Contextual Studies: Task Three

 For this task the question I have chosen to loosely base my research on the question “Explore the sustainable design movement and discuss its impact on contemporary illustration” as I feel this is an important area to have a clear understanding of considering the environmental impacts on the Earth due to waste and pollution. It is essential to try and work as sustainably as possible which includes developing new sustainable methods of printing, packaging and designing.

All areas of illustration can be improved through the use of sustainable methods although it will be a long road to success. However, every small change can have a major impact on the Earth and the more artists who put this concept as a core value, the more we can impact change and inspire others to do the same.

There were two products I managed to locate on the website ‘De Zeen’ which I found were working especially hard to combat this, one being a razor made from paper and the second being a compostable marker. I felt it was important to look at both products as the paper razor is an everyday consumer product which will reach a much broader audience range than simply those within the creative industry.  It was created by the Japanese product company ‘Kai’ and claims to have created the first ever paper based, disposable razor created using methods of origami.

"Inspired by the plastic-free Sustainable Development Goals concepts, we are commercialising the world's first 'Paper Razor’," (Kai, 2021)

Although this unique concept has started to wage its war on the use of single use plastic that doesn’t biodegrade for 1000 years, it does create the worry for the rainforests and concerns regarding deforestation. Has this product been created using 100% recycled paper? Will the public know how to recyle it properly? These are some of the questions I would be incredibly interested in researching further if I decide to use this subject as the basis for my essay.

The second product was the ‘fully compostable marker’ (C. Ratti, 2020) Which was designed by the Italian Studio ‘Carlo Ratti Associati’ (CRA) called the ‘Scribit Pen’ which is comprised of natural fibres and water-based, edible ink meaning the whole pen could break down within 6 months. This would be a major improvement from the 1000years of their plastic counterparts however similar questions arise due to this being a new concept; can the natural fibres be obtained sustainably? The wood and aluminium barrels aren’t compotable but according to (C. Ratti, 2020) are ‘designed to last a long time’ however this measn there is still waste being produced, can this be improved upon?

Inspired by my findings I wanted to check whether I was being as sustainable as possible within my own home and workspace by doing things such as recycling my paper correctly. I used a website which allowed me to enter some basic details in order to explore whether or not the desired material was recyclable using my available resources. Luckily I found it was so I am pleased I have been doing this as much as possible. I also took note from Elmansy’s post where they state:

“Reduce the bleed when possible – expanding the design to lessen the bleed increase which leads to the ink waste. Try to reduce this waste by keeping the bleed white when possible.” (Elmansy, 2015)

This discusses how altering my printing ink bleed can also help reduce ink waste which I decided to do to ensure I was working as sustainably as possible from home, considering I am already resourceful when it comes to any misprints where I will use these ‘unusable’ prints as spare note paper, sketch paper and for other useful tasks which don’t require clean presentation.

I found during the completion of this task I was incredibly interested in this subject and may choose to complete my essay discussing this topic rather than the question of ‘Explore the importance of diversity in children’s book illustration’ as I’ve found I would still like to explore this topic and focus on the basis of the question ‘Explore the sustainable design movement and discuss its impact on contemporary illustration’ so I can discover more and continue to educate myself as I feel this is an important area to understand considering the impact it will have on my chosen specialism when I come to printing large formats of work in the future it will be important to know how to do this as sustainably as possible.