ZINE RATIONALE/REFLECTION
My zine focused on sustainability in graphic design. My interviewee Eric Benson promotes and teaches sustainable design, and will be someone whose guides and resources I continue to utilise in the future.
I believe in the re-purposing and reusing of items over recycling. My zine reflects this in that it is a book, a poster, sow-able seeds, compostable and recyclable. I think the onus should not always fall on the consumer to be sustainable. As designers, we have a responsibility to create things that are quality, long-lasting and When we design, the end of an item's life cycle is as important if not more, that its beginning in the distributing shop. It is important for sustainable design to be considered for every designed project. It needs to be a given, not a niche.
Making this zine really allowed me to rediscover the hidden beauty of the world around us. Creativity doesn't always have to come from destroying the existing to make an entirely new thing, sometimes it is the adaptation and the working alongside existing systems and materials that feel even more rewarding. In this day and age where we are surrounded by technology, it is refreshing to get hands on with the aid of the original designer: mother nature.