Project 2 - Technical Drawing

PROJECT 2 - Product Service System

“Your task is to design a sustainable product service system that would encourage changes towards environmentally positive and socially responsible behaviours in the community.”

Online shopping is a rapidly increasing means of purchasing goods, with no slowing down in sight. Convenience and a wider choice range are driving consumers to buy more and more goods online. A side effect of this trend is that more and more parcels are being shipped all the time, transporting these increasing online purchases to consumers. Even through mass increases in parcels being sent, and increases in technology, the traditional parcel delivery service has not adapted to keep up, leaving this an area screaming to be looked into further.

Traditional methods of parcel delivery involve items being packaged into plastic bags or cardboard boxes, which once used, are often recycled or thrown in the garbage. This one use mentality is not an environmentally sound one.

I created a product service system to better fit a rapidly increasing market in parcel delivery, that not only brings new technologies to a traditional system, but also teaches the idea of reuse beng the most environmentally friendly approach to used products.

My design gets rid of the current cardboard and replaces it with plastic. This might not sound like an environmentally friendly move, which it is not on a one use basis, but where cardboard can only be effectively reused in parcel delivery up to 5 times, the use of plastic along with the structural integrity of my design means that my design will last for a much longer life, eliminating the need to continually be recycling cardboard, or having it end up in landfill.

An RFID tag is inserted into every parcel, which allows not only for more accurate tracking of parcels, but also reduces errors in sorting, which can lead to lost parcels.

The way this system works starts out much the same as the current system. A customer will make an online purchase, which will be sent to a warehouse for processing. The warehouse will pack the items into a re:Parcel, and send the RFID tag information to the customer, who can then track progress via the re:Pacrel app. The delivery will happen much the same as currently, but if the customer is away from home, then they will be able to see if their parcel has been left at the door, or taken back to the post office, via the app. Once the customer has taken their items out, they place the re:Parcel back at the doorstep, and via the app activate that their used re:Parcel is now ready to be picked back up and used again. Once the “pick up now” function has been activated, it will send a message to delivery drivers in the area of the location of the used parcel, so they can pick it back up on their rounds. Once picked up, the parcel will be returned to a warehouse to be used again.

Project 1 - Cormack Innovation Awards

Brief
Focusing on a product or family of products within the beverage, food, personal care or pharmaceutical markets. Students are to submit a redesign of a current product/brand which is used by or for children under 11.
- Must incorporate a total pack.
- Products stating “for use to 12 years of age” will be accepted.
- Designs should be compliant and safe for children.
- A high‐volume fast‐moving consumer good.
- Contain at least one element of the closure system in plastic.
- The product/s to package should be available in supermarkets and/or pharmacies.
- Consider the cost of manufacture.
- New pack must help grow the company’s business and increase sales.
- Design should appeal to the major retailers as a strong potential product line for their “house brands”.
- Easy to use.
- Be “green” in their approach to manufacture: seek to reduce excess packaging where possible.
- Show innovation and benefit to the consumer.
- The design must comply with Australian Standards.

The Light-bulb Conspiracy

The Lightbulb Conspiracy

The Lightbulb Conspiracy is a documentary about the history of planned obsolescence. All products can eventually become obsolete, but planned obsolescence is when a product is designed to need replacing earlier than is necessary. In this documentary it used the example of the light bulb, which was one of the first products to be designed with a planned obsolescence. When Edison first had a light bulb in consumer production, it would last about 1500 hours, not long after light bulbs were being made that could last 2500 hours. At this time a group of light bulb manufactures from around the globe met, and it was agreed to make light bulbs last only 1000 hours, so they would have to be replaced more often. The documentary looks at how our economy and lifestyle is built on consumerism, which is powered by planned obsolescence. Without planned obsolesance, we would not see the economic growth that we do today, which at first might seem like a bad thing, who wants the economy to stop growing, right? But this documentary questions that belief. It is said "The earth is big enough to satisfy everyone's needs, but too small to satisfy individual greed".

This is an important documentary for designers in particular to watch, because it goes right to the core of our field. As designers we have the power to design products with or without planned obsolescence. All good designers have the ability to design quality products which are going to last for a long time, but it is not the simple. The company that a designer might work for might have a policy of a set planned obsolescence, so they might not have a choice as to whether or not they make a long lasting product. Even if they had the freedom to design a long lasting product, they might in fact be designing themselves out of a job. As designers, we have to be able to weigh up these different variable and make an informed design decision. This is the ethical question that all designers face.

The three take home points from this documentary are:
- Our economy currently depends on consumerism, which is driven by planned obsolescence
- While the western countries continue buying more, more frequently, developing counties becoming the dumping ground for our unwanted waste
- We live in a world of finite resources, and there needs to be a change in the way our economies work, which means we need to become less consumeristic and have access to long lasting products

Product Disassembly

In class we were put into groups of about 6, and each group was given a faulty product (donated by Breville) to disassemble. Our group was given an iron. It took us about 27 minutes to disassemble the product into different materials as best as we physically could. Below are photos of the different groups of materials from the iron.

After this exercise is was made clear a few improvements that could be made in terms of  recycle-ability and ability for repair. For recycle-ability, is is important that the different materials used in the product are easy to detach from one another, so they can be recycled more easily. To better this, we as a group decided that we could change the majority of the plastic parts (which are currently mostly polycarbonate and polypropylene) to be all one plastic (polypropylene) as to reduce the amount of things that need to be taken apart in the recycling process.

Also there are a few parts of the iron which are polypropylene with a silicon overmould. This means that it is very hard to recycle this part. These overmoulds are normally there to help with grip, so as an alternative to this, we decided that there could be textures moulded into the plastic instead.

The part of an iron we thought was the most likely to fail was the power cable. Because this is a difficult part to replace currently, the iron is usually thrown out instead of repairing it. To help make it easier to replace this part, we designed the power cable with a pull tab, so that if it breaks and is returned to Breville, it is easy to replace just that part instead of the whole iron.

The 11th Hour

The 11th Hour

The 11th Hour is a documentary about the effects that humans and human society is having and will have on the health of earth. This film was made a number of years ago, when the general public first stared to become concerned about the impact they were having on the earth, so most of the facts and figures showed are nothing new to someone today. This film was different to other similar documentaries though because of its slightly different focus. It was said that if the earth was created on 1st January, then humans only came along at 11.45pm on 31st December, and in this long history the earth and its climate had not stayed the same, but has always been changing. It is not unusual that we are experiencing changes in the climate, but we are however speeding this process up. The climate has always changed, but that includes the species that occupy it. Of all the species that have ever existed on the planet, 99.9999% of those are now extinct. This documentary claims that we will put the climate through such extensive change that the conditions on earth will no longer be able to support human life, and like nearly all species before us, we too will become extinct. The earth will be able to recover from the damage that we cause, because it has always recovered in the past, but it will be too late for humans.

This documentary is important for designers to watch for a few reasons. As designers we have the ability to create products that will either help out the environment or harm it. It is important for designers to understand how important it is to look after the planet so that they make wise decisions when they are choosing materials for the products they design. Designers have the opportunity to greatly effect the course of history. If every designer decided to only make products that were helpful to the environment, then consumers wouldn't have a choice but to buy environmentally friendly products. Imagine how helpful this would be to the environment.

The three main take home points from this documentary are:
- We need to think of the environment not as a resource, but as crucial to our survival
- If humans don't do something about their behaviour we will make ourselves extinct
- The environment will be able to regenerate itself from the damage we cause, but we will all die in the process

Video Reflections

Giving Packaging a New Life

Aluminum
Glass 
Plastic 
Sorting Innovations 
Paper 
Tetrapak 
Tinplate 

How It's Made: Packaging

Cardboard Boxes 
Packaging Tubes 
Tetrapak 

Aluminum Cans 

Glass Bottles

Plastic Bottles and Jars 

All the videos in these two series are very insightful, informative and helpful. The 'How Its Made: Packaging' series goes through the manufacturing processes of various types of packaging (ie. cardboard boxes, packaging tubes, tetrapaks, aluminum cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles and jars). From watching videos similar to this previously, there were many things about these processes which I already knew, but it was good to be reminded of this, and learn some new things. The 'Giving Packaging a New Life' series looks at how different types of packaging (ie. aluminum, glass, plastic, sorting innovations, paper, tetrapak and tinplate) are recycled. Whilst I already knew how some of these types of packaging were recycled, there were many, such as tetrapaks, that I did not know could even be recycled, let alone how it was done. In these videos the things that impressed me the most was how recyclable waste is sorted into different materials in order to be recycled. Machines take advantage of the different properties that each of the materials have in order to separate them. For example, because tin is magnetic, where other recyclable materials are not, overhead magnetic conveyor-belts separate out the tin. The structure of tetrapaks make it a complex thing to be recycled, because it is made of thin sheets of different materials bonded together. This has to therefore go through several processes, each extracting a different material, thus being able to be recycled.

It is important for industrial designers to watch videos like these ones, especially if they are involved in packaging design, because they need to have a clear understanding of the process that their design will have to go through in order to be made, and then how it can be recycled at its end of use. It is important for designers to understand how different types of packaging are made, because their design has to be physically able to be made. If a designer has an understanding of the process, then they will know what is and isn't possible in their design. They also need to have an understanding of how different materials are recycled. This is important because design decisions they make, affect the recycle-ability of their design. If they are an environmentally aware designer, they will want to make sure that it is easy as possible to recycle their design, so that it is not contributing to landfill, and can in fact be used to make something new, reducing the amount of virgin material needed.   

Some main take away points from these videos:

- Packaging made from different materials have different properties, so when you decide what properties are needed in your design, most likely there will be a material with these desired properties.

- Most packaging can be manufactured at lightning fast speeds, so it is perfect for mass production.

- Most types of packaging can be recycled, you just need the right machines to separate and process.

Australian International Design Awards

BYO Coffee Cup by Hookturn Industries

Pros:

- This is a more environmentally friendly option for people who regularly buy takeaway coffee, instead of always using disposiable cups and throwing them out, you can just keep re-using this cup

- Made to fit under group head of coffee machines to international standards and sizes, so that baristas can actually use it instead of a takeaway cup
- there are no corners or joins on the inside of the cup, so there is no place for bacteria to grow or dirt to collect

- Made from silica, the worlds most avaliable resource

- Dishwasher and microwave friendly

- At $10.95, it is an affordable option

- Designed to look like a normal disposiable takeaway cup

Cons:

- There are already other cups like this on the market, for example Keep Cup, that are already quite popular

- With the aesthetics, it could look a bit like it is trying to hard to look like a coffee cup, without completely looking like one because of the different material it is made of

- The places that sell the coffee migh not like it because generally they will use their coffee cups to put advertising on

Southern Cross Packaging Design Awards

The Brief:

The challenge is to design and deliver a new packaging solution for a P&G product under one of their major global brands. You must redesign the packaging whilst you successfully deliver a holistic solution from point of sale through point of use and finally, disposal.

The product/brand must be selected from one P&G’s existing brands.

P&G brand names can and MUST be used for this brief.

Target Market:

The target market chosen for this brief was 25 to 30 year old females who would classify themselves as environmentally aware, but at the same time are concerned about their appearance, and the appearance of the products they buy. Their products also tend to have a fairly sophisticated aesthetic. As our society becomes more environmentally aware as a whole, this group of people who make being environmental trendy is ever expanding. It has been suggested that there is a trend that has seen environmentally friendly products go from eco-ugly (ugly, overpriced, low performance versions of the ‘real thing’) to eco-chic (environmentally friendly products actually having aesthetic qualities at the same level as less sustainable options) to eco-iconic (products that embrace their sustainable qualities and show off these features by looking environmental in an aesthetically pleasing way) (Trendwatching.com, 2008).

Brand Choice and Existing Design Solution:

The Procter & Gamble brand chosen for this brief is the female hygiene brand Whisper, whose product range consists of a variety of sanitary napkins. The female hygiene industry is currently dominated by bright colours and patterns all competing for attention on the supermarket shelves. As a user, all these bright colours and patterns can be very overwhelming when trying to select a brand and variety of pad off the shelf. Whisper’s current packaging solution is no exception to this industry norm with the use of both bright colours and patterns. Another norm in the female hygiene industry is the extensive use of plastic film for the individual pad packaging as well as for the outer packaging. Again, Whisper also conforms to this industry norm. The combination of current graphics and material selection for the female hygiene industry on a whole is very much focused on the 15-18 year old market, again with Whisper being no exception.

Design Process:

After looking into the female hygiene industry on a whole, it becomes evident that there is not a packaging solution currently which appeals to the previously described ‘eco chic’ target market. Both the extensive use of plastic film and the graphics used in this industry, including Whisper, clash with the target markets attitudes towards the environment, specifically recycling, and aesthetically does not suit their more sophisticated tastes. This design solution explores the possibilities and opportunities Whisper has to be the leading brand in binging environmentally friendly attitudes to the female hygiene market and targeting an ever expanding group of users by embracing an eco-iconic packaging design.

The first concept for this brief was to keep the current idea of a bag like packaging solution, but made out of recycled paper. This concept had a few flaws. The material itself has limitations, like the fact that it gets very crinkled and messy looking very easily. His did not suite the desired aesthetic, as it is a hygiene product a cleaner look is desirable.

The second and final concept:

- Same principles of using a recycled material, but this time uses recycled cardboard to make a sturdier packaging solution

- The target market identified also like to spend a bit of extra money to have nice details, which is why this concept has an inner and outer box, to elevate to design to more than just a cardboard box.

- The Whisper logo. This wasn’t changed as it is important for current users of the product in terms of brand recognition, as well as the fact that the current design fits the chosen target market

- The daisy graphic. Going along the theme of nature, it seemed fitting to have a picture of nature as the graphic on the box. This particular graphic gave the whole design depth as it is a macro shot, along with the fading out into the background. This combined with the brown recycled cardboard gives the design an earthy, environmental feel.

- Absorbency guide on back of outer box. This is a crucial part of female hygiene packaging design. Because there are so many different options in this area, it is important to know exactly what you are buying. The current design has a table that quite effectively displays this information, so this current solution was just simplified slightly and moved to the back of the box. This replaces a current annotated diagram of the pad, which detracts firm the more sophisticated aesthetic of the new packaging and does not convey overly useful information.

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First idea for individual packaging with stitching

The green inner box. This green is a shade of a green taken from the daisy graphic. This was chosen to add to the earthy, environmental feel, whilst giving the whole design pop and elevating it to another level. The shape of the cut out at the front of the inner box was to give easy access to the pads if they are in either a draw (lift out from the top) or a shelf (lifting out from the front). This is held together with a water based adhesive.

- The individual packaging on the pads uses recycled paper, as in this situation the material needs to be thinner. The graphics on this packaging are just a series of irregular stripes, using shades and tones of the same green as the inner box. This is so that it continues wit the theme of an earthy, environmental aesthetic. These are held together with a water based adhesive. Initially this design included being held together with white cotton stitching, this however has decided against when considering production and the added cost and complexity this feature would have.

- The security seal is also an important part of the design, as to ensure the box is tamper-proof. To fit in with the materials used in this design, perforated recycled paper is used to seal the box. This is easily broken once purchased.

- Because the new packaging uses the same basic dimensions as the current packaging, shipping would be no extra cost. The same amount of boxes would fit in a packing box as the current design. Store display would not be hampered at all, if anything actually improved by the more ridged and sturdy packaging.

- There would be some minor cost increases with this new packaging. Because there is an inner and an outer ox, there is a fair amount more material usage than the current solution. This however can be justified by the obvious advantages that this extra material offers. Firstly, because it is recycled cardboard, there is very minimal cost to the environment made by these changes. The actual financial costs however are justified by the increased perceived value the customer would associate with this packaging. Because of the target markets tendencies to spend more money if they believe they are getting superior value and helping the environment, these costs can largely be absorbed by the customer. These changes also create a stark contrast between the competitor’s products and Whisper’s. This creates a greater shelf presence for Whisper and thus more sales

Current packaging amoung competitors.

New packaging anoung competitors.

Sheet Materials - Polypropylene Sheeting

Project 2 - Upcycling

E-waste (electronic waste) is a huge and rapidly growing problem in landfill due to the rapid rate at which technology in computers is being superseded, and the old technology simply thrown away. It is estimated that the US produces 50 million tons of e-waste each year, including 30 million computers. One of the issues with e-waste is the amount of heavy metals it pollutes landfill with. In the US 70% of heavy metals in landfill come from e-waste. The Environmental Protection agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled. This is the statistic I set out to change.

When given this brief the problem of e-waste quickly came to mind as an area that could be interesting to look into more. When I actually began to pull apart discarded computers I could not help but notice the interesting colour and patterns on the mother board and circuit boards, I was immediately drawn to their aesthetic appeal. I also thought that it would be quite ironic to make something for a computer out e-waste. And this was where my initial concept was born, to turn mother boards and circuit boards into a geek chic laptop case.

My initial idea was mould the boards into the shape to fit around the laptop, set them in resin and join the two sides with a zip around the middle. This had a few issues. First the issue of resin, it is not only dangerous to use but also harmful to the environment, which defeated the intensions of the brief. The second being that the boards are made out of a number of laminated layers, which really didn’t work in terms of heat moulding, as well as the fact they contain flame retardants.

I changed my concept so that the boards where fastened together with very small rivets. They where coated on the outside with a clear lacquer to protect the user from any heavy metals left, and this inside padded with foam and felt to protect the laptop. The handles are made out of reclaimed seatbelts and the whole thing held together by hand sewing in a zip and heavy duty fabric. The resulting product being a protective laptop case for both the laptop and the environment. This specific prototype designed to fit the 13” MacBook Pro.

Design For Life

"Design For Life" is a reality TV series on the BBC. It is much like Master Chef, but designing instead of cooking. The judge on this series is world-famous designer, Philippe Starck, who brings 12 hopeful British designers to a school of design in Paris. Contestants are voted off by Starck based on their design concepts and progress each episode.

This TV series is very beneficial for an industrial designer to watch for many reasons. The first is that it gives you a first hand view of the design process. You see this whole process for each of the contestants, from being given the brief to the final presentation. This involves seeing how different designers negotiate their way through this process, and the successes and failures of each contestant. As an industrial designer it is obviously important to have a sound understanding of the design process, so much so that it becomes second nature.It is therefore very beneficial to watch other designers and the processes they use to help you work out what works well and how you could use this yourself.

Another reason this TV series is very beneficial for industrial designers, especially student designers, to watch is purely to see Philippe Starck. Being one of the worlds most famous designers it is fairly safe to say that he knows what he is talking about when it comes to design. It is therefore very beneficial to listen as he talks about design, whats good whats bad, what works what doesn't. It is not very often that an industrial design student can watch a design develop from concept to final presentation, with Philippe Starck there to comment and judge throughout the whole process. This is a wonderful insight.

This TV series also gives a bit of an insight into the world of design. The design industry is very different to any other industry people go into. For a design student it can be hard to know what to expect once you leave the sheltered environment of uni and into the real design world. I think that in this sense this TV series can be very beneficial to design students to give them a taste of what to expect once they graduate.

I was particularly challenged when Starck made the point that there are too many products in our world. There are products always being designed that society does not need. Why should we design this products? This really challenged me to not design for the sake of more products, but to design so we have more products that we actually need.

Peer Comments - Experience Enrichment

Sarita Parto
Stephanie Hutcherson
Jimmy Iraheta
Helen Holman
Liz Grayburn

Project 1 - Technical Drawing

Sorry I did't realise I had to also upload the techniqal drawing onto my blog so here it is (it was physically handed in on time yesterday)

Project 1 - Experience Enrichment

Product Poster:

Context of use:

Four Pleasures Analysis:

A product that has hardly changed over time is the Ventolin puffer for asthma sufferers. Currently the puffer looks extremely medical and is not very ergonomic, this means that asthma sufferers do not enjoy using their puffer and try to hide it away when in public. All of these factors lead me to believe that there was lots of room for improvement in this product.

The brief for this project was to redesign a hand tool as to make the experience of the user a more enjoyable one by increasing the products pleasurability. When we got this brief I thought that the Ventolin puffer would be a perfect hand tool to redesign with the purpose of increasing its pleasurability, because there is nothing wrong with the functionality of the current puffer, only with how enjoyable the whole experience of the product is for the user. I decided that my target market for this product would be young sporty women in their 20’s, who are conscious about their health and fitness, but also their appearance.

In my design I decided that it would make sense for my puffer to use the same Ventolin canisters as the current solution. I made this decision because that means that the user can continue to buy the same canisters they used to, and functionally these aerosol canisters work well. In the current solution this canister sticks out the top of the puffer, which is largely the reason why these puffers look so medical. I decided that in my design the canister would be completely hidden from view to avoid this medical look.

Another main issue with the current puffers is that they are not very ergonomic, in particular the mouth piece. Early on I made a conscious decision the make the mouth piece less ridged and rubberised, as the increase ergonomics and thus increase the products pleasurability. I decided that the best material to use for this rubberised finish would be silicon rubber, as it is readily available in industry, and has the properties needed, such as being able to be washed up and moulded into different shapes needed. I also decided to use this material with a grip texture where you place your fingers on the product. I also decided to make sure that the puffer would fit well into the hand of a young woman, because ultimately this is who I was designing the product for.

A big factor that contributes to the overall pleasurability of a product is its aesthetics. The current puffer is very rectilinear, which is not very aesthetically pleasing to my target market. For this reason I decided to make the shape of the puffer more curvilinear, to appeal to them, and to fit in with other products they own. For the body of the puffer I decided to make it out of polypropylene. This was because this material is durable, able to be washed up and moulded into the shapes required.

Overall in redesigning the Ventolin puffer I have increased its ergonomic and aesthetic appeal, particularly to my target market. In doing so, I have increased the pleasurability of the product and enriched the experience of the user, thus fulfilling the brief.

Objectified

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5NjM2NjA0.html

This video, directed by Gary Hustwit in 2009, makes me excited to be a designer. I think that this is mainly because there are some designers interviewed and their products shown that are just simply beautiful. I think that the Mac Book Air is a product shown that really is a beautiful object. There are all these tiny details which you might not even notice but contribute to the overall feel of the product, an example of which are the little lights in it that indicate different things. When they are not indicating anything they are completely invisible, because why should you be able to see a little light bulb when you don't have to. It is things like this that excite me as a designer.

I think the concept talked about of wearing in not wearing out is very interesting. I agree that why should products get worse with use... why shouldn't they get better? It is like the example used of the leather brief case. With use the leather has become softer and a much more pleasurable product to use, it has got better with use. Also this means that people are much more likely to hold greater value in that product. The longer a person uses a product for, the more emotionally attached they become to that object because of the memories associated with it. This means they are much more likely not to throw it out.

I also think that listening to some renounded designers talk about design and what it means to them, what they hold as important, their design philosophies, is very interesting. I think that understanding a designers philosophy helps you to understand their products more, and why they have made certain decisions in regards to that product. For example Dieter Rams design philosophy can be summed up as "less is more" and this is very evident in his designs. You can see in his products that form follows function and his products have a very minimalist aesthetic. For me I find it fascinating to hear why people design, what motivates them and their decisions.

I think that this video is good for an Industrial Designer to watch as I think it gives insight into the minds of other designers. I think that listening to people explaining why they design helps you in forming your own design philosophy, and this is something that designers have to develop.

Design Confusion - Natures Organics Fruits Shampoo and Conditioner

The Story of Stuff

This video talks about consumerism and the life of products...focusing on the US and their culture of materialism and consumerism.

This was quite a shocking video to watch with many of the statistics used being very confronting. It started with the process of extraction of raw materials from the earth. Many of these materials are sourced outside the US in developing countries. This has negative consequences for both the environment and also the countries these materials are sourced from. If the whole world were to consume resources like the US we would need at least 3 planet earths to provide this.

The next step is production. This is where energy is used to mix toxic chemicals with the natural resources to make products. There are over 100 000 synthetic chemicals used, only a hand full of which have been tested for effects on health and the environment. An example of this that the video used was Brominated Flame Retardants. These are used in many things like pillows to stop them catching on fire. These are also neurotoxin, which are toxic to the brain...yes each night we are resting our heads on chemicals toxic to our brains! Developed countries like the US don't want to be near the factories which are using all these toxic chemicals, so they too are moved to developing countries where the people who live there work with these chemicals, making both themselves and the environment sick.

Next is distribution. This is where the products are sold as cheap as they can. This means that money is taken from the previous steps, both extraction and manufacture, which both happen in developing countries, having negative effects there. 30% of kids in the Congo drop out of school to mine resources we need for our cheap products.

The driving force of this system is consumption. Ensuring consumption continues to grow is one of the top priorities for the US government. After September 11 George Bush could have advised any number of things to a country in mourning but instead he said to go out and spend. Only 1% of products purchased in the US is still being used 6 months later! This huge culture of consumption was created after World War II when the US economy needed to be stimulated. Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence contribute greatly to this culture of consumerism. It is planned into products when they will break and become useless (planned obsolescence), or they will be seemed to be needed to be replaced (perceived obsolescence) by changing something about the product. This means that people can tell we haven't bought a new one of these products for a while and it is part of the consumerism culture to shun people who don't consume at this rate.

There is no way that people can keep all these products they keep buying, so there is an alarming amount of waste produced by each house. This either gets put in landfill, or burnt then put in landfill. Both these methods are terrible for the environment, and mean that all those resources that went into making the products are now useless. This is where recycling comes in. This helps out but does not completely solve the problem.

This is a very important video for people to watch, particularly designers. It is important for us to know the effect that our products have on the environment and people health. It is up to us to not design planned obsolescence or perceived obsolescence into our products to stop the rate of consumption. It is also important that we design our products so that when the do come to the end of there life they can be used for something else or an be very easily recycled.

Emotional Design: Donald Norman

In this video Donald Norman explains the importance of emotion in design. This is a beneficial video to watch because it makes you realise that even though a product may be very functional and work very well, it can still be ugly, thus sub-consciously making people think it is not a good product. He says "People used to say Norman's ok, but if you followed what he said everything would be usable, but it would be ugly."

He uses Philippe Starck's design of an orange juicer for Alessi which is very 'fun' in its form and aesthetics, but is practically useless. The one which Donald Norman owns is a gold plated special edition which has a warning label on it saying it shouldn't be used as a juicer because the acidity of the oranges will ruin the gold plating. Even though it has no function, he still owns one just because it's fun to look at.

Whenever we are interacting with a product, we are analysing it on three levels, Norman explains. First of all before we even touch the product our mind is performing visceral analysis. This is when we appreciate the beauty of a product subconsciously. Our brains are all biologically developed to like and dislike certain things, we like bright colours, dislike loud sounds, bitter tastes. Behavioural analysis also is sub-consciences, like our legs moving when we want to walk - we don't have to consciously tell our legs to move one in front of the other. In design this is when we feel we are in control. Norman uses the example of driving a high-performance sports car on a windy road, we like this because when we are driving around a corner we feel we are in complete control of the situation. The last level of analysis is the reflective. This is when we reflect on past experiences, things we have done, seen or heard about, and use this to form our opinion of the current situation.

Overall this video highlighted to me the fact that even if we didn't think about the emotion in a product we design, it will still have a emotion, even if we have not intended it to be there. This is hugely going to effect how people view and interact with the design, therefore it is a very important thing to harness. What Norman says "I always feel that pleasurable things work better" is very true for most people, they do automatically think that something that is enjoyable to look at and to use will work better.

Product Sketching: Sydney Design