5 Ways to Build your Self-confidence when Choosing Sustainable Papers

Boost Your Design Expertise: Embrace Sustainable Paper Selection and Impactful Eco-Certifications with Confidence.

Are you a designer looking to communicate clearly and confidently to your clients about the benefits of choosing sustainable paper? With the mission to support people and the environment alike, I’ve put together a list of 5 ways to not only increase your knowledge and save time, but help take your confidence to the next level.

1. Get familiar with paper

The number one way to build self-confidence in any area of your life is to simply increase your knowledge in the subject matter. Start your search by looking at different paper manufacturers and merchants and get familiar with all the types of papers they offer. Some of my favourite go-to’s would include G . F Smith, Fedrigoni, Pergraphica, Winter & Company and Fenner Paper. They all offer a variety of sustainable options and something unique for every print project. You could even include looking for some local handmade papers too! Take note of the paper names that have peaked your interest, why you like them (make your selection personal) and what weights are available (always an important piece of information when you’re making your final selection for print).

2. Know what’s what, with environmental certifications

With the list of paper names, choose your top 10 you'd most like to use in your next print project, and dig a little deeper to see which environmental certifications they are awarded with and what each certification means. For e.g FSC, Wind-powered, Carbon neutral and Blue Angel to name just a few. You will soon find there’s a lot of crossovers when it comes to papers and what makes them sustainable, so rest assured there won’t be too many you need to learn about. For a handy go-to-guide, I have created a download with the top 25+ most common eco certifications in my Domesika course to help you speed up your decision-making process and select with confidence in knowing what's what!

3. Free Sustainable Paper Guide

I did that exact process and put together my top 10 favourite sustainable papers, which you can download here for free. Why not use this as template to create yours!

4. Get your hands on samples

Now this is where the fun part starts! With your favourite sustainable papers chosen, get hands on. Most paper merchants and manufacturers would be happy to post to you single sheet samples, and/or swatch books so you can really get a feel for what the paper is like. To help you make the final selection when it
comes to printing, what I love to do is to create real size mock-ups to get a true representation of the final finished printed pieces. Even if you don’t have a size or format in mind yet, now is a great time to experiment and have a play to see what sizes and formats you like, and decide which would work best with the content you need to design with. I always keep past sample mock-ups, as you never know when another project comes along and ta-da — you’ve got a sample mock-up already made : )

5. Ask an expert

When you’re learning a new subject or want to become an expert in a particular field of design, one of the best ways to learn is from other designers doing what you want to do. So don’t be afraid to ask questions, approach someone you admire and just ask for some advice. Even with 15 years in the industry designing
for print, I’m still curiously asking questions and open to learning about new papers and new print technologies that come available. In my Domestika course "Sustainable Stationery Design for Print" you will not only learn more about sustainable papers, but how to apply sustainable circular design principles to develop a set of stationery — including the full process from idea generation and design, to print production and carbon balancing — so why not come join me to shake up the print world?! : )