Massimo Vignelli describes modernism as the

“commitment against greed, commercialization, exploitation, vulgarization and cheapness.” †

In essence the sustainability movement is modernism with a new name. The green movement is against greed (or gathering materials beyond the essentials), against commercialization (and instead about going local), against exploitation (which means supporting fair work environments), and against cheapness (which means using durable/reusable products instead of wasteful ones such as plastic bags).

The true similarity between these two concepts is the attitude rather than the visual style. Modernism is not about always using a grid, and sustainability is not about using natural colors and the word “green” in marketing text.

It’s kind of ironic that the corporate style borrowed so much from the aesthetics of modernism—and now again—it’s borrowing from the “aesthetics” of sustainable living in order to sell more products.

What role does the designer play? I believe that the designer knows not to waste, at least that’s what schools are trying to pursue in their teachings. Do the designers need to educate others? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it seems to be more important for a designer to understand, that these are attitudes towards design, instead of styles to use.

† Read Vignelli’s article Long Live Modernism in the book Looking Closer.