AIGA’s “Living Principles for Design” introduce quadruple bottom line for design and business

MEMPHIS, October 9, 2009. AIGA, the professional association for design, unveiled a new sustainability framework, The Living Principles for Design, at the AIGA Design Conference today. The Living Principles distill the collective wisdom found in decades of sustainability theories and bring them to life in the first quadruple-bottom-line framework.

The Living Principles weave together environmental protection, social equity, and economic health—thus building upon commonly accepted, triple-bottom-line frameworks. Most significantly, the Living Principles for Design incorporate cultural vitality because culture is where all aspects of sustainability find their way into the bloodstream of society, and culture is where designers have the deepest impact as their creations and choices shape habits and values.

“The influence of design on culture is enormous,” said Richard Grefé, AIGA executive director. “As designers create messages, artifacts and experiences for consumers, they have an important opportunity to weave sustainability into the broader fabric of culture, helping to shift consumption and lifestyle aspirations to a more sustainable basis for living.”

Environmental iconoclast Adam Werbach notes, “The Living Principles are incredibly useful for designers as they make sustainability endemic to their work. Right now, the battle is getting people to understand that cultural vitality is as central to sustainability as environmental protection. The Living Principles do an elegant job of clarifying these concepts and making them accessible.”

The AIGA Center for Sustainable Design and AIGA, the professional association for design, will submit the Living Principles for global adoption at the Icograda Xin World Design Conference in Beijing later this month.

The Living Principles framework and the comprehensive analysis that led to it are available at www.livingprinciples.net and www.sustainability.aiga.org. The architects/authors of this framework are AIGA Center for Sustainable Design (CFSD) co-chairs Gaby Brink and Phil Hamlett, and CFSD’s strategy committee chair, Nathalie Destandau.

About AIGA

AIGA, the professional association for design, is the premier place for design—to discover it, discuss it, understand it, appreciate it, be inspired by it.

AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. AIGA stimulates thinking about design through journals, conferences, competitions and exhibitions; demonstrates the value of design to business, the public and government officials; and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers by providing invaluable educational and social resources.

Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design. AIGA now represents more than 22,000 design professionals, educators and students through national activities and local programs developed by 64 chapters and 240 student groups. AIGA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution.

For further information, please contact:
Jennifer Bender
Manager, communications and marketing
AIGA | the professional association for design
Tel 212 807 1990   Fax 212 807 1799