OUGD601 - Extended Essay Reading - Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences & Empathy by Jonathan Chapman

Notes and Quotes  

Chapter 1 – The progress Illusion

pg 1

- public opinion about damage to the planet is clear and that an overhaul of production and consumption systems is needed urgently

pg 2

- In order for the Earth to stay balanced the environment must be regulated

- current ecology is anthropocentric, looking at the human effect on the environment

pg 3

- consumption of resources does not rise in line with population, instead it outstrips it, meaning people are consuming more than is needed

- environmental damage will be due to unsustainability in design, production and consumption

- ‘Georges Bataille, when speaking of pressure, states that any life form will always expand in number or size to fill space that it has, and only when critical mass has been accomplished will growth level off.’

pg 4

- life grows to fill space in the same way populations have spread over the Earth and will continue to do so

pg 5

- we use more resources than we give back to the environment

- sustainability as a term is anthropocentric as concern is less about the effect on the environment and more about increasing human benefit to further generations 

- things are only considered resources if they have commercial value - commercial resources are taken from the Earth quicker than they can naturally be created meaning natural resources are low

pg 6

- from the late 19^th century there has been an awareness of the link between materialist culture and environmental damage

- consumption combined with post - industrial manufacture were damaging the environment

- Design for X strategies have been employed as a way of making design more sustainable and focus on certain stages of a products lifecycle e.g. particularly used for white goods where legislation demands minimal waste

- ‘Other popular strategies include alternative energies, from solar to human power; sourcing local materials and processes; collapsible objects to conserve landfill space; supply chain management; zero emission; compostable products and a growing left field interest in edible packaging’

- designers now have access to a range of environmentally low impact materials

pg 7

- Consumers have more understanding of the effects of their purchasing

- public opinion – consumption / habits are changing to consider the environment more

- for companies to be successful in the future they will rely on the portrayal of products and services that are environmentally friendly

- sustainable design is no longer perceived to be a lesser form of design

- use of low impact materials and design for disassembly have become part of the design process, whist still being financially successful

- sustainability effectively allows financial growth

- waste of materials is due to unnecessary durability and short product use time

pg 8

- 90% of materials from the Earth become waste after three months

- full landfills do not have the conditions for biodegradable material to break down

- biodegradability is considered to be a solution to environmental problems in theory however this has not been seen on a large scale

pg 9

- recycled materials are being consumed more now rather than new resources – rather than using new resources, recycled materials are being consumed rapidly in a wasteful way

pg 10

- recycling on its own will not solve the problem

- recycling allows consumers to feel better about their negative impact /actions

- recycling can help justify more consumption

- there has been more of a focus on the symptoms rather than the causes of environmental crisis within sustainable design – symptoms rather than causes of environmental damage have been focussed more on within sustainable design – sustainable design has looked more at the symptoms rather than cause of environmental damage

- technology within design has created a rapid consumer culture which aims to maintain state of the art which is unfeasible and leads to waste

- design has sped up processes

- products are a physical way to understand and engage with the world

- the reasons for the need to consume are affected by emotional and psychological factors such as these

- we are intrigued by objects that show aspects of human ingenuity and these objects increase the social status of their owners – objects that show human ingenuity increase the social status of individuals who own them because they are intrigued by them

pg 12

- possessions often signify status and create a culture of comparison which is common in herding species

- success within a capitalist culture is determined by wealth

- individuals / consumers try to keep up with others – there is a societal pressure to keep up – society puts pressure on individuals to keep up

Pg 14

- Rather than creating objects that fit functions in different ways, industrial design produces lots of the same objects for consumers as a result of commercialism

Pg 16

- Industrial design prefers to focus development into existing product formats

- Emotional experience from new products using existing frameworks are limited

- Superficial design creates a sense of progress, which is desirable, however only for a short time leading to frustration and ultimate encourages waste

- A system that relies on product obsolescence rather than a wider set of values will limit consumer satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of long term relationships with objects – A system that relies on technical modernity through product obsolescence to satisfy consumers, rather than experiential and emotional aspects, will limit satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of long term relationships with objects

Pg 17

- The large amounts of waste created from the process of fleeting desire becomes toxically damaging to the environment and problematic for space to put it – the large amounts of waste created from the process of fleeting desire is damaging to the environment and finding space can be difficult

- Consumption and production need to be rethought

- New alternative types of design and more experiential consumption will become more popular as consumers realise technocentric designs inability to fulfill them, however it will continue 

Pg 18

- Interactive design based on the human need for empathy also exists aside from fleeting technocentric design

- There has been a change from relationships between people to ones with various objects around us, to form individuality

- We get empathy from objects rather than people

Pg 19

- There has been a shift in society from shared experience / relationships to individual relationships with objects and unnecessary materialistic beliefs

- Material objects are needed by everyone to some extent

Pg 20

- The desires of consumers change, however objects are static

- The relationship between consumers and objects needs to change

- Art has layers of meaning that keep the viewer engaged

- Products quickly give their meaning away and do not fulfill our expectations

Pg 21

- Energy used by a product during its life may be higher than producing a more efficient product

Pg 22

- Humans need to stop considering ourselves in order to make more of a positive impact on the environment

Pg 23

- Sustainability as a term is not useful because it can be applied widely, it is too vague

Buying local, consuming alternative energy, neighbourhood recycling, buying organic (gives wellbeing), bottle banks

pg 24

- it is essential that we are actively engaging in environmental and social change no matter what the reason – it doesn’t matter why we engage in environmental and social projects / initiatives as long as we do

pg 29

- consumption is part of life and allows us to understand and engage with the world through experiences

- consumption is part of life

- consumption allows us to learn, process and engage with the world through experiences – we process, learn and engage with the world through consumption of experiences

tasks are much easier in modern life so we seek to consume new things which can stimulate us

pg 30

- for the brain to be stimulated it looks to designed objects

- will consume in a materialistic way in an attempt for meaningful stimulation

- consumption of material goods is used to express our values and identity and act as a way - for consumers to see their personal journey / change , however this type of consumption has negative impacts for the environment

pg 32

- we are able to physically engage with the world through objects and experience and they allow us to reflect on ourselves

- the negativity associated with consumption hides the fact that it is a key human behaviour

pg 33

- statistics can have a negative impact on people because they feel put off / overwhelmed by the scale of the problem

- passive views about environmental issues are increased by the idea that consumers have to give up comfort to make a difference

pg 34

- the idea of life with limits and no pleasure makes green living seem unpleasant, so consumers continue as they did

pg 35

- environmental damage from consumption could be what we pass on to future generations

- sustainable consumption combines two contradictory words, however if consumption is properly defined it can make sense

- apple – signifies – vitamins, minerals, vitality

- apple – signifies – needs and desires

pg 36

- consumption due to desire leads to short lifespans and is mostly metaphysical

- many products are not ‘consumed’ completely and still work – many products still work after the consumer has finished with them and have not been ‘used’

- we are motivated to consume so we can physically engage with the world

- meaning is consumed rather than physical objects – material things provide a physical representation of meanings which are identified by the consumer

- material objects reflect our desires and dreams making up our identities – material objects provide a physical reflection of our desires and dreams and allow us to represent our identities as individuals through these objects – objects reflect wider society, ourselves and journeys

pg 37

- through consumption we avoid feelings of emptiness and are given purpose

- consumption of objects has various depths of meaning – material objects have different levels of meaning which are consumed, this can be halted if the object does not stimulate on one level and the relationship can break down - if on one level it does not stimulate, the relationship can break down

- it may be impossible to be satisfied as when needs are met other appear leading to a cycle of waste

- societies inability to be satisfied has encouraged short lived consumerism which has damaging effects on the environment

- it is impossible to stop the need to consume and actually hinders positive change

pg 38

- having understanding about human need will allow designers to create solutions to consumption

- needs are at the heart of human motivations and actions, which occur when there is a lack of something – when we need something we lack something – needs drive human motivations which occur when there is a lack of something – when we lack something, needs drive human actions

- Robert Bocock suggests consumerism is fuelled by a lack that creates a restless state of being which promotes constant changes to a consumer’s material life

- Advertising plays on this idea of lack by relentlessly suggesting alternative lifestyles / futures enforcing a sense of lack on the consumer