Closing the Sustainability Gap: The Emerging Role of Sustainable Graphic Designer

This research examines the emerging role of sustainable graphic designer. A current gap exists between a small group of highly-motivated sustainable graphic designers and the rest of the industry. The purpose of this study is to identify demand for sustainable graphic design and to understand how prepared graphic designers are to meet this demand. A variety of research methods are used, including job searches, surveys, and interviews. General survey results show a reported increase in the practice of sustainable graphic design, yet few of these designers understand how to practice it.

Interviews find that leading sustainable design practitioners are establishing best practices and defining their own roles while they wait for the rest of the industry to catch up. This foundational research suggests that sustainable graphic design is still in the early adoption phase and makes recommendations on next steps to define and build consensus around the practice of sustainable graphic design.