Design 21: Social Design Network

Wild Rose Illustration

Continuum Design did a worthy study of real consumers and their feelings about green products. First, I'm impressed with the reported size and extent of the study - 7,000 people online plus an ethnography component. I'm also impressed that they are giving away a portion of their insights to the design community. Basically, these are some ideas that we've kicked around at Ecco Design. Consumers all say they care about the environment when asked, but usually they act with their pocketbooks in mind. The environment is "out there" and easy easily forgotten. Connecting with ideas of immediate health, frugality and direct environmental benefit (less trash, easier recycling) connect more directly with consumers than mere energy efficiency, water usage or an abstract idea about "sustainability".

yep...it's true. We've been warned.

Nathan Shedroff is clearly a powerhouse of Design. I enjoyed reading this post on Core77 today...but I don't think I like this idea:

And what does sustainability really mean? In 1987 it meant: "Use and development that meets today's needs without preventing those needs from being met by future generations." But today, Shedroff thinks it means "Don't do things today that make tomorrow worse." And if you have more stubborn people you have to convince, add "...for your kids."

If the bar is set to "don't make things worse" how will anything get better? It may be a fantasy of Cradle to Cradle that shoes can sow seeds as they break down, or concrete can clean the air, but we need to think of things that do more than keep the status quo. As Dr. Horrible said: the status is NOT quo.

I heard this on the BBC World Service this morning...the 2009 Landfill Awards are out!

The list is a lighthearted gathering of generally evil, wasteful devices. I take some issue at the Prius being on this list - it might not be as good as biking, but it's a step in the right direction for cars.

My firm has been working on the Bug Labs platform for some time now, and I'm glad to see it getting some of the attention it deserves. I think more focus can be given to the Green aspects of this design - you buy modules you want, instead of a whole new machine. This is similar to the drive to have universal cellphone chargers. When your cellphone breaks, the charger, while perfectly good, goes into the trash. Bug Labs allows to you to add or subtract functionality, or share with your friends, more easily. Many of my designer friends have resisted buying multifunction printers for this reason. The print heads die quickly - but the scanner still works...so you wind up with a choice - buy all new, keep a GIANT scanner with a useless printer or...? Some manufacturers let you replace the print heads more easily, but this is far from standard. Make electronics more modular and people can upgrade, replace and grow their tech while staying more environmentally friendly and economical.