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Revised function analysis of sustainability : understanding the complexity of sustainability.

Topf Aguiar de Medeiros, Paul and Sjödell, Charlotte LU (2021) Cumulus Rome 2021: Design Culture(s) In Cumulus proceedings series 07/2021. p.3597-3615
Abstract
This article presents and discusses the case study “Scraping the surface,” a
workshop about sustainable design held for master’s students of different design majors at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design. Through marketing we, as consumers, are bombarded with products claiming to be sustainable. As a result, sustainability has become a buzz word. “Scraping the surface” highlighted the complex factors a designer needs to consider when designing sustainable products. During the workshop students discussed how a designer can have an impact on the lifecycle of a product or a system through material choice, production method, design for longevity, design for sustainable behaviour using the principles of behaviour change and design for the... (More)
This article presents and discusses the case study “Scraping the surface,” a
workshop about sustainable design held for master’s students of different design majors at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design. Through marketing we, as consumers, are bombarded with products claiming to be sustainable. As a result, sustainability has become a buzz word. “Scraping the surface” highlighted the complex factors a designer needs to consider when designing sustainable products. During the workshop students discussed how a designer can have an impact on the lifecycle of a product or a system through material choice, production method, design for longevity, design for sustainable behaviour using the principles of behaviour change and design for the end of product use. Students were asked to bring a product that they found to be sustainable and to justify their reasoning using its characteristics. A list of criteria was compiled and converted into a function analysis. After the workshop a literature review was conducted to identify words and actions that could be added to make the list more holistic, focusing on ecology. To conclude, the proposed Revised Function Analysis of Sustainability can be used as a tool in the early design process to identify opportunities, specify deliverables and aid communication in development teams in terms of sustainability. The tool can also be used as a teaching and learning tool to provide a visual overview of possible traits that can be applied throughout the life cycle of an object. This can help to encourage upstream activities to prevent product renewal and avoid landing in the waste hierarchy. The template includes the potential benefits to the ecosystem and gives examples and further references. Consequently, the purpose of the tool is to be used as a creative tool rather than an assessment tool, specifying both desirable and undesirable outcomes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Design, Sustainability, Function analysis, Creative method, Sustainable development goals
host publication
Design Culture(s) : Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021 - Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021
series title
Cumulus proceedings series
editor
Di Lucchio, Loredana ; Imbesi, Lorenzo ; Giambattista, Angela and Malakuczi, Viktor
volume
07/2021
pages
18 pages
publisher
Sapienza University of Rome
conference name
Cumulus Rome 2021: Design Culture(s)
conference location
Rome, Italy
conference dates
2021-06-08 - 2021-06-11
ISSN
2490-046X
ISBN
978-952-64-9004-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
About the Authors: Paul Topf Aguiar de Medeiros is a master student at Lund University with a background in Industrial Design Engineering. His field of interest is the sustainable and ethical design of consumer electronics, on which he is currently writing his thesis. Charlotte Sjödell is a senior lecturer in Industrial design at the School of Industrial Design at Lund University.
id
a819e0df-cb79-416e-b5bd-ae1b91d01b2e
date added to LUP
2023-01-06 18:04:02
date last changed
2023-01-10 16:18:51
@inproceedings{a819e0df-cb79-416e-b5bd-ae1b91d01b2e,
  abstract     = {{This article presents and discusses the case study “Scraping the surface,” a<br/>workshop about sustainable design held for master’s students of different design majors at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design. Through marketing we, as consumers, are bombarded with products claiming to be sustainable. As a result, sustainability has become a buzz word. “Scraping the surface” highlighted the complex factors a designer needs to consider when designing sustainable products. During the workshop students discussed how a designer can have an impact on the lifecycle of a product or a system through material choice, production method, design for longevity, design for sustainable behaviour using the principles of behaviour change and design for the end of product use. Students were asked to bring a product that they found to be sustainable and to justify their reasoning using its characteristics. A list of criteria was compiled and converted into a function analysis. After the workshop a literature review was conducted to identify words and actions that could be added to make the list more holistic, focusing on ecology. To conclude, the proposed Revised Function Analysis of Sustainability can be used as a tool in the early design process to identify opportunities, specify deliverables and aid communication in development teams in terms of sustainability. The tool can also be used as a teaching and learning tool to provide a visual overview of possible traits that can be applied throughout the life cycle of an object. This can help to encourage upstream activities to prevent product renewal and avoid landing in the waste hierarchy. The template includes the potential benefits to the ecosystem and gives examples and further references. Consequently, the purpose of the tool is to be used as a creative tool rather than an assessment tool, specifying both desirable and undesirable outcomes.}},
  author       = {{Topf Aguiar de Medeiros, Paul and Sjödell, Charlotte}},
  booktitle    = {{Design Culture(s) : Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021}},
  editor       = {{Di Lucchio, Loredana and Imbesi, Lorenzo and Giambattista, Angela and Malakuczi, Viktor}},
  isbn         = {{978-952-64-9004-5}},
  issn         = {{2490-046X}},
  keywords     = {{Design; Sustainability; Function analysis; Creative method; Sustainable development goals}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{3597--3615}},
  publisher    = {{Sapienza University of Rome}},
  series       = {{Cumulus proceedings series}},
  title        = {{Revised function analysis of sustainability : understanding the complexity of sustainability.}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/134216786/Medeiros_P._Sj_dell_C._2021.pdf}},
  volume       = {{07/2021}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}