Designing sustainable digital experiences
This article was originally published on the Matter and Meaning Blog on the 5th of MAY 2023
“If the Internet was a country, it would be the 4th largest polluter”
In this article, we will dive into the world of environmentally friendly UI/UX design. As we work to tackle the challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation, we as designers are going to have a crucial role in creating digital experiences with as little negative environmental impact as possible. The main ideas and methods of digital sustainable design will be covered in this article, along with a list of tools and methods designers use to include sustainability in their projects. Thus, read on to learn more about this critical and relevant topic whether you're an experienced UX professional or are just starting out in the area!
Climate change is the biggest threat this planet is facing. The internet is a big part of the problem and a driving factor in carbon pollution. To provide some perspective, according to statistics, the typical American spends 11 hours and 54 minutes per day online, potentially streaming video. If one streaming hour is comparable to approximately 100 grams of CO2, that is a significant amount of CO2: 1,200 grams per day. That’s the same amount needed for charging 146 smartphones or travelling three miles.
There are other problems besides just the enormous demand for electricity. Technology is, and will always be, political. Many products are not inclusive and accessible, and biased data management and collection methods are often used.
These are some of the reasons that encouraged me to start my journey towards sustainable UI/UX design, with a particular focus on creating impactful designs for clients who share my passion for sustainability.
Sustainability at its core balances three factors: Planet, people, and profit.
During my master’s degree ‘Design for Planet’, I studied sustainable design. The go-to sustainable design strategies among others, are repairability, recyclability, design for disassembly, modularity, and longevity. These strategies were designed for physical product-driven design. As a digital communication designer, it can be challenging to see the impact I have on the planet since I do not work with physical products. However, design plays a role in transforming human behaviour. As a communication designer, I learnt to bring together different design angles to communicate a message to a wider audience. Recognizing the impact of design on human behaviour helped me develop a new perspective on sustainability in a social context and how to create a connection with environmental and economic aspects.
When I started my own design studio, I made the decision to work only with clients who want to create an impact. Recently, while working on a website for a solar energy company, I realized that when it came to web design there was a missing piece in my own design principles. Since I have learnt about biases in technology and marketing I am very aware of working toward equity and ethics in design. So far though, I had failed to include the ecological component in my own principles for digital design. Consequentially, I started learning more about sustainability within UI and UX design. I would like to share some valuable insights and tools to help make your process more sustainable and beneficial for your clients.
“Sustainable design is the approach to creating products and services that have considered the environmental, social, and economic impacts from the initial phase through to the end of life.” (Acarogulu, 2020)
Tools for sustainability within UI/UX design
When it comes to UI & UX we have to re-think design strategies for sustainability. This means looking at everything - from the energy consumption of servers to the accessibility and longevity of our designs.
“Design is never neutral. Each of your design decisions enables or restricts the ways in which people interact with the technology and information.”
Three factors in all sustainable design practices always overlap - Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility. These factors are crucial for digital designers to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background or abilities, have equal access to information and services online.
Here’s how you can include Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility in your design process.
Let’s start off with a brief overview of including the ecological factor of sustainability in your design.
“Sustainable web design is an approach to designing web services that puts people and planet first. It delivers digital products and services that respect the principles of the Sustainable Web Manifesto: clean, efficient, open, honest, regenerative, and resilient.”
The point of sustainable design in general is not to avoid a negative impact on the environment – but to leave a positive impact on the world. This approach does not only start by reducing carbon emissions, but it also goes much further than that.
Have you thought about your design experiences having a positive impact? How might your use of marketing personas reproduce or challenge racial or gender biases? What is the impact of your choice of fonts on energy consumption?
The big and small factors all matter. Energy-efficient technology matters. The choice of Fonts and colours matters. Readability matters. Usability matters. Autoplay matters. Efficiency matters. Data matters. Your design choices matter.
Some of these sustainable practices happen to also impact other parts of your development process positively. By efficiently optimizing and compressing pictures/multimedia for web use, Designers can reduce the impact on energy consumption. This is a practice from which SEO (search engine optimization) ranking can also profit significantly.
But it's not just about what we do as designers. It's also about who we work with. That's why I'm passionate about collaborating with impact clients who share my values and are committed to creating positive change in the world. By working together, we can create digital experiences that not only delight users, but also contribute to a more sustainable future.
I invite you to join me on this journey whether you're someone who is passionate about sustainability or a fellow designer who is interested in sustainability.
