Application of emotional design thinking to propose efficient changes to the specifications of technology, with the aim of reducing their negative environmental impact. The article highlights the negative environmental impact of using white themed papers within the digital landscape as a result of the unconscious emotional attachment humans have with technology.

1. Black Paper
by
Akinwale Arokodare
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2. Letter to my Dad
Its the middle of a cold night, and I am staring at my PC screen, glancing
at an email received from my Dad about 3 weeks earlier. Notwithstanding
the broad darkness that wrapped herself around the vacant Lagos streets,
I found myself actively searching for the mental strength to draft a
supposedly long-awaited response to him. A reluctant effort that required
significant struggle, I must say. However, despite the formidable internal
battle with hesitation & procrastination, letters turned into words, words to
sentences, and sentences became a scanty but precise 1-pager with
contents well dressed up to mask feelings of hurt, disgust and bitterness.
Strangely though, completing the herculean task of drafting a response
didn't bring the mental & emotional reward I was expecting. Rather, I felt
uncomfortable just thinking of the possibility that the recipient will end up
printing my email. What a waste of beautiful trees, I thought. This was
someone who had the habit of printing everything. Those little ecological
friendly text signatures located at the bottom of emails advising recipients
to refrain from unnecessary printing wouldn’t cut it.
My Approach
Out of my genuine love and connection with earth, I prompted to protect
Her beauty in my own little way by editing the email response before
sending. My aim was to reduce the probability of the recipient printing my
email. I changed the page background color to black, changed the color of
the text/content to white. Exported as a PDF, hit Send. Oh, I included a
footer & header text stating the following;
This document was created with a black background intentionally. Reduce Deforestation. Save the Earth
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3. A drop in the Ocean
Albeit a personal effort towards making a positive impact on the
environment, an effort which is largely insignificant when compared with
the current prevalent environmental conditions, most especially the. effect
of paper waste. According to statistical data at theworldcounts’s online
website, the global consumption of paper from 2001 to 2019 amounts to
386 million hectares of forest lost . This loss represents 10% decrease in
trees since year 2000. Considering that about 93% of paper comes from
trees, this amounts to a huge loss of our beautiful nature.
This loss fueled my desire for a more sensitive and emotional approach
towards the use of paper. An approach that’s applied at the roots of the
human mind, rather than at the roots of beautiful trees.
A sad Acceptance
I noticed a link between the rate of deforestation and the emotional
attachment humans have with paper. Its one of unconscious acceptance
of social/technological norms. We are so used to seeing white background
themed papers on the digital screens that we do not cringe at the sight of
piles of wasted paper within our personal space. Talk less of hectares of
forests amounting to millions.
This “collective unconscious” acceptance of a digital theme spirals into
series of occurrences that have far-reaching negative impact on our
physical environment. One could argue that such dilemma is one of the
hidden negative impact of technology on society,
A sad fairytale, I must say. The erosion of human freedom, dignity, and
potential by technology.
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4. The illustrations below describe the various emotional states towards
different scenarios.
Image 1
Image 1 above describes the emotional state of an individual observing a
digital screen with white page.
Image 2
Image 2 above describes the emotional state of an individual observing
piles of wasted paper (white page background), and with varied ink usage
/coverage.
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5. Image 3
Image 3 changes the scenario significantly by filling 98% of the white
paper with ink. So basically, imagine walking into an office space and
seeing piles of wasted paper all covered in ink. Front and back sides,
including the top, bottom and side borders. All covered in ink.
Images 2 & 3 could capture the same amount of paper but deliver very
different emotional responses. Surprisingly though, the emotional
responses of surprise, guilt and shame become present when there is
significant presence of Ink (i.e. absence of visible white paper) as shown
in Image 3.
Despite the distinct emotional responses in scenario 2 &3, the loss of
beautiful trees is the same.
A black background changes human behavior, consciousness and
awareness towards the effects of waste, by placing the processes that
instigate the required emotional responses before the relevant actions
(such as printing) are committed.
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6. Collective drops of Empathy
Altering a behavioral pattern that’s been unconsciously accepted by
majority on a global scale would require major effort from much of the
population. A united and consequential endeavor hinged on the waves of
sensitivity for planet Earth and Her inhabitants. The required drive for
change will involve major shift in how we think and feel towards ourselves.
Imaging turning on your device, launching Microsoft Office Word or
PowerPoint, you are welcomed with a black themed paper. Your
expressions are recorded on the screen as white text outlines. Hitting Ctlr-
P becomes a decision that requires you to feel & think before you act. You
wouldn’t want people to see that you used up the printer ink, would you?
Imagine a world where digital signatures are the norm. Internal memos,
corporate letter heads, formal & informal letters, quotations, proposals,
invoices, bills, etc. All products of digital desktop publishing, mostly
circulated and contained within the digital space. Rather than littering,
degrading, and destroying our personal space.
Objectively speaking, my actions alone will not be enough to cause
significant improvement in the reduction of deforestation and the overall
effects of climate change. Nevertheless, my experience and subtle plea
could shed light on the possibilities achievable when humanity feels rather
than thinks.
#blackpaper
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