I’ve been deep in research on regenerative design for a while now — chairs, furniture production, bioregional supply chains — and someone recently shared a schedule of workshops happening at this year’s ICFF in May that stopped me in my tracks. Not because it was magical or revolutionary, but because it was so specific. Repair. Reuse. Carbon literacy. Paints made from minerals instead of petroleum.

And I thought: okay, awesome, but what does this mean for graphic designers?

Most of it comes down to something designers already do and mostly ignore: specification.

Regeneration — Use your platform to make regenerative supply chains visible. Design that explains where things come from and how they return. That’s a graphic design problem.

Repair — Design for longevity. Identity systems that don't become obsolete because you chased a trend. Modular systems that can be updated without being scrapped. The opposite of fast-fashion branding, which… is most branding.

Reuse — Work with found or archival material. Build systems that are genuinely reusable. Lean into open source, public domain, creative commons, etc. Specify reprinting on existing stock instead of always starting fresh.

Carbon reduction — Print specification is where graphic designers have more leverage than almost anyone realizes. Paper choice, ink type, run size, local vs. overseas printing, finishing. Lamination alone is a disaster. Digitally: page weight, hosting, image compression. Embodied carbon in a print job is real and calculable. Most of us just don't bother to calculate it.

Renewing with plants and minerals — Specify bio-based materials. Agri-fiber papers. Algae-based or plant-based inks. Mineral coatings instead of UV varnish or plastic laminate. These exist. They’re increasingly less hard to find. Just ask for them.

None of this requires becoming a different kind of designer. It requires becoming a more deliberate one.

See for yourself: https://icff.com/fair/healthy-materials-lab/ and https://healthymaterialslab.org/events/materials-exhibition-and-workshops-at-icff

More on all of this soon.

Thanks, KB