Often when you're talking about green design or sustainable design (or whatever you choose to call it), it's often hard to come across solutions that really make an impact and step beyond simply switching the papers and inks you use. It's hard to drill down and do more than merely scratch the surface of the issue.

But at this year's Y Conference, which focuses on how design can play a part of this movement, they've actually been able to integrate that idea down into many of the details of the conference--including my favorite, which is a detail that you wouldn't otherwise notice: the main banner backdrop for the conference sessions is made entirely from used paper. What makes recycled paper worth mentioning? The fact that the papers used are the planning notes that the conference committee made as they planned this year's Conference. Look closely and you can see brainstorms of logos for the event and logistics notes.







That attention to detail--particularly when it is so well done that it probably goes unnoticed--is what we are called to do and is what today's sessions encouraged. Some highlights from today:

• Many of the speakers stressed that the key for designers to embrace going green is the tool that inherently makes them a designer: their ability to communicate. Even though they talked about the paper choice and trash and waste in designers' day-to-day, they stressed the great impact that can come by designers simply raising awareness. We have the ability to take these statistics and educate the public about them, and the power from that comes because those messages will multiply as they reach the public.
  
  
• For instance, one speaker who's in the fashion industry shared a simple approach that a clothing manufacturer took, which was to print on their clothing labels the directive, "Think Climate: Wash at 30 degrees C." A simple change that gets people thinking.
  
  
• One of my favorite speakers today was Sue Redding, a designer and California College of the Arts professor, who talked about the idea of "Style Obsolescence"--basically the modern philosophy where we buy new even if the old version isn't worn out. She traced this idea back to Henry Ford's Model T car where new lines of cars were introduced each year to encourage people to keep purchasing, even if their current one is still working--the new one is just trendier or different. At the time, that concept was novel--Sue pointed out that people had to actually be taught how to throw things away. But today that concept is so ingrained that everything is designed as disposable and not to last. So, she says, we must rethink the way style works. She gave various tips to do this, one of which being the pragmatic but counter-cultural idea of stretching the use of things out as long as possible. This is something to be considered as a lifestyle change, whether in your own shopping habits or in every design project you undertake.
  
  
• Along that vein of "Well then, what can we do?", other speakers spoke up to note that paper is not the only villain to going green; there are many alternate steps and elements to take into consideration. However, reconsidering the way you use paper is a great starting point. Speaker Eric Karjaluoto (who spearheaded Design Can Change) has since stopped doing so much print work at his firm, smashLAB and within their office, they reuse all their notes and sketch paper.