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The essay was very well written and structured. Attention to Graffiti Culture and Spatial Design were expressed very well and extensive research was given on the explanations, application and examples. I enjoyed learning about the Graffiti Culture and the aspects that go into it. As well as how you spoke within the South African context and shed light on the culture of this country. I have a better understanding of Subculture and the characteristics. Overall, a very informative essay that successfully explained how incorporating spatial design should be considered when solving a design problem. - Shante Singh

Subculture in Design: Graffiti Culture and Spatial Design - Keenan Harichund

Subculture in Design: Graffiti Culture and Spatial Design

Subculture in design boasts a wide variety of art styles, one of them being the graffiti subculture and their use of spatial design when identifying and solving a design problem. Graffiti artists use the space given to them to make their designs, whereas, in spatial design, the designer designs the space. This essay will look at the graffiti subculture within the South African context and show why incorporating subculture, in this context, graffiti artist’s use of spatial design should be considered when identifying and solving a design problem. This essay will reference the graffiti subculture within South Africa, looking at examples of the Soweto towers as well as towns where the streets are filled with graffiti, making use of spatial design. Specific references will also be made to the spatial design field of design and use how kids at youth centers in South Africa use graffiti to decorate and design their space. The result will show how in South Africa, the fusion between spatial design and graffiti art exists and successfully identifies and solves a design problem.

Defining Subculture 

The term subculture derives from the word culture. It describes a group of individuals within a larger culture who display unique traits that can be categorized as its own culture, put, a culture within a culture. However, the criteria for the specific traits and characteristics that differentiate between culture and subculture are not universally agreed on, and many experts have given their opinion. (Jenks, 2005) 

Looking at how experts have dubbed a specific society a subculture and applying this into the South African context, graffiti artists could be categorized into the subculture category as their traits and interaction with what they do break norms of the larger society they form a part of. 

The concept of subculture only became used in social science literature after the Second World War and in the book ‘Subculture: The Fragmentation of the Social,’ the author, Chris Jenks, a professor of Sociology and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Brunel University, gives quotes of people defining the early modern concept of subculture. The book mentions one definition that states subculture is “a subdivision of national culture, composed of several factorable social situations such as class status, ethnic background, regional and rural or urban residence, and religious affiliation, but forming in their combination a functional unity which has an integrated impact on the participating individual.” (Jenks, 2005) This definition fits the context regarding social, economic, and political hegemony that one culture has over another in regards to social, economic, and political subcultures being created as a result of cultural hegemony. 

Another definition from the book states that the concept of subculture refers to “cultural variants displayed by certain segments of the population.” (Jenks, 2005) The definition goes on to speak about how subcultures are 'worlds within worlds.’ In terms of modern definitions of the concept and how it applies today, writer David Muggleton defines subculture in ’The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology’ as “a group with certain cultural features that enable it to be distinguished from other groups and the wider society from which it has emerged.” (Muggleton, 2007) The concept changes as the traits and characteristics of cultural hegemony change over time. One culture takes bits and pieces from another culture and shares these beliefs and principles with other people, and creates what we know today as a subculture. Other reasons for the appearance of a subculture where there was none could be rebellious behavior or an individual not fitting into their own larger culture and gravitating towards a more relatable way of life that matches theirs. These definitions of a subculture have their weaknesses as it is argued that subculture should be categorized according to the interaction process between a sub-community rather than characteristics and traits that an individual might have as one might be interested in the culture rather than gravitate towards it, pulling away from the norms of their own umbrella culture. (Fine and Kleinman, 1979)

The Significance of the Graffiti Subculture in Identifying and Solving a Design Problem

In this way, in the design context, the specific interaction examined the graffiti culture is the use of space in the public area; in design, this is called spatial design. Graffiti Artists use the space given to them and create something from it, while in the private sector of the design field, spatial design encompasses creating the space for the design. 

Spatial analysis of graffiti is a crucial element to be considered in the private sector of design when identifying and solving a design problem as graffiti is a form of communication, which is the primary purpose of a designer, to communicate a message within a space visually. Veronika Megler, David Banis, and Heejun Chang speaking on spatial analysis of graffiti in San Francisco, state that “graffiti is created in areas with high densities of young males, and that commercial zones have the highest rate of graffiti reports.” (Meglerax, Banis and Chang, 2014)

In South Africa, the graffiti culture is massive all over, with some being forms of vandalism and others considered forms of art in the right space and context. The way that graffiti artists use the space that’s given to them makes the process quick and low-cost, which is why you never see a graffiti artist making a piece of work; relatively, the piece appearing where nothing existed just recently. Examples of this in South Africa stem from all over, from schools and kids writing on the walls to unique art displays that have become tourist destinations and put a mark in South African history and design. The unorthodox style of graffiti-based designs in South Africa is still seen in the same light as graffiti worldwide, with the same question being asked of its people, is it a form of art or a form of vandalism. Graffiti has a strong history within South Africa stemming from visual culture during the Apartheid period. The people used the streets to publicly and visually display their emotions and feelings as they had no other way. (Coombes, 2003)

Figure 1: Dlala Indima

(Dlala Indima, 2011)

Above shows Dlala Indima’s work as “an alternative approach to cultural development by and for young people who are usually marginalized by the mainstream practice of culture‐led economic development.” The example above shows the significance of graffiti artists’ use of spatial design and graffiti as a form of development in South Africa, using graffiti and spatial design to better the community. As designers, we have roles and responsibilities that we have to uphold in the community. This is an example of 'using graffiti as a tool to beautify and engage the youth in developing self-worth through creative action and an intuitive, reflexive, and context-specific approach to place-making.’ (Sitas, 2020)

In the private sector of design, where the style is more formal, graffiti artists’ use of spatial design can come in handy when for example, a building has a flaw in the design and needs to be redone. Instead of the generic solution of removing the problem and building a new solution around it, use the space and flaw given to create an entirely new design solution that might be a better solution than what was previously intended. This keeps the design costs low as less material will be used, and no material already used is lost. This is why graffiti artists’ use of spatial design is an essential element to be considered when identifying and solving a design solution.

In the South African context, graffiti and spatial design can be used for new design solutions, as shown above using the example of Dlala Indima and their use of graffiti and spatial design in culture-led development in South Africa and how designers can play their part when identifying and solving a design problem.

Examples of Successful Application of Graffiti in Spatial Design

The physical environment impacts customers and employees, and in the design field, this space in between interior and exterior is called spatial design. Graffiti artists’ use of spatial design can be implemented in the design field, specifically, spatial design, to create a suitable atmosphere, physical design, or decor elements for the design solution’s target audience. 

Mary Jo Bitner, one of the founders of the service marketing discipline (Bitner, 2021), speaking on 'The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees’, states that the physical surroundings facilitate organizational achievement well as marketing goals. (Bitner, 2021) Examples of this use of spatial design and graffiti can be seen in the youth centers of South Africa and street art in Cape Town, which used spatial design and graffiti design to solve a design problem regarding the drought which was occurring in the community at the time. 

Figure 2: Zavkhan Youth Development Centre Opening

(Zakhan Youth Development Centre, 2014)

In the image above, we see artists from Zavkhan, Mongolia, using recycled banners and their imagination to create graffiti art for the Zavkhan Youth Development Centre opening. These artworks would decorate the center, adding to the overall aesthetic of the building. (Zakhan Youth Development Centre, 2014)

This image of how graffiti can solve spatial design solutions, where the interior space is the youth development center, is being decorated with the children’s graffiti art, supporting the significance of graffiti art in the South African Context of culture-led development. This is one of the many youth centers that allow the youth to express themselves with graffiti in a safe place, which also works to design the development center.

The design for the development center included recycling and graffiti as a medium in which to work in. These artworks would then be used to design the center’s look, giving an individual feel and energy, which, as mentioned earlier, is a crucial factor when making an impact on the customer or employee while supporting the role and responsibility of the designer to better the community. For this reason, this example of successful application regarding graffiti and spatial design. 

Figure 3: Orlando Towers

(Gauteng Tourism Authority, 2021)

The image above shows a view of the Orlando Towers in Soweto, which have been completely covered in brightly colored murals, one of which depicts scenes and images from township culture and the other with South Africa’s corporate branding FNB bank. 

This is a perfect example of how spatial design and graffiti have been used to solve a design problem, the towers being the design problem as it had been shut down. Instead of removing the towers and leading to waste material, the towers were turned into a work of art that communicated a message and developed into a tourist attraction for South Africa. This example shows the role and responsibility of bettering the community and the successful implementation of spatial design by using the shape and space of the towers that was given to design an environment in which entertainment could exist, in this case, bungee jumping being the primary activity to do at the towers. 

Conclusion

Subculture in design boasts a wide variety of art styles, one of them being the graffiti subculture and their use of spatial design when identifying and solving a design problem. Graffiti artists use the space given to them to make their designs, whereas, in spatial design, the designer designs the space. This essay looked at the graffiti subculture within the South African context. It showed why incorporating subculture, in this context, graffiti artist’s use of spatial design should be considered when identifying and solving a design problem. This essay made specific reference to the graffiti subculture within South Africa, looking at examples of the Soweto towers and towns where the streets are filled with graffiti, making use of spatial design. Specific references were also made to the spatial design field of design and used how kids at youth centers in South Africa use graffiti to decorate and design their space. Overall, it is shown how even though there is still debate as to whether graffiti is a form of art or vandalism, the way that graffiti artists use spatial design can still be useful when identifying and solving complex ensign solutions within a South African context.

References

Bitner, M., 2021. Mary Bitner. [online] W. P. Carey School of Business. Available at: <https://wpcarey.asu.edu/people/profile/68504> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Coombes, A., 2003. History after apartheid: Visual culture and public memory in a democratic South Africa. 2nd ed. Durham, London: Duke University press.

Dlala Indima, 2011. street Art. [image] Available at: <https://www.instituteforpublicart.org/case-studies/dlala-indima/> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Fine, G. and Kleinman, S., 1979. Rethinking Subculture: An Interactionist Analysis. American Journal of Sociology, [online] 85(1). Available at: <https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/226971> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Gauteng Tourism Authority, 2021. Bungee jumping at Orlando Towers. [image] Available at: <https://www.gauteng.net/attractions/orlando_towers> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Jenks, C., 2005. Subculture: The Fragmentation of the Social. London: SAGE Publications LTD.

Meglerax, V., Banis, D. and Chang, H., 2014. Spatial analysis of graffiti in San Francisco. Applied Geography, [online] 54, pp.63-73. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143622814001490> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Muggleton, D., 2007. Subculture. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, [online] Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoss295> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Sitas, R., 2020. Creative Cities, Graffiti and Culture‐Led Development in South Africa: Dlala Indima (‘Play Your Part’). International Journal of Urban and Regional Reseach, [online] 44(5). Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2427.12894> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Tayla Gentle, T., 2018. With an elephant and a cactus, artist Falk One comments on the Cape Town drought. The people of Langa have a huge respect for graffiti and the art is almost never vandalized.. [image] Available at: <https://adventure.com/langa-street-art-cape-town/> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

van Loon, J., n.d. Five Points in New York, one of the most famous places where graffiti is tolerated (Hall Of Fames). [image] Available at: <https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/13062?lang=en> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Zakhan Youth Development Centre, 2014. Zakhan Youth Development Centre Opening - Graffiti art time lapse. [video] Available at: <https://lao.unfpa.org/en/video/zakhan-youth-development-centre-opening-graffiti-art-time-lapse> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

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Overall I think the essay needs a bit more work and attention to grammar. I found it a little difficult to understand what the essay was about. I did, however, enjoy the explanation on the traits that K-pop has on Graphic Design principles and I have a little more knowledge about the K-pop subculture. The examples shown were good but I wish it could have been explained more. - Shante Singh 

Subculture in Design: Through Kpop Subculture-Deylin Patel

Introduction

The main topic hat will discussed in this essay is Subculture in design. When people think about subculture they think about what that subculture have to do with design, what impact does it have on the design world. The only way to understand why subculture in design is really needed is to see if it has been applied to a certain subculture and how it has influenced design or not. This essay with argue if Kpop subculture in design is important and the influence it has on graphic design. The essay will show his by defining what subculture is and what Kpop subculture is. The characteristics of Kpop subculture, as well as the characteristics of Kpop subculture’s style in graphic design. To support my argument the essay will cover how Kpop has influenced the  graphic design in the styles of designing. The examples that will be discussed with make decide weather Kpop subculture has either helped design or not.

2. Defining Subculture in Design

To understand what Subculture in Design is we need to understand the definitions of what subculture is and design. The meaning of subculture is when ideas, art, the way of life that a group of people within society are different to other people of society.(Definition of subculture, 2021) this basically means that people are different in the way they are because of the ideals of the subculture. The meaning of design is is to have a particular purpose or intention in view of an individual or group. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2021). Understanding what subculture and design is we can know put them together we then understand that we can say that subculture can be connected through values, in the way of design we can then decide what works with the style of the subculture, thus making that different subcultures might have the same sign for something but they mean something else. This is when a designer needs to understand the context of what happens. (Design & Subculture, 2021).

To focus on the subculture of design I will be looking at Kpop as the subculture to argue if it impacts design or not. The meaning of the Kpop subculture is an international music genre that has different music styles that began in South Korea. (Spatichia & Otolorin, n.d.)  Kpop has become a huge part of the music world. The thing that makes Kpop different from the normal kind of music is that they have a particular design style that they use for what they want to do. 

The Characteristics of Kpop subculture 

Before one goes into Subculture in Design, we must understand the characteristics of what Kpop. These characteristics include large groups which means that the music group is from four people to about 23 members, this is mainly because they want fans to have different people to look and support. They have a hybrid sound which makes use of he traditional Korean music elements with the influence of jazz, soul, hiphop and funk, this is what makes their style of music so interesting. They have a Unique style which relates to fashion design this helps in that the style of clothing that they go for will influence design in many different ways.(MasterClass, 2021) 

Now knowing what the definitions are and what the characteristics are it makes it clear that Kpop can very much be an influence on graphic design in that they have different views on how they do things and they have a connection to design to make them different from other subcultures. This is shown with how they produce their music videos, it is shown that they have themes and stories that are about unrequited love and coming to age and the other things that happen in life. (Lee, 2019)

This helps me as a designer in that I can argue that Kpop subculture is something that subculture in design can help with graphic design and make a difference in the way we think about subcultures and the design style they bring. 

3. The significance of Subculture in design in identifying and solving a design problem

The significance of Kpop subculture in terms of it being used in graphic design. This is made significant in that Kpop’s art is influenced by Pop Art in terms of the art and illustration. Kpop uses the idea of sleeky minimal deign work, this is shown by the work of different artists playing with photography, typography, colour, illustration.  When wanting to understand the style that makes graphics important is that it has a very different take on the use of different elements to make the design stand out. 

Some unique characteristics of Kpop design is the ability to tel a story, this is mainly shown in the music videos of Kpop, the idea of making something a story of something is important in that as designers we need to think about how will the subcultures influence the way the work is done and influence the way design thinking goes with everything that has been done. Kpop’s idea of making the subject matter light they have a unique way of making it look amazing in tat the viewer can be part of that journey. 

Kpop also keeps in mind who the audience is and who they are advertising to and how they market themselves. This helps with social media in that when graphic designers need to look for ideas on how to promote new ideas they need to make sure that they follow the tight ideas of who will people see and what they think of them. 

Kpop design is also very particular in the way they use colour. They make sure that they have captured the right amount of attention. This achieved in that they make somethings stand out in some cases but in others they make it over colourful that they make it look like a dream party filled of colour. They also make use of black and which which can also mean a lot depending on what they want to achieve. 

The most important trait that stands out of Kpop and graphic design is the use of the design principles. This is because they make use of good balance, positioning, symmetrically and visual balance and unity as well as using the idea of persecutive in their work. (White, 2016)

With all this the idea of Pop art comes in, in that Kpop artists and designers think about how to make the audience feel as if they are the best and they are the ones that everyone needs to see. 

This brings us back to the idea that subculture in design is important in for graphic design. Thus saying that the ideas that Kpop subculture is a strong example to show that they think in creative and unique ways that they are not just a subculture that dresses a certain way or creates music in its own style but it rather creates a place that makes them think in a designer way to make design more easy on the eye for everyone. 

4. Examples of successful application of Subculture in Design through Kpop  in spatial design

When looking at examples of how the techniques of subculture came into existence in the albums of Kpop albums is that they used colour, typography and photography .  

   Figure 1 - Poster (Lee, 2019)

When looking at this poster one gets the feeling of balance and good use of colour and harmony. This is because the use of how the idea of the subculture is still evident in the work. The application of the use of typography makes one look at the image and makes them interested in away. 

Figure  2 - Flashmo Instagram (Lee, 2019)

When looking at this image we can see the idea of pop art being used. In terms of the Kpop subculture it shows that they also took inspiration form the west and took the idea of using typography and a pop art take on creating this new type of design. Which is something graphic designer would do and see how to make it fit with the idea of how things work and get made. 

Figure 3- CD cover (Lee,2019) 

In this CD cover we can see different elements with use of colour and photography and very little typography. The way that design is used to show the subculture for what it is and what it stands for. The colours and photography makes one want to see what is happening and what will happen next. 

The application of all the examples help to create a feel that graphic design has a part to play in designing covers and ideas to make the message that Kpop artist want to show off. The whole idea that being Subculture in Design is important and it is also very important to make ideas and traits in to design. 

5. Conclusion

As a whole for my argument I can agree that Subculture in design is important. Thus saying that subculture can bring about new ideas and influences in the way we work and do things as designers. The exploration of subcultures and design is that subcultures have an influence in the way we think and look at design. With going into depth of graphic design in Kpop culture shows that design is used in different ways but it can always be connected when one looks and analysis’s the fine detail in what they do. The final argument is that subcultures need to be taught on how things are and how designers can apply the thoughts and ideas of subcultures in their design work. Subculture in design is important and it makes the world of showing things in different ways can open doors for people. Graphic design might not be the core components of Kpop but it can start becoming one of the factors.  

Reference List

Definition of subculture. (2021, March 10). Collinsdictionary.com; HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/subculture

Design & Subculture. (2021, March 10). Blogspot.com. http://globaldesignstudies.blogspot.com/2009/10/design-subculture.html 

Lee, G. (2019, May). How to design for K-pop: the design queen for BTS on branding idol chart-killers. Digital Arts. https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/graphic-design/how-to-design-k-pop-bts/

‌MasterClass. (2021, January 14). All About K-Pop: Inside K-Pop’s History and Signature Sound. MasterClass; MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-kpop#what-are-the-characteristics-of-kpop

‌Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2021). Merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/design 

‌Spatichia, D., & Otolorin, M. (n.d.). K-pop Subculture International Impact K-pop Subculture International Impact. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from https://scholarshare.temple.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12613/472/p15037coll12_2705.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 

‌White, J. Z. (2016, June 28). What k-pop can teach us about design. FreeCodeCamp.org; freeCodeCamp.org. https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-k-pop-can-teach-us-about-design-6253a85f469c/ 

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Design and Context: Subculture Valentino Vivian

Introduction

The design has been a significant part of human society and is now a part of our lives more than ever. This is made so because of the internet and the growing popularity of social media. Anyone with a smartphone and internet can connect with the world, be it carefully taken photos or well-edited videos. Design inspiration can be taken from anywhere, like a pattern on a leaf or the specific grains on tree bark. Culture is also a significant influence on design, although, in this essay, we will investigate the influence of subcultures in design. This essay will define what a subculture is and will examine various examples of how certain subcultures influence the design and prove that subcultures in context can help provide design solutions. This essay will discuss multiple subcultures that birthed new forms of design.

Defining Subcultures 

In this section, we will discuss the definition of subculture and its characteristics. The more commonly known definition of subcultures is “the concept of a subculture implies a minority culture that is of subordinated and secondary nature in relation to a dominant majority culture” (Zackariasson et al., 2014). Based on this definition, a subculture is based on a long-standing culture like music, fashion and architecture and adopting certain practises or beliefs of that culture that do not necessarily match with the original culture. Subculture in this regard is similar to a group of friends going to the cinema to watch a movie, but one group does not like the choice of the movie by the group, so then they would decide to watch a different movie. 

Making reference to the definition of culture is “the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.” (Oxford Language). From this definition, Nathan Bolton state that these subcultures are in opposition to accepting the customs and ideas social behaviour of the culture in question (Boltan, 2012). He uses a study that focused on gang crime in working-class American teens, the culture in which they derive from gang culture in America, although they were mostly anti-utilitarian. These troubled teenagers would be able to relate to one another by sharing their short time crime stories/experiences “ The gang inverted the values of the majority culture, deliberately pursuing the mirror image of the American dream.” (Boltan, 2012) 

A book that is focussed on the subject of consumer behaviour defines subculture as “people who share a set of secondary values” (Niosi, n.d.) The definition states that one can be part of one or many different subcultures, but the individual is part of a larger community within a smaller community. What places people in subcultures are based on Material culture, social institution, beliefs, aesthetics and language as this makeup much larger, broader cultures like music, Christianity and the French-speaking population. Subcultures are also formed based on a trait that is very different from society; for example, Vegans are a subcultural group that believes that its wrong to consume animal products and, in doing so, has an effect on climate change. Vegans are different or have a trait that others do not.

When defining subcultures, there are some definitions that are positive and others that have negatives connotations. When referring to the negative connotations, it is usually stated that the smaller group within a larger culture do not agree with their belief or ideals of that culture. As an act of rebellion, they form their own group, which then becomes its own culture within another culture. When referring to the positive connotations, this is more so in the commercial field. This is where success is attained by a brand where there are a large variety of people from around the world of different beliefs, languages and aesthetics, just to name a few (Zackariasson et al., 2014). An example of this positive connotation can be seen with the Sony Playstation community; Sony’s Playstation 4 is one of the highest selling consoles of the past four years. They were able to do this within the gaming community. There is a subculture in gamer who prefer the PlayStation 4 over other consoles, thus creating more subcultural in terms of games.

The significance of Subculture in identifying and solving a design problem

s in mainstream society.”(LumenLearning, n.d.) The first argument is that pop culture caters to the mainstream but forgets about those not in mainstream society; this would then create a void of diversity in the design field. If all designers were to design with a pop culture mentality, a large majority of the designs the world would be exposed to would all be the same or have taken a similar approach. If we look at the economic point of view, if companies used one method of solving design solutions, it will show in their designs, not only that, but it would be difficult to interest investors as one would see that there is no difference in the design approach.

Subcultures allow designers to view the design problem through a different lens as they would typically do. Subcultures are various ways that people consider a topic or culture; this then breeds room for diversity in design. By using or designing with subcultures in mind, then broadens the skillset for designers, allowing them to venture into new ways of designing. As an example, if a designer were to start using elements of the Hip hop subculture in their design, they see how bold fonts would work with specific colours. Another way in which subcultures are essential to design is that they inform the designer on the connotations of certain elements, colours objects. An example could be that in mainstream culture, Monster energy drink can be viewed as the second-best energy drink, whereas in the skater culture, Monster is the best, and nothing compares.

Music is one of the most diverse phenomena; the sharing, critiquing, and enjoyment of music is one of the primary activators for subculture groups. Discussions are had, and opinions are formed, dividing people into these subcultures. Due to these many subcultures being created, there is an untapped market for designers. “ designers translate this idea of a music and internet subcultural “scene” into a product design worthy of those individuals amerced within theses subcultural groups.” (Allen, 2009) The creation of these products allows more people to be made aware of these other subcultures that one could identify with, thus increase and growing that specific subculture.

It is essential for designers to know about subcultures and what subcultures bare good prospects. Having knowledge of subcultures is essential in terms of inclusivity. It is well documented that member of the LGBTQ community have been scrutinised over the years, and this community also serves as a subculture. In 1905 the arrow man was created by J.C Leyendecker, which revolutionise design and advertising. The illustration was placed on many magazine covers; the man is said to be the J.C Leyendecker partner, which means that the arrow man is the first homosexual male to make it onto magazine covers. As a result of this design, making it on the magazine cover made the public at the time know that there is a subculture or community where homosexual males are welcomed, and that pop culture is evolving to include them. Design helps inform and influence the public, steer change. (Martin, 2019)Examples of successful application of  in spatial design

Skatehalle, Berlin, Germany

Skatehalle is a wooden skate park located in Berlin, German. Skatehalle is a space purposefully designed for the enjoyment of the skater community. The park is made up of ramps, rails and bowls all used to perform tricks. In the skater culture, they value creativity, risk and freedom, which are very prominent in the park's designs. Their bright, colourful murals express the core values of skaters pushing risk. Skatehalle is effective in the sense that because of the ever-growing skate culture, some or most cities did not approve as it was seen as a delinquent activity. As a result, many skateparks were built and are still popular to this day  

Spodek Arena

The Spodek Arena is a multipurpose arena located in Katowice Poland. This arena annually hosts the IEM Katowice Esports tournament. The arena is designed to cater to the need of the Esport gaming community. In these tournaments teams play games like Dota and League of legends for Trophies, these are highly sponsored event. Elements that make this space for the subculture of Esports gamer is that they have multiple large screens and seating from the floors to the rafters for maximum amount of spectator. This type of design ia effective because many gamer set ups use neon light set ups and most the time the gamers are in their rooms doing extraordinary things with no audience, so the arena is designed in such a way that these factor are non existent.  

 Conclusion

The study and knowledge of subcultures are significant as this knowledge will help any, and all designers reach different audiences. Having knowledge about different subcultures can also help designers find new ways to approach design problems using elements from different subcultures to create new and impactful designs. When designing, it is also important to know what certain elements of a specific culture or subculture mean in order not to offend or give off the wrong messages. Subcultures are a significant part of the design. 

Reference List

Allen, B. (2009). CULTURALISTIC DESIGN: DESIGN APPROACH TO CREATE PRODUCTS FOR SPECIFIC CULTURAL AND SUBCULTURAL GROUPS [Ebook]. Retrieved 10 March 2021, from http://etd.auburn.edu.

Boltan, N. (2012). Essay on graphic design through the effects of subcultures. [Ebook] (p. 1). Retrieved 10 March 2021, from https://issuu.com/nathanbolton/docs/how_subcultures_have_effected_graphic_design1.

D'Angelo, W. (2020). Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales – January 2020. VGChartz. Retrieved 10 March 2021, from https://www.vgchartz.com/article/442352/switch-vs-ps4-vs-xbox-one-global-lifetime-salesjanuary-2020/#:~:text=The%20PS4%20has%20sold%20106.99,Xbox%20One%2046.36%20million%20units.&text=The%20PlayStation%204%20outsold%20the,and%20Xbox%20One%20are%20down.

DiBlasi, A., & Willis, V. (Eds.). (2014). Geek rock : An exploration of music and subculture. ProQuest Ebook Central <a onclick=window.open('https://ebookcentral.proquest.com','_blank') href='https://ebookcentral.proquest.com' target='_blank' style='cursor: pointer;’>https://ebookcentral.proquest.com</a>

LumenLearning. Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change | Introduction to Sociology. Courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/pop-culture-subculture-and-cultural-change/.

Martin, M. (2019). The Leading LGBTQ+ Milestones in the World of Design. Architectural Digest. Retrieved 10 March 2021, from https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/lgbtq-design-milestones.

Niosi, A. Subcultures. Kpu.pressbooks.pub. Retrieved 10 March 2021, from https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/introconsumerbehaviour/chapter/subcultures/.

Zackariasson, P., Wilson, T., & Dymek, M. (2014). The video game industry. Routledge.

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Design in context: Sustainability and sustainable design Darrel Bitema

Introduction

Sustainability as a concept entered the academic lexicon around the 1980s, and from that time on has gone to evolve substantially (Portney, 2015). Sustainability may broadly refer to economic development activity that accomplishes the needs of today without jeopardising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Portney, 2015). At its core, sustainability as a concept refers mostly to the preservation of the Earth’s biophysical environment with particular respect to the depletion and use of natural resources (Portney, 2015). This essay will explore multiple definitions behind sustainability, its characteristics, foundations, and importance. This essay will also make special references to sustainable design and its impact and applications in the world.

Defining Sustainability

Sustainability while often argued to have roots in conservation, it is not the same as environmental conservation (Portney, 2015). It refers more to finding a sort of steady-state so the Earth or at least a fragment of it can support the human population and economic growth without eventually threatening the health of humans, animals, and vegetation (Portney, 2015). The basic premise of sustainability is that Earth’s resources cannot be used, depleted, or damaged indefinitely; not only will these obviously resources run out at some point, but their exploitation largely undermines the ability of life to persist and thrive (Portney, 2015).

Perhaps the biggest difference between traditional ideas of environmental protection and sustainability is that the former tends to focus on environmental remediation and preventing very certain environmental threats while the latter tends to be far more proactive and holistic, focusing on dynamic processes over the long term (Portney, 2015). Multiple concepts and definitions of sustainability have been used to portray the many different expressions of environmental priorities, with each emphasizing a specific set of results that should be sustained. These concepts consist of ecological capacity, resource/environment, critiquing of technology, biosphere, Ecodevelopment, and no growth-slow growth (Portney, 2015). When elaborated upon ecological capacity hopes to promote the maximum and optimum ability of the Earth to support human life and systems, resource management promotes economic growth only to the extent that it does not deplete natural resources, critiquing and rejecting technology involves the rejection of the notion that science and technology will protect save and protect the world, mentions of the biosphere refers to concerns regarding the human population’s impact on the Earth’s natural resources, Ecodevelopment helps adapt businesses and economic development activities towards the realities of environmental limits and finally no growth-slow growth speaks of the limits of the Earth’s ability to support the health and wellbeing of the ever-growing human population (Portney, 2015).

Sustainability, however, does not equal responsibility. A very good example may refer to corporate social responsibility as it does not require any trade-offs (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014). Ethics, norms, and morality often permeate or pervade corporate social responsibility (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014). There is no such moral imperative that dictates what a firm should do or not do to support sustainability. No specific system is judged as right or wrong, nor are individuals ever assumed to be morally responsible to society. A sustainability lens can also be as likely applied to understanding the operations of the Mafia as to the Catholic Church (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014). While sustainability scholars can comment on excess greenhouse gas emissions creating change in climate systems, they do not have the adequate tools to judge whether the new climate regimes are relatively good or bad (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014).

Sustainability and responsibility often come face to face with the result not often being good. A prime example could refer to mining companies that create shared value when they build local schools and hospitals, a healthy, educated local workforce helps generate the profits, which are eventually redistributed back into the community (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014). However, these responsible actions may not always be sustainable, especially if the surrounding environment is degraded and traditional lifestyles are disrupted (Bansal & DesJardine, 2014). This can happen even if the local community participates in the initial decision-making.

The significance of sustainability in identifying and solving a design problem

Sustainability when relating to design can be expanded upon in terms of sustainable design. While meaning many things to many people, it can be viewed as the process of planning, contemplating, or creating in ways that maintain resources and preserve the environment for future generations (DeKay, 2011). Preservation of resources merely to minimize resource use is insufficient for sustainability. The maintenance of resources requires critical thinking in cycles and considering both resources and the outputs/pollution and their ability to be absorbed into environmental sinks such as the atmosphere or rivers (DeKay, 2011). This brings us directly to consider natural ecosystem processes, which is one perspective critical to the preservation of the environment (DeKay, 2011).

To understand how sustainability in design or, more specifically, sustainable design helps solve design problems, a brief overview of the major perspectives behind sustainable design should be discussed. These consist of behaviours, systems, experiences, and cultures. Behaviours help reduce our levels of resource consumption (to sustainable rates), creating more internal loops in our building economy and reducing our waste products and pollutants to zero for non-renewables and an absorbable rate for renewables (DeKay, 2011). Thus less is more and more becomes more in regards to less consumption and more recycling (DeKay, 2011). When referring to systems, the environment is seen as a living system (DeKay, 2011). Sustainability is concerned with keeping the living systems of the planet locally, regionally, and globally, in good health for future generations (DeKay, 2011). Sustainable Design asks us to think, contemplate, plan, and make patterns with our intelligence in ways that will fit human settlements to their ecological contexts (DeKay, 2011). Patterns can’t be measured in the same way as a more straight forward unit of measurements such as kilowatts and gallons. This requires high and new levels of creativity and consciousness, with the good news being, next to many professionals, designers are actually good at the pattern (DeKay, 2011).

The experience perspective requires us to reach far further into the capacities of being a human and to consider the physical world (the exterior) of the built and natural environment but also to consider the artistic skill behind the design and its relation to ecological aesthetics (DeKay, 2011). Cultures ask us to design our built environment as operating within the context of natural systems; at the same time, it transcends these whole systems view to embrace the cultural context of the building community and the cultures at large (DeKay, 2011). Language, stories, customs, and meanings are all around us all the time and they are constantly evolving (DeKay, 2011). To further discuss the relationship between sustainable design nature and culture, we have to understand that design requires a complex state of mind and the development of many lines of skill and thought by the designer (DeKay, 2011). We are also interested in our collective values and understanding. This helps us take action today for future generations, which is an ethical perspective only available in the context of a community, where all ethics begin (DeKay, 2011). This allows one to enter “the realm of culture” (DeKay, 2011). This realm is specifically portrayed in the relationships of human to nature. It requires us to examine how what we create has something to say or mean, which can also carry a purpose (DeKay, 2011).

These four perspectives help us understand how sustainable design performs, is an ecosystem, creates beauty and human feeling, and also conveys cultural meanings (DeKay, 2011). Performance refers to technological sustainability, which ensures applied principles of empirically-based knowledge are used to reduce resource use and pollution (DeKay, 2011). This is a design committed to “less is more” concept. The ecosystem section refers to expanding the design to include ecological patterns as design is an ecological is a literal or figurative participant of the ecosystem (DeKay, 2011). Using fewer resources or even having fewer sick days for workers does not contribute to a healthy ecosystem. Finally conveying cultural meanings helps to expand and include rich human experiences (DeKay, 2011). This is because one of design’s roles is to reveal and express sustainable technology, so people have the direct and indirect experience of the cycles and forces of nature with which design interacts (DeKay, 2011). Sustainable design can also expand to include meaning-making stories as it can embody specific myths, stories and beliefs about how society and nature are related (DeKay, 2011). When Sustainable Design manifests, reflects, and expresses ecological processes, it gives people the opportunity to become more aware of living processes and our relationships to them (DeKay, 2011).

Examples of successful application of sustainability/sustainable design in spatial design

In current years there has been an unprecedented, exponential growth in distinct academic programs especially related to the environmental dimension of sustainability in higher education, especially in this last decade (Henderson, 2012). Environmental, sustainability studies, and graduate programs are in every major scientific, engineering, and social science discipline, as well as in design, planning, business, law, public health, behavioral sciences, ethics, and even religion, are abundant and continue to grow (Henderson, 2012). Progress on campuses modeling sustainability has grown at an even faster rate. Higher education has finally embraced programs necessary for energy and water conservation, renewable energy, waste reduction and recycling, green buildings and purchasing, alternative transportation, and growing organic foods, and sustainable purchasing, which saves both the environment and money (Henderson, 2012).

Sustainability with specific reference to spatial design has given birth to what can be referred to as “green building professionals” (Henderson, 2012). All building professionals such as architects, engineers, etc., can be considered green building professionals in that they incorporate sustainability in their designs and enhance their knowledge with green ideals and techniques (Henderson, 2012). Sustainability and green building consultants take their jobs further by completely centering their expertise on integrating the environmental friendly with companies and buildings. One tool that helps overlap specialists with green building is “BIM,” or building information modelling. This global tool holds all of the pertinent data in one place, which can be used in tandem with other tools such as energy modelling (Henderson, 2012).

BIM can be referred to as a digital representation of the literal (physical) and functional characteristics of a facility; thus, it serves as a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions from the beginning, during its life cycle and inception onward (Henderson, 2012). If BIM is implemented properly, nearly every piece of information an owner needs to know about a facility throughout its life cycle can be made available digitally. One key aspect of BIM is that it allows for energy modelling to be easier and faster, providing the chance for multiple iterations of a project and the ability to make minor tweaks in the architecture that will eventually result in significant energy savings (Henderson, 2012).

                                       Figure 1

The Randselva Bridge, which has often been described as the world’s longest bridge without drawings, is an example of BIM at its finest (“The world’s longest bridge built without drawings a reality”, 2020). To put into context of how impressive this is, the bridge was nominated for the Teklas structure award in the infrastructure category and has already won the awards for Best BIM Project and Best Infrastructure Project (“The world’s longest bridge built without drawings a reality”, 2020).

                               Figure 2

Another prime example of sustainability and or sustainable design’s applications in design, specifically spatial design, is “LEED,” or more specifically, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a green-building rating system created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) (“What is LEED? | U.S. Green Building Council”, n.d.). Available for virtually all types of buildings and building phases, including new construction, interior fit-outs, operations and maintenance, and core and shell (“What is LEED? | U.S. Green Building Council”, n.d.). LEED provides a framework for healthy, efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is thus a globally recognised tool (“What is LEED? | U.S. Green Building Council”, n.d.).

In today’s current market, LEED has developed to become a household word (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010). More projects have been registered and continue to be registered, while LEED ratings increasingly find their way into marketing brochures distributed by developers, building owners, architects, and contractors (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010). Accredited professionals proudly add “LEED” to their titles, and, most significantly, numerous federal agencies and state and local governments now require some form of LEED certification. Green architecture is no longer a fringe phenomenon (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010).

LEED provides numerous environmental benefits, as compared to typical building construction, LEED-certified buildings use lower percentages of material with high levels of toxicity, use less water and energy, and have a lesser overall impact on the physical landscape (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010). Another prominent benefit of building rating systems is increased commitment by owners and clients once a project is registered in a building rating system (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010). The greatest impact of green building rating systems is the increase in dialogue about sustainability, sustainable design, and green building (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010). With clients pushing designers and builders to become more educated on these issues and students are demanding much more sophisticated discussion within institutions of higher education, the result of the increase in green building, there are much more resources available both online as well as on the ground than ever before (Parr & Zaretsky, 2010).

Conclusion

In this essay, based on the evidence presented, the importance of sustainability and sustainable design was successfully argued and discussed. Special reference was specially made to its effects on architecture and green-building while also providing visual examples.

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Sustainability in Graphic Design by Ashlyn Sequeira

INTRODUCTION: 

The word 'Sustainable design' refers to the design application or process that incorporates an environmentally friendly design method whilst considering natural resources as part of the designing process (Elmansy, 2015).

While many various design disciplines choose to embrace sustainable development methodologies and tools, the Graphic Design production process still lacks the understanding of the concept (Elmansy, 2015). While the Graphic Design industry presents as an essential visual communicator and marketing tool for various sectors, either inside or outside the creative industry, the responsibility to achieve sustainability starts to become paramount. The sustainable process for graphic designers consists of an extensive range of considerations, including traditional and digital graphic design. These considerations include materials, ink, paper, and the procedure itself (Elmansy, 2015). 

In this essay, I will be talking about the importance of incorporating Sustainability into Graphic Design. Specific reference will be made to topics of the climate change crisis, paper, printing ink, offices and workspaces, and digital design.

DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY IN GRAPHIC DESIGN 

Climate change crisis: 

As creators of advertising posters through smartphones, furniture, and magazines, designers have a significant role in the sourcing of materials and production of products. Equally, digital and UX designers creating new websites, apps and artificial intelligence (AI) technology are the reason of a movement that is enabling material things to become untouchable, helping to reduce tangible waste by bringing back music, books, and radio into the digital space. (Dawood, 2019). People often are not aware that digital products such as websites and apps, also have a carbon footprint — the internet, powered primarily by servers in data centres, consumes a vast amount of electricity. Simultaneously, the advancement of digital also means that people’s crave for new tangible products, such as smartphones, home hubs and virtual reality headsets, has also started increasing. Designers of all fields have the power to contribute to helping the climate change crisis; this could be through raising awareness and promotion on sustainable graphic design products, or helping to spread a message through compelling graphics (Dawood, 2019). 

Recycled paper:

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recycled paper production results in 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution (Tobyonline, 2011). The trees being cut down are decreased, although the de-inking procedure can result in a waste sludge of around 20% by weight of the paper that is being recycled (Tobyonline, 2011). Recycled paper is either made from pre-consumer or post-consumer waste. Pre-consumer waste meaning fibre from paper mills that have never physically reached the customer. Post-consumer waste meaning fibre that has been made from recycled and home office waste. Post-consumer waste is considered to be better than pre-consumer waste because it is more likely to end up in landfills, should it not have been reused in the first place (Tobyonline, 2011).

Green printing inks:

Green printing inks are the recent talk of the town in Graphic Design; they are more environmentally friendly, as they do not cause the same amount of damage to the earth as standard inks. Previously, printing inks were very petroleum-based, which caused them to be very high in toxic metals and other harmful substances. Nowadays, printing inks are being made from soy or vegetable-based materials, and therefore when these inks end up in a landfill site, they will not damage the earth or cause excess pollution like previous inks do/did. Every printer causes environmental harm purely because of the processes and substances used; however, Graphic Designers are making a massive effort to reduce this damage and protect the environment (Las Vegas Color Graphics, 2015).

Offices and Workspaces: 

When you think of being Sustainable in Graphic Design, many people do not think about the offices they design in, and being environmentally friendly should take place both in the workplace and the client. Switching to green power and minimising electricity usage can have a substantial impact on being more sustainable. A few other considerations in the workplace could be using less paper when possible, replacing the old ink with green printing inks, learn to depend on recycled materials more, when possible, reduce the bleed of a design, use (Volatile Organic Compounds) VOC-free inks, use Chroline-free paper, and start to offer eco-friendly options to clients (Elmansy, 2015).

Digital Design: 

While the printing industry contributes to pollution by using large amounts of ink and paper, the digital design contributes to climate change through electricity usage. Designing applications for web devices should lower the use of electricity sources. The technology used in digital design should be replaced with other forms that have less power consumption. Additionally, the latest releases of applications should be designed to run on the older devices to avoid the waste produced by these antiquated devices' throw-away rate and replacement with a new device even if the recycled process is expected to improve electronic waste (Elmansy, 2015).

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IN IDENTIFYING AND SOLVING A DESIGN PROBLEM 

Climate change crisis: 

Why is it important that this a problem?

Many people may be wondering how climate change and graphic design are linked, and although they are reasonably linked, the actions of graphic design do impact the climate change crisis. Climate change is a problem because it affects our weather by intensifying our water cycle. The water is starting to evaporate quicker from land and sea, only to return as snow. As the earth heats up, the rate of evaporation from our oceans, rivers and streams are increasing, therefore, creating powerful storms (The Climate Reality Project, 2018). As we know, climate change is bad for the environment, but it is just as bad for the economy. Extreme weather has caused economic repercussions. The year 2017 was the United States of America’s costliest disaster year to be recorded. Between 2007 and 2017, the federal government spent an estimated value of 35 Billion Dollars, responding to extreme weather and fires (The Climate Reality Project, 2018). The way this affects Graphic Design is because designers can reduce the amount of pre and post-consumer waste by instilling eco-friendly habits into their design practises. These habits could include recycled paper, green printing inks, and biodegradable packaging. 

Why should it be solved?

Climate change is a crisis that needs to be solved because if it is not taken seriously by the whole world, we are going to end up losing the world. A few reasons why climate change needs to be solved if because: 

Snow leopards, sea turtles, and polar bears and becoming extinct.

Coffee producers are seeing a reduction in harvests and an increase in pests.

Precious coral reefs crumble under the stress of climate change because of the change in water temperatures.

We all need water to survive, and as climate change affects rainfall patterns, more droughts are occurring. 

More frequent and more intense weather has caused parts of the world to flood, causing people to die, and lose their houses.

The ‘worlds lungs’ also known as rainforests are being taken over by deforestation, which is another factor contributing to climate change.

Our air quality is also compromised because of human-caused emissions from cars.

Climate change will not just impact forests, coral reefs, or people in far-away countries, it affects everyone living in the world.

(WWF, n.d).

Recycled paper :

Why is it important that this a problem?

People not being conscious about recycling the everyday items they use is a problem because to make a significant difference, the whole world needs to work together regarding this matter. Not recycling everyday objects is a problem because of the pre and post-consumer waste mentioned before and its impacts on air and water pollution. If waste is not recycled, it can emit greenhouse gases, which contributes to global warming, resulting in climate change (Osmanski, 2020).

Why should it be solved? 

There are so many benefits to being pro-active in recycling, going from positive environmental impacts to stimulating the economy. The EPA reports that recycling helps with job creation and stimulating the economy since it relies on domestic materials rather than imported materials. Recycling also has environmental benefits; these can be seen as reducing the waste that gets sent to landfills, therefore reducing the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions that ultimately contribute to climate change and global warming. Recycling also conserves natural recourses, minimises the spread of pollution, and saves energy (Osmanski, 2020).

Green printing inks :

Why is it important that this a problem?

As designers, being conscious of our printing inks' impacts on the environment is an essential part of the designing process. It is crucial to start taking note of which inks designers should and should not be using. Ink printers are made up of multiple ingredients, most of them having chemicals that are harmful to both people and the environment (Gorman, 2017). Some of these chemicals include butyl urea, which prevents your paper from curling; cyclohexanone, which helps ink adhere to polymers; several dyes including reactive red 23 dye, acid yellow 23 dye and direct blue 199 dye, which contains sulphur; ethoxylated acetylenic diols, which modify the surface tension of the water and colours; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) which is full of contaminants and ethylene glycol. The impacts of ink cartridges can be found as early as the production process because when a new laser cartridge is produced, the amount of oil used is insane (Gorman, 2017).

Why should it be solved?

It should be solved because for designers to say that they offer eco-friendly options, this topic needs to be solved, and better inks need to be produced and used by designers. Vegetable-based inks, which go without petroleum oil in favour of more sustainable ingredients like soy, linseed, tung, cottonseed, and china wood oils, have been around for decades (Mohawk, 2020). They were invented in response to an oil crisis in the 1970s, as suddenly petroleum was in short supply, and ink manufacturers had to get creative. While vegetable inks, including the most popular variety, soy ink, avoid the environmental pitfalls of using the earth’s limited petroleum supply as an ingredient, they require special knowledge and treatment in the press. The benefits are enormous. Like, when the Los Angeles Times switched to soy ink from the petroleum variety they were using, they won an air quality award for reducing their VOC emissions by 200 tons per year (Mohawk, 2020). 

EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IN SPATIAL DESIGN 

An important factor to consider, along with the eco-friendly printing inks, is sustainable packaging to apply sustainable design to graphic design and spatial design successfully. In my opinion, packaging can be so fun and diverse, and it can be made up of so many other eco-friendly materials, other than plastic and cardboard. Designers can be creative while still being ethical in eco-friendly design practises. 

Ten advantages of green packaging by the Green Business Bureau, 2017. 

 Reduces your carbon footprint

Easy disposal 

Biodegradable 

Versatile and Flexible 

Improves the brand image

No harmful plastics 

Reduces shipping costs 

It can help save money 

Expands your customer base 

It can be reduced, reused, and recycled sustainably 

First, how do we define sustainable packaging? In simple terms, it is packaging, that over time, reduces its environmental footprint. This is achieved by using 100% raw or recycled materials, minimising the production process, the supply chain, the carbon footprint, and creating a circular economy around the packaging, meaning that its lifestyle and usability are extended (Forbes, 2021). 

What is sustainable design in packaging? “Sustainable design is designing product packaging with the main purpose of doing as little harm to the environment as possible” (Forbes, 2021).

For example, the image below shows this H&M shopping bag, that transforms into a clothes hanger. 

Edible packaging has also become a new trend, as people have discovered we can use certain plant-based materials to package our products, but they can also be eaten. I will discuss a few examples which I think are particularly interesting. 

Seaweed Packaging

An Indonesian company, called Evoware, is leading the way in creating sustainable, edible packaging made from seaweed. Their range of products includes burger & sandwich wraps, dissolvable coffee sachets and soap packaging. The seaweed packaging is able to dissolve in warm water and is 100% biodegradable. It also acts as a fertiliser for plants and is printable and heat sealable (Ecopack, 2020).

2. Edible Cutlery

This cutlery is made from a mixture of sorghum, rice and wheat, Bakey's edible cutlery is a beautiful (and delicious) alternative to plastic cutlery that gets thrown away. You can order the cutlery in either plain, sweet or savoury, and they are vegan and vegetarian friendly to boot (Ecopack, 2020).  

3. Ooho Edible Water

Skipping Rocks Lab, which is an innovative startup based in London, have created a waste-free alternative to plastic bottles. The edible, spherical packaging is 100% natural and made from plants and seaweed. If not consumed, the packaging biodegrades within 4 – 6 weeks. It can be flavoured, coloured and, as a bonus, is cheaper than plastic! (Ecopack, 2020).  

The latest alternative ink is made from a plant that grows without fertiliser, herbicides, or genetically modified seeds; it is, in fact, so abundant that people may even consider it a nuisance. This new plant is algae, the ink was developed by two researchers who met while finishing off their PhD programs, and while the colours are limited with this new technology, it has still been used by several companies already (Mohawk, 2020).

CONCLUSION: 

In conclusion, and based on the information found above, I can confidently say that bringing sustainability into Graphic Design, whether through green printing inks or edible packaging. Choosing to be eco-friendly is something that will most likely never affect you or your brand image negatively. In my personal opinion, I believe that every designer must raise awareness about global warming and climate change through compelling graphics and the platforms we have at hand, whilst switching over and encouraging others to switch over to more eco-friendly design practises. 

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How subculture can be seen to have influenced graffiti art as a form of graphic design - Michael Rodrigues

Introduction

In this essay, I will be arguing and going into detail about the topic subculture and its characteristics that shape the word subculture, which will lead to my research question of how subculture can be seen to have influenced graffiti art as a form of graphic design. The essay will focus on identifying and solving the problem at hand, which is graffiti art seen as vandalism and crime or can be seen as a form of communication in graphic design. This essay will be using two examples of graffiti art from San Francisco's interior space inside business workplaces mentioned below. These examples will help to better understand subculture in art because of where the design's interior space is located, the elements included in the designs, and why it is effective for subculture. These factors will help achieve a full understanding of subculture and influence graffiti art as a form of graphic design.

Defining how subculture can be seen to have influenced graffiti art as a form of graphic design.

Subculture can be defined from the dictionary as "an identifiable subgroup within a society or group of people, especially one characterised by beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger group" ("What is subculture?", 2021). From this definition, my understanding and how I interpreted the word subculture was similar. It is a cultural group within a larger culture. Both have their own beliefs and interests separate from one another, or even be mixed and have the same beliefs and interests but are from different backgrounds and lifestyles.

Subculture has some characteristics that define the word, this being Defuse networks, Shared different meanings, shared identity and Marginalisation (Bhasin, 2021).

Defuse networks

There is no structure that is present, thus meaning there is no formal ownership in a subculture. It is a debatable question in subculture as to think it is open participation with thin lines as to what and who subculture resembles. This debate is not exclusive to everyone as subculture can be viewed simultaneously with people in different social classes and cultures. This is why thought between mainstream (direct) and subculture are very similar to each other. This is because since both cultures can coexist and have one mindset, they are able to share the same ideas in which people live their lives.

Shared Different meanings

Subculture can share values, ways of learning, and cultural objections, but it can also allow people to identify with other people in the same subculture. This allows for the idea that the mainstream culture's subculture can be easily told apart from one another. This means that someone who is a sub-culturist (this is someone who follows a subculture or studies them) can debate the definition of current subcultures to the new one. Through social interaction between subcultures or mainstream, the descriptions of what subculture is, is learned and created, thus allowing for the behaviour of subcultures to be easily differentiated from the regular to the accepted norms of society.

Shared Identity

Ethnographers (is someone who explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject) can often argue that "the self-identification of the collective form" (Bhasin, 2021). This is stating that it (self-identification) is a very important factor is being able to tell the subculture and informal social group apart. From an outsider's point of view, they can see that people in a specific subculture who participate in that subculture are considered to be obsessive or unhealthy because that is the only thing they focus on. But from this, people from a subculture feel a deeper connection to ending all ties to members of a subculture because they are able to have their own personal relations amongst themselves. In a way, this shared identity can be seen as an external and an internal identity because this benefits the subculture's people, allowing them to follow the subcultural style to identify each other and not have a shared identity as if they were one.

Subculture is quite defined and broadened through its characteristics were mentioned about, has led my research topic and question that I would like to argue as to how the term subculture can be seen to have influenced graffiti art as a form of graphic design.

The significance of how graffiti art has been influenced by subculture, proving in identifying and solving a design problem

On a daily, most people see more graphic design examples before they even get to work than they see art in a whole year. By the time they are fully awake and their mind is processing that it is time to get a move on life, people will see numbers, letters, shapes, and colours on varies everyday things that they see, this could be print media, photography, adverts (billboards) and even a layout in a magazine newspaper. This is without them realising that they are unconsciously viewing all these design elements in their surroundings, but since they aren't fully aware of their surroundings, they are oblivious to see these elements consciously Barnard, M. (2005).

The question to be asked is how graffiti art has been influenced by subculture in graphic design?

It can be argued that graphic design attracts a big audience of notice, where this be through political and physical awareness of the design. For example, an artist in the graphic design field can make a bold statement that can either express themselves through art for the public or try to a get reaction from the public as part of serious a political matter. Subculture can sometimes be seen as the "gateway" for allowing society, whether this is kids, teenagers or adults, to escape from the constant social environment (Emily Gosling, 2021). Thus, allowing for graffiti art in graphic design to be a means of being a form of communication, giving them a voice to stand out and take back that power they once had in society.

To be on the practical side of it all, subculture can be seen as influencing graffiti art. By this, I am saying that because art revolves around the artist creating the art piece and having society or specific subculture to react it to, it opens up the idea of conversation. This means that there is a relation between graphic design, Society and Culture. Society and Culture can be seen as a backdrop or a mask for graphic design because graphic design is considered an indicator that can reflect social issues or matters elsewhere.

Graffiti art was a method to communicate between graffiti artists and society indirectly. This would allow for changing forms of communication because since the graffiti art movement began in the 1960s, it was a means to make things easier for people who did not have private transport and used trains and subways to see graffiti art. As photography and film become more accessible and advanced after this movement, so too did the methods of graffiti artists' indirect communication, they would find ways in which to take the underground graffiti in subways and trains and bring it up to the "overworked" of the city life and tag walls (Lannert, Camille, 2015).

When someone thinks of the word "graffiti", already in people's minds are big, beautiful and colourful artworks whilst others think of mess and vandalism - that to them they think that makes a town or city look untidy. Graffiti art is painted on walls and other public places that are often made with spray paint. Solving the design problem at hand is graffiti Crime (vandalism), or is it Culture? Well, without graffiti, artists can argue that in cities, it would be boring and lifeless because there is no out of your face artworks that can connect with creative minds in Culture. Graffiti, as mentioned above, can convey a social or political message in both words and pictures that can connect with certain people and cultures and able to strike up a conversation. A good example of an artist who strikes up conversation among the public and culture domain is the artist "Banksy", who creates art piece with a clear and well-thought message for society (British Council, 2021).

Examples of successful application of graffiti art and graphics in spatial design

Below are two examples of successful application of graffiti art and graphics in spatial design, both artworks exhibit where the interior space is located; the elements that are included that makes up the design and how and why these examples are effective for helping me understand how subculture influences graffiti art in graphic design.

Figure 1. BS, Freio. n.d. Hotel Des Arts. Art piece

Above in figure 1 is a lounging area found in the Hotel Des Arts in California. The art piece was made on the wall in this area, as this helps with adding space to the room, where even though it is graffiti art, it acts as something that is filling up the room's space. I can say this because there are two shots in which this art piece was taken, one from quite far away and a close-up shot of the room. 

In the artwork, many vibrant colours and shapes makeup and create the art piece. These colours and shapes add dimension to the room, allowing for the workplace atmosphere to be a more chilled and scenic area to work and spend time in. As we can see in the image, social interaction is taking place, allowing people to strike up a conversation. The artist was able to consider the shapes, colours, and location used to create a beautiful masterpiece in the workplace.

I would say that this is an effective example to best explain how subculture is influenced through graffiti art because it is ticking off those boxes of design, where colour, line, shapes, lighting, space and movement is used very successfully to help better the artwork. This will allow for better and more critical thinkers to be able to work because of the creative follows from the atmosphere of the artwork.

Figure 2. R, Quartz. n.d. Tech Company office space. Art piece

Above in figure 2 is shown a Tech Company office space, where the artist decided to create a beautiful multi-coloured shape design. This vibrancy of colours and shapes adds atmosphere to the work environment and adds movement and flow to it because of the shapes. Shapes have been shown to help people be more productive in doing there work. The colours are appealing to the eyes, giving off a very calming and relaxing vibe to the office's whole space because sometimes workspaces can be a bit overwhelming. This graffiti art piece is able to allow for a person when they walk passed it to stop and appreciate it not only is it pleasing to look at, but it adds to the spatial design of the workplace; by this, the artist seems to have had it well thought out but not only the colours and shapes but by also using the space and lighting to help better enhance the art piece.

I would say that this is an effective example to best explain how subculture is influenced through graffiti art because most elements of the design principles are well thought of by the artist, this being the colour, shapes, lines, space in which the art piece was created and even movement and workflow. These elements have clearly bettered the artwork and the atmosphere of the piece.

Both examples lead to the idea of behaviour and social interaction in a workplace because since art can allow someone to question the what's and the why's of the artist and the piece that was created, it makes for people to question it all, thus striking up the interaction and conversation between people in different subcultures. This can, in turn, allow for people to have the idea as to what you are thinking about when you saw the art pieces, or it can allow you to have your own opinion of it rather than you can express it to other people in the subculture of graphic design.

Conclusion 

To conclude this essay, I have argued that my topic question of how subculture can be seen to have influenced graffiti art as a form of graphic design. By first, understanding what the word subculture is and its characteristics that shape the word subculture led me to have identified and solved the problem that graffiti art in the graphic design field is seen as a form of communication for society and not as an act of vandalism and crime. The essay mentions two examples of graffiti art that is based in San Francisco. Both mentions allowed me to have a better understanding of successful spatial design, based on the design's location of the graffiti art, the elements that are included and used in the designs and why it was effective. All these factors allowed me to understand subculture in graphic design.

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Design and context: Sustainability in Design - Anel van Niekerk

Introduction

Sustainability is of growing importance in today’s society and should be the focus of all design solutions.

Sustainability one of the most significant elements to be considered in finding and solving design problems. Generally, when sustainability is mentioned, a connotation is made to only an environmental aspect; preserving ecosystems and stopping global warming. This is, however, only one of the three aspects of sustainability. These aspects are social, economic and environmental. (Grant, 2021) (Wagner & Andreas, 2012). These three pillars are present in everything that people do today, whether it be creating lasting relationships with clients for a business, creating a campaign about the dangers of global warming or selling proudly South African products while encouraging people to support local businesses. 

Knowing this, it is safe to state that everything people do today is about sustainability. The three pillars of sustainability could be referred to as the culture of sustainability. (Wagner & Andreas, 2012)

This essay will define sustainability and focus on the previously mentioned pillars to explain its significance. It will explain why sustainability is a significant component in design by looking at statistics, research and the impact of completed sustainable design projects. Lastly, it will supply successful examples of sustainability in spacial design.  

Defining Sustainability

Sustainability is to avoid depleting a resource, and focus on present issues, solving them for the future. (Berlin & Adams, 2017) It is defined as the ability to meet present needs without compromising the conditions of the future. (Grant, 2021) This concept is to preserve present conditions so that future generations can still utilise it, for example, to look after our planet now so that human-kind can survive on it for the next thousand years. In lay-mans words, to make something last longer.

Sustainability is not only about the environment, as most people might think it is, but also about economic and social upkeep. Sustainability is composed of three pillars; social/people, environmental/planet and Economic/profits. (Grant, 2021) These three pillars make up all matters that the human world consists of, and sometimes these pillars overlap, bringing forth more focused issues.

Economic sustainability is the protection of resources such as raw materials used for human needs and the continued economic practice and success of long-term growth that negatively impact the other pillars of sustainability. (Courtnell, 2019) To achieve economic sustainability, environmental sustainability must first be achieved. The economy relies on natural resources to remain viable, as, without natural resources, humans would not be able to make and sell products to keep the economy afloat. For the economy to be sustainable, it is critical to ensure that consuming does not outweigh the natural recourse replacement rate and that the rate of waste is not exceeded. (Goodland, 1995)

Social sustainability is preserving demographic communities, ensuring that the connection between society and people is healthy and strong and will remain. It is the cohesion of community, diversity, cultural identity and tolerance that all play a role in the pillar of social sustainability. (Goodland, 1995) Solving social sustainability issues is done through analysing the needs and capabilities of people in society so that engineers or designers, for example, can address arising social challenges. (Berlin & Adams, 2017) Examples of social sustainability are the issue of inequality. Racism and extreme beliefs have placed a strain on people in society. Throughout many centuries, intense conflicts and wars have taken place, where issues such as racism are still a dominant issue.

As research suggests, one pillar of sustainability cannot exist without the other. The pillars rely on each other the same way society relies on the environment, how the economy relies on the environment, and how society relies on the economy. An example of how the pillars interact with each other would be to look at poverty. Poverty is both a social and economic issue for obvious reasons, and research shows that reducing poverty should be the primary goal of a solution before considering environmental quality issues. (Goodland, 1995) This is because, without an economy or society, it would be impossible to rectify environmental issues. 

Environmental sustainability is the preservation of the earth, the environment and ecosystems. To sustain the environment is to support life on the earth, not only human. (Goodland, 1995) Society is using up non-renewable resources and producing more greenhouse gasses than the environment can deal with. If environmental sustainability issues are not fixed, the earth and all living organisms will soon suffer permanent changes in the atmosphere of the earth. These changes could make life very difficult on earth and cause thousands of organisms to go extinct. (Goodland, 1995)

Sustainable design is a recently added word in the lexicon of architects, engineers and designers. It is focused upon in the world of design and building as it is a vital issue of the future. (Barksdale, Chapman & Placet, 2003) Sustainable design is a societal change in the way individuals construct and design solutions. It focuses on solving an economical, societal or environmental issue while considering the effects that the design or solution has on the future. (Wagner & Andreas, 2012) If the solution impacts the future negatively, the idea is not a sustainable solution. 

The rise of concepts such as sustainability and sustainable design has brought up a new culture or a sub-culture. (Wagner & Andreas, 2012) This is because the need for sustainability has integrated itself into all aspects of society.

The significance of Sustainability in identifying and solving a design problem

The significance of sustainability in identifying and solving design problems is that it deals with a problem’s complex issues and solving them for tomorrow. Sustainable design offers a range of potentialities and interfaces for innovative solutions. With the rise of sustainability as a new sub-culture, sustainable design has become somewhat of a fashion statement and a necessity. (Mouchrek, 2018) As stated previously, the pillars of sustainability have been integrated into all corners of society. Making environmentally conscious decisions is the only way to preserve the future.

Considering the environmental, social and political issues today, sustainable design is very significant. Sustainability is essential when identifying issues through contextual design and solving problems efficiently. Society is undergoing the transition to sustainable design, a long term goal that brings a tremendous challenge. (Mouchrek, 2018) This constitutes a slow process of social learning and adaptation. Society has become used to the cheap and fast mass production methods, polluting the planet with plastics and gasses. New sustainable solutions are needed to rectify the issues that mass consumerism has caused. Sustainable design is needed in every aspect of society. It is not just needed within the issues of the environment and the planet, but also in socio-political and economic factors. When tackling issues such as overpopulation and poverty, sustainable design is needed to ensure that the problem is addressed now and in the future. It is necessary to focus on present issues and solve them for future generations as this helps plan for a better tomorrow.

The transition from mass consumerism to sustainable solutions is a long, tedious and expensive process, with solutions using more expensive resources and the need to develop new technology. This transition is highly required, however.

The Climate Clock is a timer that counts down the estimated time that the plant has left before global warming makes permanent changes to it. This clock states that we have less than seven years to do so. (ClimateClock.World, n.d) This timer itself signifies the importance of sustainable design in our future. 

An example of the significance of sustainability in identifying and solving a design problem would be to look at the issues of overpopulation and poverty. With the high number of people in society sustainably spacial design becomes more relevant, necessary even. Utilising space more efficiently by cutting down on unnecessary space or utilising space differently would solve the problem of too densely populated areas. 

Promoting healthier, sustainable, and integrated lifestyles is a goal for older generations. It fosters a culture of sustainability among the youth. Sustainable design is integrated into places of higher learning (as seen with Inscape from personal experience) to condition students to it. It aims to teach students that the better option is sustainability and sparks interest and engagement amongst these students. (TERLEVIĆ, STARČIČ & KOVAČ, 2015)

Sustainability can be developed from fun and creative innovations and techniques in a way that traditional mass-produced design would never be. It can be approached from various dimensions and can result is beautiful outcomes, resulting in attractive and significant solutions. This is because sustainable design consists of many more solutions, techniques and options in the solution possibilities. Sustainable design allows young people to reflect on the future of the world and think about the meaning of a ‘good life’ and what could come from it. (TERLEVIĆ, STARČIČ & KOVAČ, 2015)

Examples of successful application of Sustainability in spatial design

The first example that is illustrated has to do with only sustainable design. It is essential to show this example to give context to the fun and creative innovations within this field. It also shows that sustainable design does not have any limitations. 

Neri Oxman is an architect, scientist, engineer and inventor. She has pioneered Material Ecology and created designs that align with the principles of ecological sustainability. This field is the fusion of technology and biology. Oxman has completed projects wherein she 3D printed with glass, used chitin to create a water-based digital fabrication and many other biotechnological projects. 

Figure 1: Project Aguahoja

Oxman Created an organic structure to replace substances such as plastics with an eco-friendly alternative. Using cellulose, chitin, and pectin, she created a successful alternative to plastics. Oxman did consider the aesthetic and designed it with a keen eye for spatial awareness, even though this is a display of an alternative substance to plastics. (Oxman, 2020)

This project encompasses the ideologies of sustainable design and points to the expectation of future ideas. 

Watch her in an episode found on Netflix:

Abstract: the art of design 

Season 2, Episode 2: Neri Oxman: Bio-Architecture

Oasia Hotel Downtown:

Figure 2 - Oasia Hotel Downtown

Figure 3 - Oasia Hotel Downtown

This hotel based in Singapore was designed to create urban tropics. It is ventilated, allowing a natural breeze to pass through for cross ventilation and provides an aesthetically pleasing visual transparency. With plants covering a ratio of 1,100%, the tower is conceived as a haven for birds and animals, reintroducing biodiversity into the city. The plants help reduce pollution in the air naturally. This is considered as spacial design as space is being positively utilised for more than one reason. (WorldArchitects.com, n.d)

This hotel is constructed and designed beautifully, paying careful attention to sustainability and spacial design.

Conclusion

Sustainability is defined as a process that avoids the depletion of a resource and focuses on present issues. It is composed of three pillars; social, environmental and Economic. These three pillars make up all matters that the human world consists of, and it is essential to remember that the pillars rely on each other and cannot exist or function without the other.

The need for sustainability and sustainable design has brought up a new sub-culture, which has integrated itself into all the corners of society, especially young people. Sustainability deals with design problems with complex issues of a current problem and solves it for tomorrow. Its significance is that it has an outcome of a practical solution and has the endless possibility of a creative and versatile solution. 

Everything people do today is about sustainability.

References

Barksdale, G., Chapman, M., & Placet, M. (2003). Sustainable DESIGN. The Military Engineer, 95(621), 39-40. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44529989

Berlin, C., & Adams, C. (2017). Social Sustainability. In Production Ergonomics: Designing Work Systems to Support Optimal Human Performance (pp. 241-258). London: Ubiquity Press. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv3t5qtf.17

ClimateClock.World. (n.d). The Climate Clock. ClimateClock.World. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://climateclock.world/science. 

Courtnell, J. (2019, October 25). Economic Sustainability For Success: What It Is And How To Implement It. Process Street. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://www.process.st/economic-sustainability/.

Goodland, R. (1995). The Concept of Environmental Sustainability. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 26, 1-24. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2097196

Grant, M. (2021, March 4). Sustainability. Investopedia. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sustainability.asp.

Mouchrek, N. (2018). Engaging College Students in the Transition to Sustainability Through Design-Based Approaches. Consilience, (20), 88-103. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26760104

Oxman, N. (2020). Neri Oxman. Aguahoja. Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://oxman.com/projects/aguahoja. 

TERLEVIĆ, M., STARČIČ, A., & KOVAČ, M. (2015). Sustainable spatial development in higher education. Urbani Izziv, 26(1), 105-120. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24920968

Wagner, F., & Andreas, M. (2012). A Culture of Sustainability. RCC Perspectives, (8), 57-72. Retrieved March 3, 2021 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26240434

WorldArchitects.com. (0AD). Oasia Hotel Downtown. World Architects.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021 from https://www.world-architects.com/en/woha-singapore/project/oasia-hotel-downtown. 

List of figures:

Figure 1

Oxman, N. (2020). Project Aguahoja. Neri Oxman: Material Ecology. Retrieved March 3, 2021 from https://oxman.com/projects/aguahoja. 

Figure 2

WorldArchitects.com. (0AD). Oasia Hotel Downtown. World architects.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021 from https://www.world-architects.com/en/woha-singapore/project/oasia-hotel-downtown.

Figure 3

WorldArchitects.com. (0AD). Oasia Hotel Downtown. World architects.com. Retrieved March 3, 2021 from https://www.world-architects.com/en/woha-singapore/project/oasia-hotel-downtown.

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Subculture in Design: Through Kpop Subculture-Deylin Patel

Introduction

The main topic hat will discussed in this essay is Subculture in design. When people think about subculture they think about what that subculture have to do with design, what impact does it have on the design world. The only way to understand why subculture in design is really needed is to see if it has been applied to a certain subculture and how it has influenced design or not. This essay with argue if Kpop subculture in design is important and the influence it has on graphic design. The essay will show his by defining what subculture is and what Kpop subculture is. The characteristics of Kpop subculture, as well as the characteristics of Kpop subculture’s style in graphic design. To support my argument the essay will cover how Kpop has influenced the  graphic design in the styles of designing. The examples that will be discussed with make decide weather Kpop subculture has either helped design or not.

  2. Defining Subculture in Design

To understand what Subculture in Design is we need to understand the definitions of what subculture is and design. The meaning of subculture is when ideas, art, the way of life that a group of people within society are different to other people of society.(Definition of subculture, 2021) this basically means that people are different in the way they are because of the ideals of the subculture. The meaning of design is is to have a particular purpose or intention in view of an individual or group. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2021). Understanding what subculture and design is we can know put them together we then understand that we can say that subculture can be connected through values, in the way of design we can then decide what works with the style of the subculture, thus making that different subcultures might have the same sign for something but they mean something else. This is when a designer needs to understand the context of what happens. (Design & Subculture, 2021).

To focus on the subculture of design I will be looking at Kpop as the subculture to argue if it impacts design or not. The meaning of the Kpop subculture is an international music genre that has different music styles that began in South Korea. (Spatichia & Otolorin, n.d.)  Kpop has become a huge part of the music world. The thing that makes Kpop different from the normal kind of music is that they have a particular design style that they use for what they want to do. 

The Characteristics of Kpop subculture 

Before one goes into Subculture in Design, we must understand the characteristics of what Kpop. These characteristics include large groups which means that the music group is from four people to about 23 members, this is mainly because they want fans to have different people to look and support. They have a hybrid sound which makes use of he traditional Korean music elements with the influence of jazz, soul, hiphop and funk, this is what makes their style of music so interesting. They have a Unique style which relates to fashion design this helps in that the style of clothing that they go for will influence design in many different ways.(MasterClass, 2021) 

Now knowing what the definitions are and what the characteristics are it makes it clear that Kpop can very much be an influence on graphic design in that they have different views on how they do things and they have a connection to design to make them different from other subcultures. This is shown with how they produce their music videos, it is shown that they have themes and stories that are about unrequited love and coming to age and the other things that happen in life. (Lee, 2019)

This helps me as a designer in that I can argue that Kpop subculture is something that subculture in design can help with graphic design and make a difference in the way we think about subcultures and the design style they bring. 

3. The significance of Subculture in design in identifying and solving a design problem

The significance of Kpop subculture in terms of it being used in graphic design. This is made significant in that Kpop’s art is influenced by Pop Art in terms of the art and illustration. Kpop uses the idea of sleeky minimal deign work, this is shown by the work of different artists playing with photography, typography, colour, illustration.  When wanting to understand the style that makes graphics important is that it has a very different take on the use of different elements to make the design stand out. 

Some unique characteristics of Kpop design is the ability to tel a story, this is mainly shown in the music videos of Kpop, the idea of making something a story of something is important in that as designers we need to think about how will the subcultures influence the way the work is done and influence the way design thinking goes with everything that has been done. Kpop’s idea of making the subject matter light they have a unique way of making it look amazing in tat the viewer can be part of that journey. 

Kpop also keeps in mind who the audience is and who they are advertising to and how they market themselves. This helps with social media in that when graphic designers need to look for ideas on how to promote new ideas they need to make sure that they follow the tight ideas of who will people see and what they think of them. 

Kpop design is also very particular in the way they use colour. They make sure that they have captured the right amount of attention. This achieved in that they make somethings stand out in some cases but in others they make it over colourful that they make it look like a dream party filled of colour. They also make use of black and which which can also mean a lot depending on what they want to achieve. 

The most important trait that stands out of Kpop and graphic design is the use of the design principles. This is because they make use of good balance, positioning, symmetrically and visual balance and unity as well as using the idea of persecutive in their work. (White, 2016)

With all this the idea of Pop art comes in, in that Kpop artists and designers think about how to make the audience feel as if they are the best and they are the ones that everyone needs to see. 

This brings us back to the idea that subculture in design is important in for graphic design. Thus saying that the ideas that Kpop subculture is a strong example to show that they think in creative and unique ways that they are not just a subculture that dresses a certain way or creates music in its own style but it rather creates a place that makes them think in a designer way to make design more easy on the eye for everyone. 

4. Examples of successful application of Subculture in Design through Kpop  in spatial design

When looking at examples of how the techniques of subculture came into existence in the albums of Kpop albums is that they used colour, typography and photography .  

   Figure 1 - Poster (Lee, 2019)

When looking at this poster one gets the feeling of balance and good use of colour and harmony. This is because the use of how the idea of the subculture is still evident in the work. The application of the use of typography makes one look at the image and makes them interested in away. 

 Figure  2 - Flashmo Instagram (Lee, 2019)

When looking at this image we can see the idea of pop art being used. In terms of the Kpop subculture it shows that they also took inspiration form the west and took the idea of using typography and a pop art take on creating this new type of design. Which is something graphic designer would do and see how to make it fit with the idea of how things work and get made. 

Figure 3- CD cover (Lee,2019) 

In this CD cover we can see different elements with use of colour and photography and very little typography. The way that design is used to show the subculture for what it is and what it stands for. The colours and photography makes one want to see what is happening and what will happen next. 

The application of all the examples help to create a feel that graphic design has a part to play in designing covers and ideas to make the message that Kpop artist want to show off. The whole idea that being Subculture in Design is important and it is also very important to make ideas and traits in to design. 

5. Conclusion

As a whole for my argument I can agree that Subculture in design is important. Thus saying that subculture can bring about new ideas and influences in the way we work and do things as designers. The exploration of subcultures and design is that subcultures have an influence in the way we think and look at design. With going into depth of graphic design in Kpop culture shows that design is used in different ways but it can always be connected when one looks and analysis’s the fine detail in what they do. The final argument is that subcultures need to be taught on how things are and how designers can apply the thoughts and ideas of subcultures in their design work. Subculture in design is important and it makes the world of showing things in different ways can open doors for people. Graphic design might not be the core components of Kpop but it can start becoming one of the factors.  

Reference List

Definition of subculture. (2021, March 10). Collinsdictionary.com; HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/subculture

Design & Subculture. (2021, March 10). Blogspot.com. http://globaldesignstudies.blogspot.com/2009/10/design-subculture.html 

Lee, G. (2019, May). How to design for K-pop: the design queen for BTS on branding idol chart-killers. Digital Arts. https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/graphic-design/how-to-design-k-pop-bts/

‌MasterClass. (2021, January 14). All About K-Pop: Inside K-Pop’s History and Signature Sound. MasterClass; MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-kpop#what-are-the-characteristics-of-kpop

‌Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2021). Merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/design 

‌Spatichia, D., & Otolorin, M. (n.d.). K-pop Subculture International Impact K-pop Subculture International Impact. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from https://scholarshare.temple.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12613/472/p15037coll12_2705.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 

‌White, J. Z. (2016, June 28). What k-pop can teach us about design. FreeCodeCamp.org; freeCodeCamp.org. https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-k-pop-can-teach-us-about-design-6253a85f469c/ 

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Subculture in Design: Graffiti Culture and Spatial Design - Keenan Harichund

Subculture in Design: Graffiti Culture and Spatial Design

Subculture in design boasts a wide variety of art styles, one of them being the graffiti subculture and their use of spatial design when identifying and solving a design problem. Graffiti artists use the space given to them to make their designs, whereas, in spatial design, the designer designs the space. This essay will look at the graffiti subculture within the South African context and show why incorporating subculture, in this context, graffiti artist's use of spatial design should be considered when identifying and solving a design problem. This essay will reference the graffiti subculture within South Africa, looking at examples of the Soweto towers as well as towns where the streets are filled with graffiti, making use of spatial design. Specific references will also be made to the spatial design field of design and use how kids at youth centers in South Africa use graffiti to decorate and design their space. The result will show how in South Africa, the fusion between spatial design and graffiti art exists and successfully identifies and solves a design problem.

Defining Subculture 

The term subculture derives from the word culture. It describes a group of individuals within a larger culture who display unique traits that can be categorized as its own culture, put, a culture within a culture. However, the criteria for the specific traits and characteristics that differentiate between culture and subculture are not universally agreed on, and many experts have given their opinion. (Jenks, 2005) 

Looking at how experts have dubbed a specific society a subculture and applying this into the South African context, graffiti artists could be categorized into the subculture category as their traits and interaction with what they do break norms of the larger society they form a part of. 

The concept of subculture only became used in social science literature after the Second World War and in the book 'Subculture: The Fragmentation of the Social,' the author, Chris Jenks, a professor of Sociology and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Brunel University, gives quotes of people defining the early modern concept of subculture. The book mentions one definition that states subculture is "a subdivision of national culture, composed of several factorable social situations such as class status, ethnic background, regional and rural or urban residence, and religious affiliation, but forming in their combination a functional unity which has an integrated impact on the participating individual." (Jenks, 2005) This definition fits the context regarding social, economic, and political hegemony that one culture has over another in regards to social, economic, and political subcultures being created as a result of cultural hegemony. 

Another definition from the book states that the concept of subculture refers to "cultural variants displayed by certain segments of the population." (Jenks, 2005) The definition goes on to speak about how subcultures are 'worlds within worlds.' In terms of modern definitions of the concept and how it applies today, writer David Muggleton defines subculture in 'The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology' as "a group with certain cultural features that enable it to be distinguished from other groups and the wider society from which it has emerged." (Muggleton, 2007) The concept changes as the traits and characteristics of cultural hegemony change over time. One culture takes bits and pieces from another culture and shares these beliefs and principles with other people, and creates what we know today as a subculture. Other reasons for the appearance of a subculture where there was none could be rebellious behavior or an individual not fitting into their own larger culture and gravitating towards a more relatable way of life that matches theirs. These definitions of a subculture have their weaknesses as it is argued that subculture should be categorized according to the interaction process between a sub-community rather than characteristics and traits that an individual might have as one might be interested in the culture rather than gravitate towards it, pulling away from the norms of their own umbrella culture. (Fine and Kleinman, 1979)

The Significance of the Graffiti Subculture in Identifying and Solving a Design Problem

In this way, in the design context, the specific interaction examined the graffiti culture is the use of space in the public area; in design, this is called spatial design. Graffiti Artists use the space given to them and create something from it, while in the private sector of the design field, spatial design encompasses creating the space for the design. 

Spatial analysis of graffiti is a crucial element to be considered in the private sector of design when identifying and solving a design problem as graffiti is a form of communication, which is the primary purpose of a designer, to communicate a message within a space visually. Veronika Megler, David Banis, and Heejun Chang speaking on spatial analysis of graffiti in San Francisco, state that "graffiti is created in areas with high densities of young males, and that commercial zones have the highest rate of graffiti reports." (Meglerax, Banis and Chang, 2014)

In South Africa, the graffiti culture is massive all over, with some being forms of vandalism and others considered forms of art in the right space and context. The way that graffiti artists use the space that's given to them makes the process quick and low-cost, which is why you never see a graffiti artist making a piece of work; relatively, the piece appearing where nothing existed just recently. Examples of this in South Africa stem from all over, from schools and kids writing on the walls to unique art displays that have become tourist destinations and put a mark in South African history and design. The unorthodox style of graffiti-based designs in South Africa is still seen in the same light as graffiti worldwide, with the same question being asked of its people, is it a form of art or a form of vandalism. Graffiti has a strong history within South Africa stemming from visual culture during the Apartheid period. The people used the streets to publicly and visually display their emotions and feelings as they had no other way. (Coombes, 2003)

Figure 1: Dlala Indima

(Dlala Indima, 2011)

Above shows Dlala Indima's work as "an alternative approach to cultural development by and for young people who are usually marginalized by the mainstream practice of culture‐led economic development." The example above shows the significance of graffiti artists' use of spatial design and graffiti as a form of development in South Africa, using graffiti and spatial design to better the community. As designers, we have roles and responsibilities that we have to uphold in the community. This is an example of 'using graffiti as a tool to beautify and engage the youth in developing self-worth through creative action and an intuitive, reflexive, and context-specific approach to place-making.' (Sitas, 2020)

In the private sector of design, where the style is more formal, graffiti artists' use of spatial design can come in handy when for example, a building has a flaw in the design and needs to be redone. Instead of the generic solution of removing the problem and building a new solution around it, use the space and flaw given to create an entirely new design solution that might be a better solution than what was previously intended. This keeps the design costs low as less material will be used, and no material already used is lost. This is why graffiti artists' use of spatial design is an essential element to be considered when identifying and solving a design solution.

In the South African context, graffiti and spatial design can be used for new design solutions, as shown above using the example of Dlala Indima and their use of graffiti and spatial design in culture-led development in South Africa and how designers can play their part when identifying and solving a design problem.

Examples of Successful Application of Graffiti in Spatial Design

The physical environment impacts customers and employees, and in the design field, this space in between interior and exterior is called spatial design. Graffiti artists' use of spatial design can be implemented in the design field, specifically, spatial design, to create a suitable atmosphere, physical design, or decor elements for the design solution's target audience. 

Mary Jo Bitner, one of the founders of the service marketing discipline (Bitner, 2021), speaking on 'The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees', states that the physical surroundings facilitate organizational achievement well as marketing goals. (Bitner, 2021) Examples of this use of spatial design and graffiti can be seen in the youth centers of South Africa and street art in Cape Town, which used spatial design and graffiti design to solve a design problem regarding the drought which was occurring in the community at the time. 

Figure 2: Zavkhan Youth Development Centre Opening

(Zakhan Youth Development Centre, 2014)

In the image above, we see artists from Zavkhan, Mongolia, using recycled banners and their imagination to create graffiti art for the Zavkhan Youth Development Centre opening. These artworks would decorate the center, adding to the overall aesthetic of the building. (Zakhan Youth Development Centre, 2014)

This image of how graffiti can solve spatial design solutions, where the interior space is the youth development center, is being decorated with the children's graffiti art, supporting the significance of graffiti art in the South African Context of culture-led development. This is one of the many youth centers that allow the youth to express themselves with graffiti in a safe place, which also works to design the development center.

The design for the development center included recycling and graffiti as a medium in which to work in. These artworks would then be used to design the center's look, giving an individual feel and energy, which, as mentioned earlier, is a crucial factor when making an impact on the customer or employee while supporting the role and responsibility of the designer to better the community. For this reason, this example of successful application regarding graffiti and spatial design. 

Figure 3: Orlando Towers

(Gauteng Tourism Authority, 2021)

The image above shows a view of the Orlando Towers in Soweto, which have been completely covered in brightly colored murals, one of which depicts scenes and images from township culture and the other with South Africa's corporate branding FNB bank. 

This is a perfect example of how spatial design and graffiti have been used to solve a design problem, the towers being the design problem as it had been shut down. Instead of removing the towers and leading to waste material, the towers were turned into a work of art that communicated a message and developed into a tourist attraction for South Africa. This example shows the role and responsibility of bettering the community and the successful implementation of spatial design by using the shape and space of the towers that was given to design an environment in which entertainment could exist, in this case, bungee jumping being the primary activity to do at the towers. 

Conclusion

Subculture in design boasts a wide variety of art styles, one of them being the graffiti subculture and their use of spatial design when identifying and solving a design problem. Graffiti artists use the space given to them to make their designs, whereas, in spatial design, the designer designs the space. This essay looked at the graffiti subculture within the South African context. It showed why incorporating subculture, in this context, graffiti artist's use of spatial design should be considered when identifying and solving a design problem. This essay made specific reference to the graffiti subculture within South Africa, looking at examples of the Soweto towers and towns where the streets are filled with graffiti, making use of spatial design. Specific references were also made to the spatial design field of design and used how kids at youth centers in South Africa use graffiti to decorate and design their space. Overall, it is shown how even though there is still debate as to whether graffiti is a form of art or vandalism, the way that graffiti artists use spatial design can still be useful when identifying and solving complex ensign solutions within a South African context.

References

Bitner, M., 2021. Mary Bitner. [online] W. P. Carey School of Business. Available at: <https://wpcarey.asu.edu/people/profile/68504> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Coombes, A., 2003. History after apartheid: Visual culture and public memory in a democratic South Africa. 2nd ed. Durham, London: Duke University press.

Dlala Indima, 2011. street Art. [image] Available at: <https://www.instituteforpublicart.org/case-studies/dlala-indima/> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Fine, G. and Kleinman, S., 1979. Rethinking Subculture: An Interactionist Analysis. American Journal of Sociology, [online] 85(1). Available at: <https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/226971> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Gauteng Tourism Authority, 2021. Bungee jumping at Orlando Towers. [image] Available at: <https://www.gauteng.net/attractions/orlando_towers> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Jenks, C., 2005. Subculture: The Fragmentation of the Social. London: SAGE Publications LTD.

Meglerax, V., Banis, D. and Chang, H., 2014. Spatial analysis of graffiti in San Francisco. Applied Geography, [online] 54, pp.63-73. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143622814001490> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Muggleton, D., 2007. Subculture. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, [online] Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoss295> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Sitas, R., 2020. Creative Cities, Graffiti and Culture‐Led Development in South Africa: Dlala Indima (‘Play Your Part’). International Journal of Urban and Regional Reseach, [online] 44(5). Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-2427.12894> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Tayla Gentle, T., 2018. With an elephant and a cactus, artist Falk One comments on the Cape Town drought. The people of Langa have a huge respect for graffiti and the art is almost never vandalized.. [image] Available at: <https://adventure.com/langa-street-art-cape-town/> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

van Loon, J., n.d. Five Points in New York, one of the most famous places where graffiti is tolerated (Hall Of Fames). [image] Available at: <https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/13062?lang=en> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Zakhan Youth Development Centre, 2014. Zakhan Youth Development Centre Opening - Graffiti art time lapse. [video] Available at: <https://lao.unfpa.org/en/video/zakhan-youth-development-centre-opening-graffiti-art-time-lapse> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

[inscapeblog]

How Sustainability Can Change The Design World - Shante Singh

1.     Introduction

Sustainability is a big issue globally, and there are always ways we can create a sustainable future. This essay will argue for sustainability in green printing and show a comparison between regular paper and ink we use versus recycled paper and eco-friendly ink. There will be examples of each type of printing method, and an analysis will be given of how green printing is proved to be the better option than standard printing methods for design. Issues such as how printing and green printing effects or improves the environment and people’s health will be discussed. The essay will give a better understanding of the world of green printing for designers and printing companies and show that there are sustainable printing methods that produce the same results and will help future generations. This will be achieved by showing appropriate evidence and examples of both methods and discussing the research and experiments done on green printing and regular printing.

   2.     Defining sustainability and green printing

Sustainability occurs when trying to meet the present's needs while also trying not to harm future generations and their needs, utility and welfare. The idea of sustainability began as a way to combat the threats posed on our resources, eco-system and the well-being of future generations (Meadowcrof, 2015). The three different kinds are social sustainability, financial sustainability and environmental sustainability. When discussing sustainability, there is sustainable development, which means those future generations, society, and the environment should be taken into consideration when making decisions. The primary type we will be focussing on is environmental sustainability which deals with humanity co-existing (Meadowcrof, 2015). Sustainability has become a main priority in the past few decades due to the environment suffering at its people's hands; we even notice governments bringing to light new laws for the stance of people using safer alternative methods. This is done in hopes that we can create a sustainable future for ourselves and the generations to come (Dharavath & Hahn, 2009).

As part of sustainability, the topic of printing will be discussed and analysed. The number of printing documents increases every year. We need to start thinking about the future and try our best efforts to preserve the natural resources and reduce the toxic impact of producing printing chemicals, ink and paper (Munger, 2008). We first think about how large amounts of paper waste can harm the environment. However, we also need to talk about how the ink used on the printed materials pollute our environment and affect the design world (Munger, 2008). Over the years, there has been a change with printing manufacturers and how they have tried to lean more towards more sustainable papers and inks. The push for this was by society and people trying to increase awareness for the ecological footprint and push printing companies and designers to use more sustainable printing methods and consider these things when choosing a printing company (Dharavath & Hahn, 2009).

Green printing is a movement in the printing industry that promotes the use of natural resources to help develop sustainable printing and print advertising solutions for the present and future (David, 2009). The movement includes reducing the use of chemical-based paper and inks, choosing low-volatile organic compound inks and using recycled and tree farm paper to evoke change in the design world and take steps to make a change (Dharavath &Hahn, 2009). Today we have inks and paper that are environmentally friendly and are made from various substances. The inks are made from vegetable-based and soy-based ink, and the paper is made from recycled paper or FSC paper, which means the paper is all chlorine-free (McCadney, 1999). Recycled paper is more accessible to the public and a lot more affordable than it has ever been. Over the years, there have been innovative ways in which paper has been made sustainable. There are alternatives such as straw paper, bamboo paper, wheat paper and more alternatives made from vegetable products (Coppola & Modelli, 2020).

3.     The causes of printing practices in the design industry

Ink is composed of 3 main components: chemical binders, pigments and a liquid vehicle. The pigment is made from inorganic and organic components that help create different colours and, the chemical binders help the pigment mix together. The liquid vehicle, which can be chemical-based, water-based or petroleum-based, helps the pigment absorb. It then evaporates as the ink dries. The petroleum-based liquid (which is the most commonly used) emits the highest amount of environmental damage and what makes this liquid more dangerous is a non-renewable resource (Munger, 2008). These elements are considered harmful in the printing industry: ink contaminated solvents, photochemical and oils from printing machines. The oils release toxic petrochemicals and volatile organic compounds, which threatens the employees' health working with these substances, the environment and the general public (Munger, 2008).

When we talk about printing, we first think about paper and how the forests, more specifically the old-growth forests and trees, are depleting rapidly due to the amount of paper needed just for the printing and design industry. According to Roger Munger (2008), it takes around 786 million trees to meet the world's paper and printing demands each year. The manufacturing of paper harms the environment. This results in excessive amounts of natural resources being used, such as trees, water and non-renewable fossil fuels, vast amounts of waste, and air pollution, affecting the atmosphere and contributing to global warming (Moneron, 2020).

Many printing companies use harmful inks, and designers choose printing companies that do not practise sustainable printing methods. This leaves a large ecological footprint on the planet. An ecological footprint is the measurement of the amount of pressure the human race puts on the Earth and how much nature humans use to sustain themselves. An analysis is done on humanities consumption of waste generation using natural resources (Wilson, 2001).

Figure 1 shows a landfill with different kinds of printed material that have been thrown out. This shows a small fraction of the number of prints regarded as waste and sit in large areas because the recycling process is too costly or the number of resources needed to recycle the prints is too great. The printing companies, designers, and clients do not consider the after-effects once their printed media has been discarded. The majority of this will end up staying in waste areas or being burnt, contributing to air pollution and harmful effects on the environment and people's health.

                                       Figure 1 Wasted printed material

Figure 2 is an example of a cartilage of petroleum-based ink. This is what the majority of printing companies use and owners of printing machines. This type of ink is used because it is cheap, easy and the most accessible to find. That does not mean it is the best form of ink to use as it poses many threats to our environment. This type of ink is a non-renewable resource, and the process of getting this resource damages the environment as a lot of drilling and digging has to be done. Petroleum is a toxic flammable liquid that emits volatile organic compounds, which cause air pollution and poor air quality for people exposed to it (Dharavath & Hahn, 2009).

                                     Figure 2 Petroleum-based ink

4.     The significance of green printing in identifying and solving printing in the design industry

The printing industry has been under fire by the government and environmentally aware consumers over the past few years to develop better sustainable methods to use for paper and inks. This call to action was met with tons of research, experimentation and new methods to combat the issues being faced with printing. Following the discoveries, various green organisations began to develop vegetable-based materials as an alternative to petroleum-derived chemicals used in ink and vegetable-based materials used to create an alternative paper for printing (Munger, 2008). We, as consumers, can source out places that use environmentally responsible inks and printing practises to help combat the use of hazardous chemicals and waste. Doing this will not only reduce the ecological footprint and pave a way forward for green printing, but it will pressure the competitors to change to a more sustainable alternative to printing and help them and designers adapt to more green printing practices (Munger, 2008).

The first part of green printing is using more sustainable paper methods. There are many alternatives to making paper now, such as hemp, organic cotton, sugar cane, wheat straw and kenaf. Not many people are aware of the fibre called 'kenaf'; it is a high-yield resource that is fast growing and produces excellent paper characteristics. This material is a perfect solution as a non-wood alternative. Hemp is also an excellent alternative for cellulose papermaking as it is one of the cheapest resources with very high quality. These types of materials can be recycled and do not harm the environment. (Munger, 2008). Another solution mentioned in green printing is companies and designers trying to use more electronic-based documents instead of printing. Try to consider making the documents more user-friendly to encourage using an electronic format instead of paper and ink to print the same documents. For printing needs, try to source out companies that use eco-friendly paper when printing (Munger, 2008).

The main point highlighted in the term green printing is using sustainable ink and finding alternatives to petroleum-based inks, chemical-based inks, and water-based inks. Many alternatives were created, such as soybean oil-based ink, canola-based ink, castor oil-based ink, and sunflower oil-based ink. Soy ink printing is prevalent and has become very successful in the world of green printing. It is the most common vegetable-based ink used as an alternative in many eco-friendly printing places. The soy ink also has less chemical processing methods when removing the ink from paper (Munger, 2008). This means that the paper goes through minimal amounts of damage, increasing the chance of higher quality recycled paper compared to removing regular ink from paper, which causes a lot more damage on the paper and makes it hard for it to be recycled. This type of ink is a renewable resource and can easily be produced. The ink is made from the oil in soybeans, extracted and mixed with other organic compounds. This ink is not as oily as petroleum-based ink, and it is perfect to use for mass-produced prints such as newspapers and media prints (Assmann, 1992). The oil-based inks are a more environmentally responsible choice for printing. These inks also produce more vibrant and brighter colours because natural resources are used when making the inks (Munger, 2008).

In figure 3 we see a book and brochure that is made from recycled paper. By viewing the image below, we can already see how beautiful and clean it looks. The quality of the paper is very high. The image quality is kept the same, and the integrity of the paper is not compromised. This type of paper meets the design industry's needs and is an excellent example of sustainable green printing.

                                             Figure 3 Recycled paper

 There are examples of vegetable-based inks that can be used for printing various types of materials (see figure 4). These inks are made from different oils as well as from vegetables such as beetroot and flowers. This type of ink is a better way to go and not only because it is the more sustainable approach for the design industry but because the results are, if not better than the typical inks used. These inks are a renewable source as well, which is good for the environment. Green printing inks are the way of the future for the design industry, and it meets the needs, and it is a cost-effective method.

                                            Figure 4 Vegetable ink

 5.     Conclusion

The printing choices we make can be harmful to our planet, and we are the ones inflicting these consequences every day by the decisions we make. This essay has outlined various environmentally friendly questions and alternatives when making printing choices. Evidence has been given on the effects of printing with standard paper and ink and what it does to people's health and the environment. The essay argued for green printing, and a direct comparison was made on steps the design industry can take to a more sustainable printing future. The conclusion that green printing is the better option has been discussed, and evidence has been given to why it is the better option. Small changes do make a difference, and if a few hundred or thousand people and companies make that small change, it can pave the way to more sustainable ways of printing.

 Reference List

Argent, D. (2009). How t become a green printer. The Journal of Technology Studies, 36(3), 36-46. https://www.jstor.org/stable/jtechstud.35.2.36?read-now=1&seq=11#page_scan_tab_contents

David, A. (1992). The Environmental Impacts of Printing Inks. Earth Island Journal, 7(1). http://www.jstor.org/stable/43883325

Floriana, C. & Albertino, M. (2020) Oxidative degradation of non-recycled and recycled paper. Cellulose 27, 8977–8987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03395-0

Naik, D. & Kim, H. (2009). Green Printing: Colorimetric and Densitometric Analysis of Solvent-based and Vegetable Oil-based Inks of Multicolor Offset Printing. The Journal of Technology Studies, 35(2), 36-46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jtechstud.35.2.36

James. M. (2015). Sustainability. https://www.britannica.com/science/sustainability

Jeffrey, W. (2001). The Alberta GPI Accounts: Ecological Footprint, pp. 3-4. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep00146.4

Jenifier, M. (1999). The Green Society? Leveraging the Government's Buying Powers to Create Markets for Recycled Products. Public Contract Law Journal, 29(1), 135-156. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25754390

Sade, M. (2020). The Environmental Costs of Office Printing. https://.greenoffice.co.za/the-environmental-costs-of-office-printing#:~:text=The%20manufacture%20of%20paper%20impacts,air%20pollution%20into%20the%20atmosphere.

Roger, M. (2008).

Green Printing: A Guide to Environmentally Responsible Printing. Technical Communication,

55(1), 9-22.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/43092392

[inscapeblog]

Is there significance in Subcultures in Design? - Sahriel Nicole Sicat

1. Introduction 

I have chosen Subculture in Design; this essay will contain arguments on why sub-culture in design is important and the influences that sub-culture has on design. The way I will achieve this is to define subculture and provide examples from research resources. This essay will also contain information on how subculture has influenced design over the years and how it affects design solutions today. Examples will also be provided to explain further and give proof of sub-culture within the design field, with brief descriptions on how it has changed the design and how it has either improved or not improved from the before and after processes. This essay will be concluded by summarising the information and what sub-culture is defined as in my own words

2. Defining Subculture in Design Subculture is defined as number of cultures that has derived from one main culture. 

There individuals share characteristics and interests within these subcultures that have been influenced from its origin. According to YourDictionary.com, subculture is described to be a group of people that have created a culture that contains different beliefs and values from the consensus; something that does not typically align with its wider culture. (Yourdictionary.com, n.a). Bashin (2020) defines subculture as groups that hold values and norms that deal with politics, cultural and sexual matters; he goes on to say that subcultures are an integral part of society as they give balance to certain issues or situations. Bashin (2020) states that characteristics of subcultures cannot ideally be defined or made into list form because the definition of subcultures itself are changing all the time. Although it is known that subcultures are not particularly easy-going when it comes to who represents them and who are suitable for these groups; their overall identity and who embodies it is important. Grimell College’s (n.a) piece on Subcultures and Sociology: Characteristic of Subcultures, covers the general overview of the characteristics of subculture, other points that would define subculture characteristics would be: - Share different meanings. This means that although the identities or values of a subculture are different from another subculture, their practices could be similar or done for similar meanings. - Shared identity. This pertains to the feelings of members within these cultures; Grimmel College (n.a) mentions that people would feel some disconnect but having or being part of a particular subculture, even without physical interaction, made them feel more at ease and like they had more to their individual identities. - Resistance. This mentions three dimensions in which subcultures can take place or engage in. The first dimension can be active or passive, in the sense that it will take the intentions of the subcultures into account. The second dimension or micro level depends on the direction that the subculture is taking their perspectives. The third dimension or macro level happens when issues are being directed to those within political positions or dealing with political issues that are aimed towards the subcultures. - Marginalization. Marginalization happens to subcultures because of their unique traits and personalities that do not exactly fit in with those in the dominant or origin cultures. All these points briefly explain the characteristics of subcultures; it gives a vague overview of how these groups get categorized into subcultures.

3. The significance of Subculture in Design in identifying and solving a design problem 

Subcultures in design shows major significance because the community of designers can be said to be or contain its own subcultures, for example you get graphic designers, fashion designers, architects and so much more. If you had to think of it in this way, subcultures can create communities for individuals to feel more comfortable in their interests, as they are able to share it with others who share those interests or values. “We can therefore conclude that graphic design is a communication form that utilizes the visual aspect of communication to transmit certain ideals or to stimulate particular feelings and emotions from its audience.” (UK Essays, 2018) Good Therapy (n.a) speaks about how subcultures can affect mental health; although this is a broader topic, it can still apply to the field of design. I say this because designers are put under a lot of pressure, this can be due to deadlines, time constraints, any mishaps that may occur during the planning and the execution processes. All these factors can aid to stress and can cause further issues that deal with mental health or health in general. Good Therapy (n.a) continues to say that within subcultures, communities are formed and people use this as an outlet or a place to feel more comfortable with themselves. This gives them reassurance in their interests, making it known that they are not alone and there is a place for them within society. If you had to put subculture in design within the context of how it has affected design over the years, then I would say that its significance still applies. I say this because design is influenced by traditional and culture, the styles and colours take a lot of inspiration from what is occurring around us. If dominant culture can influence our way of design and visual imprints on the world then so can subcultures; design can evolve and cater to any demographic it chooses, if done correctly and with the right message and/or intentions. Batagoda (2019) writes about the importance of looking at cultures and subcultures when designing. Some of these points are: - Understand which countries you are doing work for and where the clients live in. - How do graphic design trends change in the countries that your focus groups are? - How the visual language change from country to country? - What is the cultural impact of the country on its design? - What are the most common colours used in the designs? - Understand common font faces, native fonts and how the visual hierarchy is present in the design. These questions are good to ask when you are designing for a client; taking into consideration things such as, the demographic within the area you are planning to design for, their age, ethnicities, needs within that area or community and more. Thinking about the overall personality of a country and how they represent themselves within design projects is important because this is a form of communication to the public, it needs to have a clear message but still appeal to the interests and values of subcultures.

4. Examples of successful application of Subculture in Design in spatial design 

How the Great Recession influenced a decade of design 

Figure 1: Sarah Lawrence for Vox (2018). Photograph. Vox. This image contains two sets, one of minimalistic style and white being the staple colour, the other half shows a more renaissance scene with duller colours, heavier furniture and very elegant design finishes. 

Brooke (2018) wrote an article for Vox on the influences the Great Recession has had on design over the years. She specifically points out minimalistic design and states that the concept of minimalism is to purchase less but better things. I believe that this can be seen in the image comparing two different styles but they still share characteristics in the fact that furniture pieces, lighting, colour and finishes play a significant role in achieving a simple yet put together spatial design. The term to buy less but better things came from a brand called Cuyana, they wanted to encourage their customers with this phrase and with the recession in mind this was an action that become an impulse during the aftermath of the recession. (Brooke, 2018) Within this image you can see the similarities that have been applied when you think of the “buy less but better” phrase. Each space has their own colour palette but they both stay true to its main choice of colour, this makes the space look cleaner and open. The styles of design are true to the era they fall part of but you can easily distinguish that fact the modern-day minimalism holds a crisper style; the edges are clean and everything looks very bright; modern minimalistic design relies a lot on natural light and also using pieces within the space that won’t distract from the overall harmony of the area. If we look at what it is being compared to, the older design style has more rounded furniture pieces and finishes; they also contain a lot more detail but is focused on statement pieces of the room, such as the fireplace, it has intricate designs carved onto it which makes it stand out but it does not take away from the overall aesthetic. Design experts weigh in on the changing face of retail design 

Figure 2: Shweta Parida (2018). Design experts weigh in on the changing face of retail design. Image. Commercialinteriordesign. This image is of as store, it contains a flight of stairs which leads to a section of display areas for products. 

When we take into consideration of the changes within the economic and how it functions now and how it did in the past, the wants of customers have changed drastically and is still changing. To change the space of retail stores to accommodate customer needs and wants again, Parida (2018) writes about Architectual guidelines and the inclusion of technology when it comes to shopping. Parida (2018) continues to say that buildings would have to change their structure to allow more space or passageway for customers to feel more comfortable when trying to adhere to guidelines of current situations. If we look at modern adaptions and compare it to methods from the past, technology is a large step into change and how shopping can be achieved, whether it be from physically going to the mall or doing it online. Technological advances for retail spaces can also be applied to actual stores within shopping malls. Design aspects on buildings would look at aspects like spacing, lighting, audio and other visual elements that would be the most effective on creating impact on customers. (Parida, 2018).

5. Conclusion 

Based on the evidence provided in the previous section of this essay, I would say that the significance of subculture in design is important and still applies to how and what we design today. I say this because, it is evidence that characteristics or styles of design that we call modern, can easily be spotted in designs from the past. We are able to identify that they have been influenced by art movements, clothing trends, economic changes, the people within certain communities and so much more. Taking this information into account, the evolution of design can be considered a subculture itself.

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Is there Sustainability in graphic design - Chenayi Mukonoweshuro

Introduction

Sustainability is all about meeting the needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs. Sustainability is not just seen as environmentalism (Mason ,2014). This essay will define what sustainability is while focusing on the pros and cons thereof. The essay will further argue when identifying and saving graphic design.

Defining sustainability 

Sustainability is how natural system function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to stay in balance (Protney ,2015). It is the change of natural resources to make things less exotic for the environment and humans. Sustainability considers how humans might live in harmony with the natural world around us, protecting it from damage and destruction( Protney ,2015).  It comes with its cousins within sustainability, such as sustainable development, sustainable ecosystem, and others (Protney ,2015). The core of sustainability is a concept that focuses on the condition of the earth biophysical environment, particular with the use and depletion of natural resources ( Protney ,2015). The fundamental promise of sustainability is that the earth's resources cannot be used depleted and damaged indefinitely. Not only will these resources run out at some point, but their exploitation undermines the ability to persist and thrive. Sustainability is all more about finding a steady state so that the human population and economic growth can support the earth without threatening animals and plants' health (Portney ,2015). It is Typically known as the effort to use natural resources less wastefully. It merely is entailing recycling and being energy efficient, but sustainability is both more challenging and more rewarding. Sustainability can push the audience to better understand our world and ourselves as we participate in expanding and shifting global networks (Thiele, 2016, pp. 1–3). Sustainability cultivates a sense of responsibility for maintaining the integrity and the importance of the earth's health. It provides a reason for people to make better decisions for future lives (Thiele, 2016, pp. 1–3).

The characterise of sustainability is that they disagree on the issues, such as the political ideology on what is and is not economically sound, how sustainability will affect businesses. It is all about creating incentives to have sustainability guidelines within their companies (Mason ,2014).Social development within sustainability is about maintaining access to the necessary resources without compromising the quality of life. The essential thing is people being sustainable within their household. The way homes are built using sustainable materials. Sustainability is necessary to encourage people to participate in environmental sustainability and the effects of environmental protection.

The second is social development. It is also about maintaining access to the necessary resources without compromising the quality of life. The essential topic is for people to be sustainable within their homes and build their houses with sustainable material. The final element is education - encouraging people to participate in environmental sustainability and teaching them about the effects of environmental protection, and warning of the dangers if we cannot achieve our goals  (Mason ,2014).

The significance of sustainability in identifying and solving a design problem

Graphic design uses a lot of carbon footprint, and it is very much necessary for it to be more sustainable because it will affect the environment. The decisions made a graphic design on the shape, colour, and printing styles impact the ecological footprint. Graphic designers sustainability are centred on the physical manifestation of their efforts, such as the primarily printed materials.

Printing is a messy business in ways that it includes lots or unsustainable ink and paper. Printing paper creates a significant quantity of landfills (Hamlett ,2005). Some companies have already started addressing sustainability in a variety of print and online communications. Sustainability does not change consumer behaviour for the better, but there will offer more digital services, and by that, they would have an environmental impact would have been considered. There is a sustainable practice for graphic designers that include a wide range of considerations, including traditional and digital visual design domains. These considerations will consist of materials, ink and paper. Graphic designers will need to start thinking about delivery production and ideation steps (Hamlett ,2005). These should include an evaluation through the whole process that will be applied to the entire project. That will consist of the internal development factors like the printing techniques and the external factors like the shipping and carbon emission, considering all the elements will help achieve a sustainable graphic process. The increasing usage of paper has a negative environmental impact on trees as they are considered a source for the paper to be used in printing (Elmansy ,2015). Graphic designers can be more sustainable by reducing the paper, for it requires fuel, electricity, and steel used by different machines. Wise usage of the form should be considered. Recycled paper can be used to reduce the consumption of forest resources. Implementing industrial technologies that reduce the fuel and electricity consumption in the paper production process reduces environmental impact (Elmansy ,2015). The usage of ink in the printing containing pollutants and some printing inks includes volatile organic compounds that contribute to global warming and climate change.

The Inks can contain toxic heavy metals such as barium, cadmium, and lead. It is essential to reduce the pollution produced by printing ink. Inks should be used wisely to reduce or use sustainable ink such as vegetable-based ink to forego petroleum oils favouring more sustainable sources. Consider other printing factors that do not have side effects within the printing process, such as the emissions to air and water, waste of the printing process, excessive usages of electricity and power sources (Elmansy ,2015).

Examples of successful application of Sustainability in spatial design

Sustainable graphic design is all about less emission and more efficient use of natural resources. The images will only be viewed electronically, and there will also be an associated carbon cost that will be considered ( Latcham | Sustainable graphic design , 2020). The first successful application towards sustainable graphic design has sustainable printing. It was the first step towards sustainable practices. The process of sustainable printing has evolved and has become better. The knowledge of sustainable business practices and continually offers sustainability to address the three Ps which are people, planet, and profit. The entire facility includes the environment, health, safety, and labour practices (Brandy ,2019). The sustainable certification criteria in the printing practices are, in essence, and business practices. The certification helps printers optimise operations to be more efficient, cost-efficient and being responsible. The printers will decrease waste, increase recycling, reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and improve worker safety. Thereby it will valid themselves as implementing sustainable business practices (Brandy , 2019).  

                           Figure 1: Sustainable Paper ( Fletcher ,2018)

Types of printers use sustainable criteria to use the best ways to provide their customers with quality and save. A sustainable graphic design is to reduce the carbon footprint (Brandy ,2019). It's all about the reduce, reuse and recycle techniques. It's about making the design more environmentally friendly by giving the product a chance life than ending it up in the bin ( Latcham | Sustainable graphic design, 2020). Choosing environmentally paper, avoid paper that has been created from toxic processes, and recycling paper uses. Selecting the most sustainable printing company, established a printing company that considers it is emission or considering a digital solution. The difference between sustainable printing and standard printing is that most businesses have a waste paper amount ( Latcham | Sustainable graphic design , 2020). 

               Figure 2: Normal Paper ( Environmental Paper Network ,2021)

On average, paper accounts are over 12,500 tons of waste.The wasting of paper leads to demand for even more paper, demanding more paper and deforestation. There is the danger of deforestation and that effects on the planet. Paper production adds to a significant amount of pollution to the atmosphere and the water supply (Capital Business Systems Inc ,2019). Paper mills are frequently being released, and they are harmful gases such as CO2 and Nitrogen Dioxide in the atmosphere when it is being produced. Sustainable printing is better because green printing reduces waste, eliminates toxic chemicals, and protects the environment from further harm. Sustainable printing helps the environment, and the most important about sustainable printing because it creates more printing companies that practice sustainability and reduce waste (Capital Business Systems Inc ,2019). Therefore the pros of sustainability are that Savings from materials energy substitutions Savings from a higher efficiency per product, Savings from the redesign, Savings from reducing, reusing, and recycling scrap material, Savings from reusing and recycling returned products and Savings from packaging, transportation and approval cycles. This means that Companies can substitute less expensive and more environmental-friendly raw materials. They can change their energy supplier to use more renewable energy sources (Franz Leopold & Paspala ,2007). Going sustainable is that the cost of environmental compliance is high and costly for a business and organic products are expensive ( A. Clarke ,2014).

That so many businesses are recycling various products, and that allows printing to become more environmentally sustainable. Being a sustainable Graphic design is all about green printing processes and eco-friendly paper practices that are conserving the environment that will enable them to limit unnecessary chemicals or use recycled materials (PCR ,2019). Most printing companies have opted for digital printing presses that use less power, require fewer chemicals and use biodegradable toner. Recycling printing paper is both more accessible and more affordable than before (Sarwar & Sarwar ,2021b). Some eco-friendly pieces are toned as carbon neutral, and for that paper, companies support environment-friendly products that produce the paper's carbon impact (Cook ,2019). The green printing techniques include using tree-free paper and those alternatives papers such as wheat, straw and agricultural waste (Cook ,2019). The companies that have successfully applied sustainable printing in south Africa are Print it ZA (Print It ZA  ,2019 ).

                       Figure 3 : Sustainable Ink ( Mohawk ,2020)

Sustainable Ink

The successful application towards sustainable graphic design has been sustainable ink. Sustainable ink is vegetables and algae-based printing inks for paper for the planet. There are about 9 billion pounds of printing inks that are used every year. There are other alternatives to approximately 1.8 billion pounds of petroleum-based pigment in all the necessary inks (Mohawk ,2020). Eco-ink is low-VOC less than one; they are vegetable based and 70% renewable content. Vegetable-based inks are forego petroleum oil favours of more sustainable sources such as soy, linseed, tang, cottonseed and china wood oils; these types have been around for decades (BambooInk ,2018). Sustainability has a significant part in packaging converting, and much of it focuses on the subtracts and the substrate that takes up a lot of room in those landfills(Kalkowski ,2014). 

When they are not readily biodegradable, they are better off being recyclable.Inks have become the next significant issues in sustainable packaging even though they inks constitute such a small part of the packaging, and they make such a significant impact. Sustainable ink is the type of ink that should not contain harmful materials to human health through exposure and the environment (Kalkowski ,2007). Going green will benefit from potential saving in reduced energy, but it will also gain a massive boost in branding. There are different types of sustainable ink, like eco-friendly latex; it is considered by many to be the next best thing when it comes to eco-friendly printing technologies (Contributor ,2019). Latex ink is water-based, therefore making it orderless and hazard-free for workers in the printing area. Instead of the standard heavy metal-laced pigment, the colourants, if a latex ink is contained in resins, dissolve from the heat and form a firmly fixed membrane on the printing medium. There is eco-solvent, a greener alternative to more traditional inks that use strong solvents with higher organic compound content (Contributor , 2019 ). There is Biodegradable ink, and that is vegetable-based oil and soya. The vegetable oil and soy-based ink quality are comparable to that of any solvent-based ink. Vegetable and soy-based inks also release much lower levels of VOCs into the atmosphere. The companies that have successfully applied sustainable ink within south Africa is Print It ZA and greener printer that uses soy and other vegetable-based inks that are less harmful to the environment than their petroleum-based counterparts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, The essay has focused on the pros and cons of sustainability and looked over various definitions of sustainability. The overview of sustainability is using less exotic resources that will be better for the harmful for human. The Highlight of the essay is that sustainability is vitally important for the environment. It should be considered within graphic design, making the necessary changes compromising future generations' ability to meet their own need (Mason ,2014).

Reference List

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Matthew MasonMG Mason has a BA in Archaeology and MA in Landscape Archaeology, both from the University of Exeter. A personal interest in environmental science grew alongside his formal studies and eventually formed part of his post-graduate degree where he studied both natural and human changes to the environment of southwest England; his particular interests are in aerial photography. He has experience in GIS (digital mapping) but currently works as a freelance writer as the economic downturn means he has struggled to get relevant work. He presently lives in southwest England. (2014). What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important? | EnvironmentalScience.org. Environmental Science. https://www.environmentalscience.org/sustainability 

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