The Work Out Stool
(2013) In Diploma work IDEL01 20131Industrial Design
- Abstract
- From the year of 2000 to 2010 the increase in expenditures for the Swedish households on furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house is 67%, for clothing and footwear the increase is 50%. Our total consumption from the same years has increased by 23%.
I started this project by researching on the human sociology in relation to private consumption. Why do we spend so much time and effort on shopping, although the environmental impacts are huge, and what does that have to do with design?
When analyzing our consumption behaviors I came to the conclusion that we use objects to convey our identity, both to ourselves and to the people surrounding us. Objects make us question who we are and who we like to be and... (More) - From the year of 2000 to 2010 the increase in expenditures for the Swedish households on furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house is 67%, for clothing and footwear the increase is 50%. Our total consumption from the same years has increased by 23%.
I started this project by researching on the human sociology in relation to private consumption. Why do we spend so much time and effort on shopping, although the environmental impacts are huge, and what does that have to do with design?
When analyzing our consumption behaviors I came to the conclusion that we use objects to convey our identity, both to ourselves and to the people surrounding us. Objects make us question who we are and who we like to be and this is part of a complex social structure that on an individual level defines the modern Swede.
My goal with this project was to understand the consumer and consequently contribute to a lower environmental impact caused by consumption, through design. SVID (The Swedish Industrial Design Foundation) and Greenleap, KTH, have started a collaboration that aims at using design in a sustainable way. One of their tools in doing so, is named “Changing user behavior”, and address the importance of obtaining a more personal attitude to the every day objects surrounding us. By doing so we will appreciate what we have and hopefully consume less. They mean that to consume less is probably one of the most important aspects of a sustainable society.
This lead me to decide on addressing the consumer directly via a product and to try to encourage to an emotional relationship between the product and it’s user. I wanted to use natural materials like wood and leather to enhance the understanding of the production methods used to refine them. Wood is said to obtain an emotional value over for example plastic.
The product of choice fell on exercise equipment for home use. The area of exercise equipment caught my interest due to the strong connection it has to people’s identity in today’s society. It seems to me, an area of products that defines who we want to be rather than who we are. The market is over crowded with products which can be seen as a proof of our wish to keep up an active and healthier lifestyle. Exercising in general is a growing interest amongst many; new trends on how to obtain results quickly replace each other. To design something meaningful, lasting and thereby sustainable should be an interesting challenge. Also synthetically made materials, like plastic and rubber, are commonly used for the products. These materials lack some of the emotional values that I want to express and are clearly not environmentally sustainable.
The result is a stool, made entirely of natural materials, that aims at enhancing every day life quality. By sitting on the stool, a short while, every day you get an activation of the core muscles while imposing you to keep an up right posture. The materials vouch for a long lasting product that will age well. By addressing a real need of the consumers and by giving the opportunity to care for the product, my hope is to contribute to a change in consumption behavior. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4017742
- author
- von Brömsen, Clara
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- IDEL01 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- publication/series
- Diploma work
- report number
- ISRN: LUT-DVIDE/ EX--13/50206--SE
- ISSN
- ISRN
- language
- English
- id
- 4017742
- date added to LUP
- 2013-09-16 12:34:00
- date last changed
- 2013-09-16 12:34:00
@misc{4017742,
abstract = {{From the year of 2000 to 2010 the increase in expenditures for the Swedish households on furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house is 67%, for clothing and footwear the increase is 50%. Our total consumption from the same years has increased by 23%.
I started this project by researching on the human sociology in relation to private consumption. Why do we spend so much time and effort on shopping, although the environmental impacts are huge, and what does that have to do with design?
When analyzing our consumption behaviors I came to the conclusion that we use objects to convey our identity, both to ourselves and to the people surrounding us. Objects make us question who we are and who we like to be and this is part of a complex social structure that on an individual level defines the modern Swede.
My goal with this project was to understand the consumer and consequently contribute to a lower environmental impact caused by consumption, through design. SVID (The Swedish Industrial Design Foundation) and Greenleap, KTH, have started a collaboration that aims at using design in a sustainable way. One of their tools in doing so, is named “Changing user behavior”, and address the importance of obtaining a more personal attitude to the every day objects surrounding us. By doing so we will appreciate what we have and hopefully consume less. They mean that to consume less is probably one of the most important aspects of a sustainable society.
This lead me to decide on addressing the consumer directly via a product and to try to encourage to an emotional relationship between the product and it’s user. I wanted to use natural materials like wood and leather to enhance the understanding of the production methods used to refine them. Wood is said to obtain an emotional value over for example plastic.
The product of choice fell on exercise equipment for home use. The area of exercise equipment caught my interest due to the strong connection it has to people’s identity in today’s society. It seems to me, an area of products that defines who we want to be rather than who we are. The market is over crowded with products which can be seen as a proof of our wish to keep up an active and healthier lifestyle. Exercising in general is a growing interest amongst many; new trends on how to obtain results quickly replace each other. To design something meaningful, lasting and thereby sustainable should be an interesting challenge. Also synthetically made materials, like plastic and rubber, are commonly used for the products. These materials lack some of the emotional values that I want to express and are clearly not environmentally sustainable.
The result is a stool, made entirely of natural materials, that aims at enhancing every day life quality. By sitting on the stool, a short while, every day you get an activation of the core muscles while imposing you to keep an up right posture. The materials vouch for a long lasting product that will age well. By addressing a real need of the consumers and by giving the opportunity to care for the product, my hope is to contribute to a change in consumption behavior.}},
author = {{von Brömsen, Clara}},
issn = {{ISRN}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Diploma work}},
title = {{The Work Out Stool}},
year = {{2013}},
}