SUSTAINABILITY

A Question of Design (2002)

William McDonough and Michael Braungart

-       The Industrial Age (Titanic) – a potent rep of technology, prosperity, luxury, and progress

-       Infrastructure, powered by brutish and artificial sources of energy that are environmentally depleting – nature vs. science

o   Attempts to work at own rules, contrary to those of nature

-       Design of production in Industrial Revolution results in harm to the public and environment – not mutually beneficial

-       Industrialists, engineers, and designers tried to solve problems against nature not with nature

-       Textile Industry – crafts people working individually as side venture to farming

-       Industrial Rev lead to new institutions – like fine artists doing design as a side venture

-       Rise of amateurs – master/apprentice lost – trade schools, one task jobs – also like design

-       A fear for a civilization whose aesthetic sensibility and physical structures were being reshaped by materialistic designs

o   A call for good, community and environmentally friendly design

-       Production of luxuries before Industrial boom

o   Now mass production for masses

-       Centralization – everything including production under one roof

o   The Assembly Line

-       Natural “Capital” – ore, timbre, water, grain, cattle, coal, land – raw materials for the production

-       Factory locations

-       “Built-in Obsolence” – to last only for a certain period of time

o   Industrial design linear – use resources, produce, waste

-       Architects – International Style – reaction against ornate – reflect meaning/good aesthetics

o   Today – does not reflect space – loss of content/abstract

McDonough and Braungart examine the rise and influence of the Industrial Revolution and how it’s design has affected consumers and the environment.  They view the achievement of infrastructure as artificial source of energy that are environmentally depleting.  The industrialist designers used natural resources to create artificial chemical and materials to overcome the issues we faced with nature.  Because they came up with solutions that contradict nature instead of coping with nature, we have created an unhealthy environment detrimental to nature.  Also according to the article most manufacturers create products with a “built-in-obsolence”, which causes the product to last only for a certain period of time.  This encourages a “throw away” culture that persuades consumers to compete to obtain the “newest” (often slightly altered) product. 

The industrial revolution has lead to a lifestyle of convenience has lead companies to take advantage of the consumer.  Designers have the opportunity to create more adherent to the environment needs.  Designers stray away for convenience and start to design using the environment to positively encourage the public to consume smart and in an environmentally conscious fashion.  If companies work with designers to make specifically environmentally friendly/recyclable products then consumer will want to spend money on expensive products that are actually useful and long lasting.

Speculative Prehistory of Humanity (1981)

Buckminster Fuller

-       Gossamer Albatross – use of new materials allows a feat in production

-       Average house-house lifestyle inefficient

o   Wastes 95/100 units of energy consumed

-       Geometric shapes allow for maximum efficient energy capacity – Bauhaus!

-       Accomplish greater performance with less materials – “less is better”

-       Energy invisible to human eye – less conscious

-       The Invisible Revolution

o   Feasible and can take care of everybody on Earth at a “higher standard of living”

-       Livingry – human-life advantaging and environment controlling

-       Bureaucracies’ strength derived from false promises

-       Humanity does not understand the language of science

-       Nature always economical and beneficial

-       World’s powers keep humanity divided to hold power and create competition – of consumption

Fuller describes how innovations of new materials used correctly can lead to extraordinary feats, unfortunately the consumer lifestyle if flawed and environmentally inefficient.  Fuller exclaims that the average household wastes 95/100 units of energy consumed.  This shocking statistic is not the consumer fault but the design of industrial materials and production.  The products being built today are made to obtain the greatest amount of energy for maximum performance, but not all of the energy is used or conserved.  Fuller claims the issue of energy being invisible has created a less conscious consumer.  He calls for an Invisible Revolution that would allow production with the use of fewer lbs and volumes of material, ergs of energy, and seconds of time to create a “higher standard of living”.  Fuller strongly believes that “less is more”.  With innovations of new materials and technologies factories should be able to produce energy and environmentally efficient products.  This Bauhaus mindset of creating good quality and aesthetically pleasing products with bare essentials can lead to a revolution of production.  He stresses the need for humanity to understand the language of science to create environmentally conscious manufactures and consumers.  We should begin to work with nature in order to overcome social issues.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: On The Virtues of Imitating Nature (2009)

Janine Benyus

-       NJ native (1958)

-       Book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (1997)

o   Created a new path for industrial designers

o   Teaches engineers, scientists, and inventors how to “consult life’s genius to create sustainable designs”

-       “Biomimicry” – the practice of borrowing nature’s design principles to create more-sustainable products and processes

o   Look for solutions in nature first

-       AskNature.org, resource of anyone looking for nature’s answer to a design problem

o   Designers can use to contact biologists

-       “Nature-inspired sustainable technologies”

o   Made affordable and available in developing nations

-       “Foraging life style”, sharing resources with neighbors and obtaining nearly all food locally

-       Industrial Ecology, looks at ecosystems as models for new economic patterns

-       Nature’s non-toxic ways of adhering

-       Language as lyrical as possible in order to adequately describe it

o   Try to know all scientific languages and be a good translator in order to communicate with clients – designers

-       Do NOT need more energy – need a change in behavior

-       Life and nature operate on small amounts of energy

-       Organisms use forces of nature to solve problems – why can’t we?

o   Flies – resin; hawks – vortex

o   Whale flipper turbines

o   Solar cells based on photosynthesis/moth eyes

o   Coral and shells for cement/adhesives

-       “Co-evolutionary loops”, relationships that increase both species’ rate of adaptation

-       Lotus Effect, self cleaning

-       “Green Chemistry” – an alternative to industrial chemistry

o   Uses a small and friendly subsets of elements and employs elegant recipes to combine them

o   Water as solvents vs. sulfuric acids

-       “Green Architecture” – determine function of building, refer to nature with how functions are solved naturally

o   Building should deliver same level of ecological services as the intact ecosystem that it’s displacing

o   Plant root structures for building foundations

Janine Benyus explains how her book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (1997) has inspired industrial designers to design more environmentally.  She describes “biomimicry” as the practice of borrowing nature’s design principles to create more sustainable products and processes.  The idea is to use nature’s answers and apply them to our own social, environment, and scientific issues.  She explains how our issues and ideas are not necessarily new and have been solved before cooperating with nature.  The goal is create a new revolution of “nature-inspired sustainable technologies”, which is being done by biologists and designers today.  With websites like AskNature.org, which brings designers and biologists together to solve issues and create new products using natural design, the production of adhesives and cements are being created using non-toxic chemicals like those found in coral.  The methods are using “green chemistry” to use those elements and combinations of elements that will have little to no effect on the environment.  We as designers and consumers should being to live co-evolutionary with our surrounding environments, our fellow humans, and other organisms.  It is time for us to become consciously aware of our affects on the environment and become more responsible.  We should put aside competition of good and begin to consume to help one another and to fully understand the environment.  The goal is to, “know all scientific languages and be a good translator in order to communicate with each other,” this concept is directly in relation to designers who have the upmost ability to examine and fully understand ideas and concepts and to communicate these ideas to the masses.  Every consumer can become an well-informed designer and begin to understand the necessary functions of issues and use only products that are not frivolous or detrimental to our health and environment.

The Ethics of Design

Ethical Design Education

Susan S. Szenasy           

-       How to use environmental issue to design more sensitively

-       Designers have a choice of what materials to choose from

-       Ethics of Design – moral duty and obligation to fellow humans and creatures

o   Responsibility to: planet, regions we live in, our community, profession, the client and our self

-       Mind Walk, a 1991 film – abandoning Cartesian, mechanistic, linear thinking that influenced industrialization and the modern world.

-       Ecological-systems

-       Invisible Technology – replacing the bulkily visible

-       Throw Away Culture – lack of recycling, over kill of materials – more waste than recycled

-       IKEA

-       Post-Consumer Materials – products made from recycled products

-       Morality of Materials – the importance of craft and human touch, social responsibility of designers – William Morris

-       Bauhaus

-       Collapse of social and economic values

-       Design as a contribution to society

In Susan S. Szenasy’s article she stresses the need of designers to think ethically and responsibly when it comes to the environment and the materials used.  She persuades her student’s to start to think of design not only as a way to communicate to consumers, but to use design to set examples that could potentially invoke social change.  Today designers are faced against consumers and a society that overkills materials and is generally wasteful.  She calls these characteristics of the modern culture as a ‘Throw Away Culture’.  This ‘Throw Away Culture’ is of influenced by ‘Invisible Technology’, which encourages the average consumer to constantly to keep up with the latest fashion and trends throwing away the old product.  This process is greatly affecting our environment not only because of consumer neglect to recycle materials and reuse products, but also because the materials used in the products are not biodegradable or have to be chemically broken down.  It is our responsibility as designers to choose materials more carefully to create post-consumer materials, products made from recycled materials/products.  Designers have the opportunity to contribute to society by choosing smart eco-friendly products and using them towards products that will improve the environment and can raise consumer awareness about social issues.

Innovation and Exploitation: American Apparel

Anna Kealey

-       American Apparel – manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer

-       Don Charney – Founder, main photographer

-       Success – through advertising and media perception as an “ethical and socially responsible company”

-       Anti-sweatshop policies

-       Benefit for uneducated/foreign workers – English classes, health benefits, etc...

o   Model sexually harassed

-       Marketing – highly sexualized, amateur pornographic iconography – sexist and racial issues

-       Nostalgia of 1970’s

Anna Kealey examines the business ethics of clothing company, American Apparel, and how it has met the call as being socially and environmentally responsible when it comes to the production of products as explained by Susan S. Szenasy in her article, “Ethical Design Education”.  American Apparel is one of the few mainstream clothing company’s today that it it’s own designer, manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer.  The company became a mainstream by being a strictly ‘domestic’ company and with its anti-sweatshop laws.  American Apparel meets the standard of helping the community by giving American workers jobs with fair hourly wages above minimum wage, health benefits, and giving foreign workers free English lessons.  Although the employees who do all the grunt work are taken care of, issues arise when it comes to the models that are used in marketing.  American Apparel’s marketing strategy is known for it’s pornographic imagery, sexist views towards women, and mainly using women of ‘minority’ backgrounds in their advertisements.  This marketing strategy is seen as a “re-appropriation of 1970s imagery”, when women were uses as sex symbols to sell products.  This idea of “sex sells” is sending a false message to young consumers who attempt reflect his or hers own self image with these marketing ideas.  This derogatory marketing falls into the category of “junk” marketing and frivolous consumer culture.

The Responsibilities of The Design Profession

Herbert Spencer

-       The rise of design as a respected and important cultural profession

-       Design as an important tool of communication

-       “Designer’s designers” – not working for the common good, but for the “approbation of their colleagues”

-       Research into the practical and psychological aspects of communication design

-       Loss of true printing tradition

o   Disregard for the printed word as a means of communication

o   Loss of respect from consumers and customer

-       Designs lacking in honesty of purpose or of function, which deliberately disregarded the nature of materials and paid scant attention to the convenience or comfort of the user

-       Design should incorporate research, experiments, and investigation

-       Designers call to better the community to solve social and environmental issues

o   Can aid or out perform scientists, engineers, and civil servants when creating an environment of communication outside of advertising and consumer needs

Herbert Spencer discusses the rise of Design as a respected and important cultural profession.  He describes the evolution of design from master-apprentice to schools that train individuals to become professional designers.   Schools such as the Bauhaus discussed in Susan S. Szenasy’s article, “Ethical Design Education,” teach the importance of designers taking the time to research the practical and psychological aspects of communication through design.  Like many other critics, Spencer believes designers have a unique and creative understanding of how communication works between individuals.  He argues that with this special ability to communicate clear directions or ideas, designers are able to put their skills and imagination to create a better community outside of the domain consumer communication.  Spencer believes that this call to a greater cause could allow designer to take over jobs of scientists, engineers, and civil servants when it comes to communication through community symbols and public service announcements.

First Things First (1964-2000)

Rick Poynor

The Politics of Culture Jamming (2002)

Matthew Soar

-       Designers time wasted on trivial efforts – influence of money

-       “Advertising Clutter”

-       Designers and Advertisers should work to improve society

o   Act as facilitators of proper’ communication

-       Advertisers should stray from frivolous and disconnected (abstract) campaigns

o   Those that are manipulative or misleading

-       Affects how we perceive things – affects emotions, ideas, behavior, lifestyle, decisions, etc…

-       Create products which create an idea

o   Positive ideas can transcend through cultures

-       Design as a tool of necessary information and persuasion

-       ‘Cultural Intermediaries’ – individuals whose job it is to develop forms to mediate (articulate) between the realms of production and consumption

-       Those who have the means can succeed, actively participate, and resist temptation of frivolous endeavors – already have prestige and/or money to do so

The First Things First manifestos call out designers and advertisers for creating an emphasis on frivolous marketing campaigns that are disconnected from the actual products being sold.  Today advertising campaigns rely and focus on cool visuals that have nothing to do with the product being sold.  The automotive insurance company GIECO uses this abstract advertising as an attempt to engage viewers with comical visual and jokes that fall short.  The company’s newest commercial is a spokesperson asking the consumer if GIECO is reliable enough by asking, “can a woodchuck really chuck wood?”  The commercial cuts to two puppet woodchucks throwing logs into a river, proving yes they do and indirectly stating GIECO is a reliable company.  Commercial like GIECO fail to meet the concerns of the consumer and is a cheap attempt to win customers with humor.  There is no communication of necessary information; the viewer really never learns how reliable GIECO really is.  First Things First challenges designers and advertisers to disregard the influence of money and to start creating campaigns of intelligence and of real informational value.

Media, Gender, and Identity (2002)

David Gauntlett

-       Popular ideas about self

-       Media helps mold individuals

-       Media tolerant and liberal

o   Corresponds with growth of society

o   Marketable? Profitable? – Wider audience

-       Media sets examples and stepping stones for others

David Gauntlett examines the role popular culture and the media plays on the perception of consumer ‘self’.  The idea of consumer ‘self’ is how we the consumers use popular cultural ideas as an attempt to define our ‘self’.  Considering the media today is more tolerant and liberal towards ideas once considered outside of norms (gay rights, etc…) people view popular culture as progressive and as something concrete to set our standards.  Designers are a big part of creating these standards communicated in society.  If designers begin to change priorities from frivolous advertising to important social responsibilities society will eventually follow.  This reformation of advertising will change ideals and standards and will lead to a better society.

Seminar in Design Response 1

No Logo by Naomi Klein

•              Brand management – marketing and product design as a means to meet the casual clothing wants and needs of consumers
•       Outsourcing manufacturing/production of goods
•       Product – made in factory
•       Brands – bought by consumer
•       True values by brands – idea, lifestyle, and attitude
•       Knowledge economy
•       Super brand – costly and constant managing
•       Synergies
•       Branding to replace production
•       Nike – no-limit spending
•       “Global” teenager
•      “Trade secret” of factories (no logos)

The article No Logo by Naomi Klein examines how modern businesses over the last 20 years has moved their focus from physically manufacturing their products to contracting foreign factories to create their products.  This allows companies to limit spending on actual goods and to focus their budgets on mass brand marketing.  Companies today create an aura about their brand, which becomes ingrained in every consumer.  Companies like Nike want to create a certain image or status that affects how consumers view and buy products.  Creating an image also tells the consumer how to act, dress, and what his or her desires are.  Companies do so buy the Nike philosophy of “no-limit spending,” which literally is what it sounds like (203).   Companies who now outsource labor can create about a 400% increase in stocks which can be spent all on commercials, advertisements, logos, shipping, etc… These ideas all affect the consumer, especially when companies use celebrities or icons in their campaigns.  The idea that companies careless about their workers and will sacrifice anything to create a standard of living is manipulative, but it is we the consumer who should be able to see through marketing gimmicks.

Branding the Individual by Jane Pavitt

·      The consumer defines the brand and the brand defines the consumer (interdependent relationship)

·      Doing the shopping – provide provisions for family (mundane)

·      Leisure shopping – goods give us identity in world (fun/careless)

·      Shopping around – purchases that involve time and investigation (careful)

·      Shopping/consumption as a way of communication

·      Commodity Self – buying an identity

·      Status by product (no longer by occupation or intelligence)

·      Authentic self

·      Consumer culture – creates assigned gender roles, class and ideas of sexual roles

·      Modern consumer – buys things for emotional and social meanings that embody us, not out of rational or practicality

·      Price defines status

·      Collective taste

·      Conspicous consumption

In Branding the Individual Jane Pavitt examines the relationship between consumer and popular brands.  It is often argued that the consumer has free choice in what they choose to purchase and how they use goods to present themselves.  Although this may be true, brands often manipulate consumer thought and desires with marketing strategies and the ideas brands create for public image.  Brands will create a certain status through popular styles, materials used, and the price of certain products.  People who are unable to spend frivolously on designer or popular products are cast down peers as not being “cool”.  As consumers we use products to define ourselves and as a way to communicate to others who we are by simply what we wear, listen to, eat, etc…This issue divides people into classes or social status, where we no longer appreciate a person’s accomplishments but give praise and value to the person driving the most expensive car.  Although people will not want to admit we are being manipulated and controlled by big businesses the affects of consumer prejudices are prevalent in society, especially in youth cultures.  In youth culture peers tend to be harsher towards one another in their “collective” groups, where material goods sometimes give value to friendships and status.  This way of marketing that affects mere children is a way to get people to start thinking as a consumer as early as possible in life to be a shopping machine.

Fabien Baron by John Seabrook

·      “Let oxygen in” – expression for too much textual cluttering

·      The feeling of having arrived at the center of the action and finding it very still

·      “The Club”

·      “Moving forward” – the past is the past

·      Txt as graphics

·      Modern – clean, young, and direct

·      Philosophy  - simple, direct, honest, and “forward”

John Seabrook follows Art Director/renowned designer Fabien Baron, having a first encounter look at how Fabien views the world, works, and thinks.  Fabien’s specialty is “letting the oxygen in” magazines and advertisements.  His thinking if viewed as “forward”, fresh, and smart.  As head Art Direct for Bazarr magazine Fabien interacts with all kinds of artists.  He has created a group “The Club” that brings his friends and other artists together.  He states that he “wants to bring designers and architects and artists together to create a movement, or a philosophy – a certain kind of look (like impressionist did)” (75).  Fabien believes art and design should be simple, direct, honest, and “forward”.  He states several times in the article that he does not want to go back in time, which the past is the past and we should move forward to bigger and greater things.  Designers should figure out the meaning and essence of today not of the past.