Design Sustainability

During class today we watched a documentary film by Gary Hustwit entitled, Objectified (2009). This film discusses industrial design and how it is mass produced. Hustwit interviews many different designers who work for design firms, how they interpret the idea of mass produced design and how they approach design as a working designer. Some of the companies that were mention were Smart Design, IDEO, and even Apple, Ikea and Target.

The idea of design was approached very differently by each person interviewed. Some mentioned that a design is produced, and they try to make their design better by using it and eventually they improve it. Other designers mentioned how they can make a design get better the more you use it which plays into the idea of sustainability in design.

I found from this film, that the idea of sustainability was the most important message. Many products are produces and are quickly improved, so they older version of the product is quickly dismissed. This constant improvement, even though it can be a positive thing for some products, is some thing that needs to be constricted. Products should use more sustainable material so they can either be biodegradable or even be reused. In the film, the design firm IDEO, was discussing the design of a toothbrush and how they are used throughout a person's lifetime. Because a person uses hundreds or even thousands of toothbrushes in their life, IDEO was trying to re-design them to be more sustainable. Briefly seeing what this design firms ideas were, I started thinking about how a toothbrush could be improved.

I thought about electric toothbrushes, and how they can be reused. But then I thought about how the use of batteries is not very sustainable. Batteries have to be thrown out after use, or the toothbrush might have to be plugged in to charge, which in turn wastes energy. Then I thought about how maybe the power source could be solar powered. That is a sustainable option for the power source, but what about the actual bristles on the brush? Can they made to dissolve over time? or can the be made to be biodegradable? Or what about washable plastic? Just thinking about how a toothbrush can be improved to be more sustainable is just the beginning of the design process.

This type of design process in the film was a great way to think about how I will work as a designer. Thinking about how design can improve an object, but not only improve a person's life, and improve their impact on the earth as well. I think sustainable design is a great way to think as a designer, and IDEO and the other companies mentioned in the film are moving in that positive direction.

Image: crest canada, 2009