Environmental Design culture?
Does Design take its environmental (e)mission seriously?
Solving environmental issues and developing and using environmental-friendly processes and materials still seem to belong to a niche side of Design… Indeed, mainstream Design focuses more on the user’s well-being than on his/her environmental impact and worries more about making profits through the production and consumption of products than about the product’s lifecycles… During my Interaction Design studies, for example, technological and service innovation was far more prioritized than environmental and social innovation. I learned about AR and VR, but Green IT alternatives were barely evoked. In this way, a multitude of Design students graduate without actually knowing how harmful the digital products they make are to the environment: data centers considerable need for electricity to run data storing and data flows, as well as to be cooled down, rare materials used to build electronic devices, etc… Ecology’s knowledge is still to be acquired during personal spare time, when it should be part of the Design knowledge students acquire from their studies, turning them as holders of an Environmental Design culture and knowledge.
Here is a small guide towards collaborative and relationship-based working and ecological education and literacy.
Legitimacy
I also wonder about Design’s legitimacy to spot environmental issues by producing new products. During an internship, I worked on a mapping show with an ecological message, that needed an enormous power supply to be run. Did its impact on the audience balance its negative environmental impact? Of course, there are solutions that make relevant use of digital tools. For instance, the apps Too Good to Go which reduces food waste, and Yuka which raises awareness about food, do change people’s ways to consume food, and therefore the social norm. But the designer’s job isn’t only solving issues, but also avoiding causing other issues by doing so.
Also, I recently read that the French designer Philippe Stark, known as an eco-designer, spends his time traveling on planes (before the Covid19 epidemic obviously). He recently also designed the interior of the first hotel in space, while space tourism can be a very polluting industry (see image). Is a designer’s carbon footprint (related to his/her work, and why not to his personal lifestyle as well) compensated by the benefit his/her work provides? Or should eco-design be a whole lifestyle? I believe that if a designer works for his/her convictions, he/she should as well live for his/her convictions… Wouldn’t the contrary be hypocritical in some way?
(https://www.elitetraveler.com/features/philippe-starck-designing-axiom-space-hotels-interiors)
(https://www.elitetraveler.com/features/philippe-starck-designing-axiom-space-hotels-interiors)
Emilie very nice link to Ecological education. Please do check https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/eca-digitalskills/2020/08/26/setting-up-your-class-blog/ as to how to add reference sources to your posts .
Your post is both reflective and evidences your knowledge. You make some good observations on what is considered an environmental designer ie Philippe Stark. perhaps some images of his work would be good to add not everyone will be aware of his work.
The role of a designer is always changing with new challenges regards environmental design .
I enjoyed your writing about your own experience referring to primary research is always of value.
The addition of imagery will help to strengthen your point of view.
Your posts are reflecting your understanding of course content and I am enjoying the style of your writing.
I look forward to your contribution in next weeks debate.
Shirley