About Us
Design Backwards
A whole-system approach to design
We advocate that designers actively engage with people both upstream (relating to business strategy and marketing plans) and downstream (relating to materials, manufacturing, and distribution) from the traditional designer’s area of expertise. The major goal of engaging upstream from the traditional designer’s role is to shift the focus of “green” design from a battle over cost to a strategic conversation about value. By collaborating with our clients and reframing projects in this way, we find that many roadblocks simply disappear. Rather than fight with every little element of the status quo, we try to change the context so that the status quo no longer holds sway. Green design can often perform well on the cost side of the equation, but adding value is the most effective strategy for green designers.
Avoiding trouble downstream
Downstream from design is a long series of stages, as paper manufacturers deliver goods to printers, who hand them off to bindery houses, who then deliver goods to distribution centers, and so on. When we try to insert ecological considerations into this mix, we often hear a chorus of “That’s not my job” or “My hands are tied” from people involved in production and distribution. And the truth is that those people are often right. By the time a project gets into production, its destiny is pretty much determined. The only way to change the system is for designers to think creatively ahead of time. So, rather than handing files to a printer and hoping for the best, a green designer tries to visualize every downstream phase and searches for ways to optimize and innovate.
NGISED
“Designing backwards” is a process by which designers take a mental journey, starting from a design project’s ultimate destination and working backwards until we arrive back at the design studio. It’s a multiphase brainstorm process, really. Along the way, designers gain knowledge that informs the choices we make. That knowledge enables us to creatively avoid most of the roadblocks that might prevent green solutions from continuing downstream.
Start at the end, by imagining the best possible destiny for a design. Next, imagine the user’s experience with the design and envision scenarios that would make the experience particularly memorable or valuable. Visualize the process for distribution and delivery to the user, including warehousing, packaging, and transport. Search for methods that would be more efficient and effective than the status quo. Finally, define a greenest-case scenario for how the design could be printed, bound, and finished. This includes all of the materials that go into the manufacturing and the ecological impacts of the manufacturing process itself.