Task 2d Vedio Reflection: Designing for life (Episode 1)

The TV program Designing for life is quite exciting and inspiring. When watching the program, I am getting to understand the philosophy of Philippe Starck and testing myself. At the beginning of the show, he said he believed that design is the power to change the society, and every designer need to question if they need to design more products. Sustainability is one important aspect of his philosophy for design. Before designing a product, designer need to ask themselves if the product is necessary to the world. As for me, this question is difficult to answer. Every time I decide to design or redesign a product, I just go for it without asking if we need it or not. The reason is that It is difficult to justify, rather than wasting time on struggling, I would go for it and let others justify it for me. This is not right for a good designer, but I know it is a process of learning and a good reason for designing is important. Actually people who designing is blind for the work at hand, and asking others to tell is a good way to take you out of the box.

Simplicity is another philosophy that Philippe Starck claims. What I know about simplicity is to design as less as possible. Using simple forms and make things simple and easy for everyone. Philippe Starck's well kn owed Salif Juicer  is in so simple form and perform its function well. It expresses simplicity thoroughly. Before making the product simple, we have to know the complexity of it. Understand the parts and functions, understand what is necessary and the interaction with users are vital in making things simple.  In the way of seeking to design less, we have to practise a lot and know the story behind the product. That is the aim of the excerise that appeared in the first episode. Students were asked to choose two products that based on their chosen theme. Function, ecology and gender are the themes that can be chose. I was impressed by the student named Nebil who chose a joy stick and a multi function socket set to represent male and female. His understanding of this two products is that they means different attributes of male and female.He said the five extension lines of the multi function socket meant five attributes like love,intelligence, philosophy that female have, while male was more direct and the attributes can be seen at the buttons of the joy stick. It is really interesting to see product in this way and the story in terms of gender is quite impressive and interesting. As what Philippe commented, we do not need to think, but just to receive what the product tells. Understanding the spirit of the product is good for us to design it that express the language and what we want to convey to the customers.

Designing for life shows the reality of what a product designer should be, and I see the passion and spirit behind the legend in product design. "We are not artist, we should be proud that what we can do to the society", even though sometimes it is frustrated, it deserves when watching the finished work at hand.

Project 2 Reflective essay

Project 2 details posted on Susanna Li's blog.

Reflective essay
Designing a product service system is different from designing a pure product. A product service system contains intangible service and tangible products. Designing a product service system, we should design the service too. Take our water station for example, we not only design the machine, but also design the payment system, how people put money into the account, a network for people to buy resuable bottles, and how and when our company replace the filters and CO2 box. Designing the products are important too. The resuable bottles and the machine at the apartment lobby should interact together and get more people use our system.

I think PSS is a good strategy for industrial designers. It encourage collaborative consumption and reduce the production of products. Designing a system that can reduce the manufacturing of  a lot of products can reduce the environmental impact greater. And I think it is changing the consumers behaviors and it is a way of sustainable consumption. Moreover, PSS can add value to product life cycle, which reduce waste. Manufactruing needs lot of energy and cause waste of materials, making less manufacturing is a better way to help the earth.

Designing a PSS take more effort than designing a product. Wheather it is beneficial and accepted by consumers, and wheather the PSS bring profits, these are questions that we are thinking when designing a product service system. I think the most interesting aspect of designing a PSS is thinking the way people interacting with the system, and also ways for behavior change. Just like our proposed PSS, we want to shape the users experience, so we are thinking ways to make the machine funny and have different ways of interacting with users. One concept is to have funny interface on the screen and tell people the importance of drinking water daily. Also, users can order resuable bottles online and choose their color and print funny logos on the bottle. This part of design is the part that I like most. What I like least about is designing the products that suitable for lot of users. Because it is used by group of people, there are lot of issues that we should consider. Like our PSS, the machine is located in the lobby and how it is suitable for children, adult and disable people is difficult. And also how to avoid the lekage of water that may result in slippery in the lobby is also issue that we are struggling.

The advantages of PSS design is that it brings more people into sustainable consumption and reduce the production of products. By making the service in the system accessible,effective and attractive, more and more people will get involved in and change people's consumption pattern. The disadvantages may be the wrong demand of products in the system and whether it is sustainable in the long run. Designing a PSS, the demand of the products that in the system is important for determining if it is sustainable or not. Like carsharing, if the company produces too much cars and exceeds the demand, there will be waste of production and result in environmental problems too.

This project is challenging and interesting, designing a PSS is difficult, but it is good to have a group and everyone can devote their ideas. I get better understanding of what PSS is and I think this will help me in the future design. I learned lot of techniques for behavior change, and also techniques for a good PSS. Through lot of research, I know more about how to be a responsible consumer and will take more action in the future. After this exercise, It is more clear that where I should pay attention to when I am going to design a PSS in the future.

Task2c Video reflection: Home

The beautiful and impressive movie HOME, captures the stunning beauty of our planet, asking all the human being to take action to protect our only home, the earth. The balance of the planet is broken. The vast usage of natural resources, deforestation, agriculture...these are destorying the cycle of lifes and they are all human activities that should be changed immediately. It is sad to learn that 20% of the population is using 80% of the earth resources, there are still billions of people lacking safe drinking water, suffering hunger, there are climate refugees waiting for help, and they are resulting from the activities that we are doing. "Ecosystem has no borders", what we are doing is affecting people living thousands miles away. To help the world, we should start by ourselves,start sustainable consumption, and start influencing people around us.That is what I learn from this vedio, stop being a pessimist, take action.

Actually, the problems and damage of the earth is not difficult to see nowadays, we feel the threat but we just lack motivation to act. A lot of people is worrying the earth when they see the disasters that happen around the world. However, when the disaster gone, they are still doing the same thing as before. I think the most diffcult thing is to change the mind of the people. But if we can not change their mind ratically, we can change what they buy, the products. Make the products greener, gradually change their mind by the products at hand. Just like what we did in this semister, designing product service system, get people involved in the system and having fun with it, meanwhile, they are protecting the earth and doing what they are happy and willing to do. I think helping them do things unconciously is better than telling them what you should do to protect the earth. Small steps make great effect, I think changing one or two products may not seen the great impact of it on earth, but  seeing it as a whole system in the world, the impact will be great.

As a designer, knowing the problems is the first step, but making good solution is always the most important and diffcult step. Our mission is to help more and more people wake up, like the vedio did, and get them involved in protecting the earth by taking real actions.As it said in the vedio, "stop drilling the earth, look into the sky", it is saying that using renewable energy instead of oil for production. Companies want to make profits, whatever the products are green or not. So even if we want to design the products greener, we should think it in a beneficial way, which make profits to the company too, otherwise the solution is not sustainable in long run. I thought industrial designer was just designing forms that looks good, however, it is lot more than I thought. After what learned, I think I am getting clear and seeking ways to make better design.

PEER COMMENTS

Julia Xiao
Emily Soares
Fiona Lee
Susanna Li
Wang fanru

Project 1 Designing for disaster

Disaster selected: 1998 China Yangtze River flood

Emergency phase: Recovery, Relief

Design solution: Collapsable water pasteurization bucket

Cost: RMB 20

Rationale

Problem discovery
After floods, water is always contaminated by flood water. Water-borne disease always happened after flood, because the lack of fresh water. The 1998 Yangtze river flood happened in both urban and rural areas of China. The urban areas have much stronger construction and the water supply after disaster was quickly supported by government. However, for rural areas that affected by floods, weak houses were destroyed by floods and people were displaced to higher places. Water was in needs and the supply of bottle water was huge. The transportation of water is also difficult because roads were destroyed by floods too.

Design solution
My solution to this problem is to design a collapsable water pasteurization bucket for these poor people. The collapsable bucket can save places for transportation and increase the efficiency of transportation of relief supplies. The filtration method chosen was solar power water pasteurization, which is easy to operate and durable. Solar rate is high within latitude 15-35, where Yangtze river areas is located in. The principle of water pasteurization is simple and the bucket is reusable and durable. So solar pasteurization is suitable for this emergency situation.

                                                     Basic water pasteurization set up

 The color chosen was green. The reason is that it can remind people of the shape of lotus leaf, which means peace and relief in Chines people's mind. Also, lotus leaf has the ability of holding water and the shape is beautiful, it is good for people after disaster to have this bucket, not only for its function of water pasteurization, but also for the aesthetic and the mind relief that mean to them.

For the culturally suitability, I also look into the way that people live in rural area lift water. Research found that they used to hold water on their shoulder, using a strong bamboo stick or by bamboo made basket. The reason is that they can hold more water and it is good for long way walking. So my design was to make the bucket lift on shoulder and culturally suitable for these people.

Material selected are environmental friendly and will not increase the burden of the areas. The support for the bucket is bamboo sheet, which can be locally produced. 

Benefits

The benefit of this design is that it can solve the problem of fresh water scarcity after disaster. People can support themselves by using the bucket. It can be easily transported than bottle water, and it is sustainable. After people go back to their home, they can still use this bucket to filter water, because water facility in rural area is still in lack and people have to walk a long way to fetch water. The bucket can also help them improve their living standard and reduce the risk of water-borne disease.

Reflection

This project was challenging and reminds me of the responsibility to the society as being a designer. Disaster is inevitable but the power of human can overcome the disaster. Disaster happened in rural areas usually have larger impact on the people there. It is important for us to design things for these poor people and improve their living standard. I think the best design only come after entering into the life of these people, you will know what they really need in front of you, but not by pictures. If I can go to the disaster stricken areas and help them, I will learn more about the situation and give a better design. 

I also learn from this project the importance of research. It is only after you have a good research of the situation then you can have a better understanding of what happened. A lack of research may result in low practicality of the products, which means that you did not solve the problem for these people. So if I can do this project again, I will do more research and refine my product to improve the practicality of my design. 

In this project, I also find my weakness of communication skills, which i will focus on in my next project. Moreover, sketch model is important of testing the design and help a lot in refining the design. So I will make more effort in these and improve my design skills.