Quality
The name of the new business is Rolland Enterprises Inc., which maintains the rich and long history of the St-Jerome, Quebec plant. The name Rolland has a strong reputation in the paper industry as providing the highest quality and driving innovation, and the company will strive to uphold that reputation. The name also reinforces the Quebec-heritage which has been key to our success to date and will continue to remain a vital piece of our identity.
The new corporate identity is, therefore, based on the three pillars of Rolland: Performance, Innovation, and Environment.
The Name You Trust
Rolland papers are a bright and sustainable choice. They offer a concrete way to reduce a paper user’s environmental footprint while keeping high standards for quality and performance.
Proud partner of the urban forest ‒ recycling bins ‒ Rolland maximizes the life of the forest resources by recycling papers. It is this type of art that the company chose to develop, coupled with innovative processes such as chlorine-free bleaching and renewable biogas energy usage. How refreshing!
Same Old-Good Products
White and green at the same time, the Rolland Enviro100 family, as well as Rolland Opaque, Rolland Hitech and ReproPlus remain the core commercial grades.
Containing 100% and 30% postconsumer fiber, they are EcoLogo and FSC certified and manufactured using renewable and local biogas energy. All this, without compromising on the quality!
As noted earlier in this edition, Rolland Enterprises is the sponsor of GDUSA’s annual “Green Design” Special Report. Appropriately, the text for the print version of this edition of GDUSA is printed on the company’s Rolland Enviro100 Satin, 60 lb. Text, a great choice for printing dazzling and colorful visuals. The paper contains 100% post-consumer fiber, is certified FSC, EcoLogo and Processed Chlorine Free, and is made using biogas energy.
To learn more, visit www.rollandinc.com