Responsible and desirable design

Design starts by imagining how our daily activities, processes, products, services can be different. Then, it proceeds to translate the designer’s aspirations into reality. More than just concerned with shaping, design represents a strategic activity with the prospect of achieving change from an existing state to a preferred state.

Eco-design, inclusive design, design for all and human centered design, among others, are terms used in the recent history of design to emphasize a growing interest in reorienting the structure of our societies toward a greater service to humanity. A broader term that in a way encompasses all of the above is Responsible Design. Responsible design considers the potential that a company has to configure the environment through its design interventions — the products, services, processes and systems that it creates. Interventions of this type take into account much more than just economic and consumer considerations, encompassing ethical, emotional and humanitarian values. The responsible designer is interested in what designs promote in terms of emotional, psychological, social and environmental well-being.

A focus on responsible design is relevant for all types of companies, and not only restricted to global players, as forays into this field may include “disruptive innovations” with the ability to promote the emergence of new industrial or business groups and to influence competitiveness worldwide. As such, responsible design is becoming the “price to entry” in industries as never seen before. Tesla, for instance, dared to challenge the concept of the gasoline-dependent car by striving for its adoption on a large scale. After overcoming a wide variety of technological challenges this year the company surprised us when its share value surpassed that of the long-time players Ford and General Motors combined.

But, what posibilities exist when we talk about design forms?. Years back I covered this in a different entry inspired by a NY Times article. Let’s make a recap:

-Design that is responsible but not desirable

-Design that is desirable but not responsible

-Design that is responsible and desirable

An example of responsible but undesirable design is the Samsung Replenish , a cell phone made from 82% recycled materials. The packaging is 100% recyclable and printed in soy ink and its battery cover can be replaced with one that enables solar recharging. However, available in a single color (black), the physical appearance of this cell phone is not very attractive for many users: a screen that occupies 3/4 of the front space and leaves the rest for a tiny and uncomfortable keyboard.

Examples of desirable but not responsible design abound around us and are the ones that we are very used to. Indulging in driving a classic car built on an internal combustion engine? Using cell phones or clothing lacking the proper sustainability certifications?

Within responsible and desirable design we can locate the pioneers of the shared economy (share-economy). Through RelayRides people can rent cars from their neighbors by the hour or for whole days. Snapgood allows renting high-cost household items such as cameras, kitchen items, musical instruments, etc. for the desired time. In short, the sharing economy makes use of what is underused and, for this reason, it can be considered responsible as well as desirable. Isn’t it preferable to pay a modest rent to access an item or service that is used periodically instead of covering its entire cost? How many underused products can we stop consuming and producing by choosing to share them with others?

Design, like other professional areas, is being deeply impacted by a change in priorities. In fact, it represents a fundamental stone to bring about systems, technologies and products that align with an urgent sustainability agenda. However, the challenge for the designer today consists, first, in opening his/her mind beyond the limits imposed by a design ignorant of other factors but the traditional cost-benefit. And, second, learn how to incoporate the knowledge from different disciplines (e.g. IT, stats, engineering, arts, social science) to deliver sustained value at a speed not seen before.

Sources:

New York Times: Good-looking and Responsible Design

Design Research Society: Socially Responsible Design