Catherine Bell

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Sustainability

I designed a physical product with sustainability front and center.
People would love to buy more sustainable products, especially for their homes and personal spaces, but they often don't have eco-friendly options. The framed print business is a great example - non-recyclable polyester, large amounts of cheap wood, and large shipping impact.

Project:
A sustainable custom print and framing shop
Client:
My own small business

Sustainability design principle #1: Consciously choose materials.
Our art prints are printed on a recyclable non-woven polyester fabric made from pressed recycled PET fibers from plastic bottles. It's durable, water-resistant and matte. It’s earth-friendly, and can be recycled again! Our frames are made of bamboo -- the fastest-growing plant on earth, which can be continuously re-harvested without damage to the plant or its surrounding ecosystem. By using high-quality art and framing materials made from renewable resources, our small business helps to maintain earth and our atmosphere for future generations–reducing CO2 emissions, deforestation, and loss of natural habitat for more breathable air and a hopeful future.
Sustainability design principle #2: Consider all of a products impacts and lifespan.
By using a hanging frame, we were able to roll up the print for shipping, saving tons of weight and shipping materials (thereby using less gas in the shipping process). The frame also has a trending modern minimal style and super easy one-point hanging design that fixed a common pain point for customers.
We chose nature and biology-themed prints, like this Blue Heron by James Audubon.
Drawings of various species of jellyfish from Ernst Haeckel's "Artwork of Nature". By choosing public domain images from the history of science, we found an audience already interested in sustainability, or at least curious.

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