ÖkoPrunk
Bachelor Project
ÖkoPrunk is a project about ways to produce print products in a fully sustainable way. From paper and ink to print finishing and bookbinding issues ÖkoPrunk gives a widespread overview of the opportunities of the developments made in the last few years.
Although the issue of sustainability establishes itself recently, there are no mentionable guidelines for graphic designers yet. But without knowing the options, how could someone act in a sustainable way? So first, graphic designers need to be informed about techniques, recent developments and inventions. After that, they need a way to easily share their new knowledge with their clients.
To separate these two aspects, I decided to write a book for the graphic designer and design a card set as a tool for client meetings. The book is about 5 x 7.5 inches so it’s handy, like a Moleskine, and can be stored in the desk drawer instead of having a weighty tome in the bookshelf. The card set consists of 12 cards – every card displaying one print finishing technique.
For my research I traveled across Germany and spoke with experts – such as production manager Sylvia Lerch, sustainable design agency Friendship Berlin and certified Cradle-to-Cradle Designer Carsten Buck. The book also contains an address list of enterprises with sustainable production cycles and a chapter about how to finance a sustainable product for the same as or less than a non-sustainable product.
