There is a growing awareness that the internet is not weightless. It consumes energy and produces emissions. Recent estimates suggest that digital technologies, including data centres and networks, are responsible for a measurable share of global carbon emissions, often cited around three to four percent.

Research indicates that the average website can emit around 0.36 grams of CO₂ per page view, meaning that a site with ten thousand monthly visits can be responsible for approximately forty three kilograms of CO₂ per year.

Most of that impact comes from data transfer, media weight and inefficient design choices. Sustainable design is therefore not a metaphor. It is a material responsibility.

What digital sustainability really means

Sustainable web design focuses on three intertwined dimensions:

• Energy efficiency - Reducing data transfer and unnecessary computation lowers the electricity required to serve and consume digital products.
• Human clarity - Reducing cognitive overload, distracting patterns and complex flows saves time and attention, which are also scarce resources.
• Longevity - Designing systems that can be maintained and extended avoids the waste of repeated rebuilds.

At Hoko Hoko, sustainability is not only an environmental concern. It is also a design and engineering principle. A sustainable product is one that does not waste energy, time or attention.

Reducing digital carbon through simplicity and efficiency

Research on sustainable web development consistently highlights a key relationship: less data transfer equals lower emissions. This is where performance engineering and sustainability intersect.

Some practical implications:

• Compress and optimise images, since they often account for a large share of page weight
• Remove unused scripts and libraries that add load time without adding value
• Favour typography, colour and layout over heavy visual effects when they are not essential
• Design content architectures that avoid unnecessary page loads

These practices do not only reduce emissions. They also improve user experience and search performance, because faster sites keep users engaged and are preferred by search engines.

Sustainability as reduction of cognitive and structural waste

Environmental impact is only one part of sustainability. There is also the question of mental and organisational waste.

Every unnecessary interaction, unclear layout or complicated flow consumes user attention without creating value. Every unstructured interface increases the cost of training, support and onboarding.

A sustainable design ethic asks: Can the user reach their goal in fewer steps, Is every element on this screen earning its place, Are we adding features that look impressive but dilute the core value of the product.

When we design interfaces for complex systems, such as decarbonisation platforms or monitoring tools used by public officials, we treat simplicity as a duty. The easier it is to read a dashboard or act on an insight, the more effective the system becomes in practice.

Design systems that support long term sustainability

Sustainability also depends on what happens after launch. Design systems play a key role here. A well constructed design system:

• Reduces the need to redesign elements repeatedly
• Keeps interfaces visually and behaviourally consistent
• Allows new features to be added without visual noise

This reduces both design effort and the risk of creating confusing experiences over time. It also lowers technical waste, since reusable components can be implemented once and refined gradually.

For Hoko Hoko, building design systems is part of building sustainable products. It allows clients to adapt and extend their platforms while keeping clarity and efficiency intact.

The Hoko Hoko perspective on sustainable design

Our work with sectors such as sustainability, public infrastructure and long lived brands has reinforced a simple insight: Sustainable design is not an aesthetic trend. It is a practical framework for building digital products that use less energy, respect users' time and attention, remain maintainable for years, and align with the values of organisations that care about long term impact.

We approach every project with this mindset. From choosing lighter interaction patterns to designing information architecture that prevents redundancy, from performance conscious engineering to thoughtful visual systems, our goal is to reduce every form of waste that does not serve the user or the mission.

That is what it means for us to embed sustainability into design. It is not a campaign. It is craft.

Topics

Share this article