Shame it only seems to have garnered two comments, but every little bit helps..
Can good design save newspapers? How about the environment?
Whilst tweaks in certain areas can always improve matters, I would suggest that form and function are essential complements and need to work together, especially when it comes to 'saving' anything. And certainly when it comes to the only thing the really matters: the substantive, end-benefit embracing, customer-pleasing product/content.
As certain events of late have proven, how things look, especially if it is at the expense of tangible delivery, can prove... retrograde in the longer term. Polishing a Terminally Unpopular/Unpleasant Rationale, Reprobate or Device springs to mind.
I am all for designers making the world greener, though.
And would encourage any and all initiatives to try and encourage this.
So long as it's more in the cause actually BEING it as opposed to just LOOKING it. That won't wash any more.
As you mention the genre, one area with great potential is packaging, and I am a great advocate of starting to look at designed-in initiatives from the outset.
However, you, your readers and even some designers might be interested in a little competition currently at Junkk.com called 'Here's One I RE:made Earlier'
A bit of fun, helping save a bit of money, time and, with luck... the planet:)
Now, despite it being online (I think that the impact of IT needs to be viewed vs. previous and even current alternatives before getting too excited about impacts, though efficiency/reduction improvements can always be made and are welcome - but I just squirted 10MB to London that before would have been on a courier or, worse, with a suit carrying a bag) who could argue with that little row of consumer crowd-pleasers as a positive, proactive design principle?
Especially when it can actually help with the marketing too.
