1st Edition

Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Product Design

By Jonathan Chapman Copyright 2017
    584 Pages
    by Routledge

    584 Pages
    by Routledge

    As a cultivated form of invention, product design is a deeply human phenomenon that enables us to shape, modify and alter the world around us – for better or worse. The recent emergence of the sustainability imperative in product design compels us to recalibrate the parameters of good design in an unsustainable age. Written by designers, for designers, the Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Product Design presents the first systematic overview of the burgeoning field of sustainable product design. Brimming with intelligent viewpoints, critical propositions, practical examples and rich theoretical analyses, this book provides an essential point of reference for scholars and practitioners at the intersection of product design and sustainability. The book takes readers to the depth of our engagements with the designed world to advance the social and ecological purpose of product design as a critical twenty-first-century practice. Comprising 35 chapters across 6 thematic parts, the book’s contributors include the most significant international thinkers in this dynamic and evolving field.

    Introduction  Part 1: The Made World  1. A Brief History of (Un)sustainable Design
    Damon Taylor  2. The Half-Life of a Sustainable Emotion: Searching for meaning in product usage Gerald Cupchik  3. A Renaissance of Animism: A meditation on the relationship between things and their makers Michael Leube  4. The Object of Nightingales: Design values for a meaningful material culture Stuart Walker  5. Challenges of the Cultural Differentiation of Technology Petran Kockelkoren  6. Sustainable Product Design: An Oxymoron? Clive Dilnot  Part 2: Agents of Change  7. Sustainable Thinking Aaris Sherin  8. Engaging Designers in Sustainability Vicky Lofthouse  9. Design for Sustainable Behaviour Debra Lilley & Garrath Wilson  10. Mending Broken Promises in Sustainable Design Alex Lobos  11. Sharing, Materialism and Design for Sustainability Russell Belk  12. A Journey of Two Designers Yorick Benjamin  Part 3: Materials and Processes  13. Conflict Minerals and the Politics of Stuff Colin Fitzpatrick  14. Materially Yours Elvin Karana, Elisa Giaccardi & Valentina Rognoli  15. Mediating Matters Nick Gant  16. Print to Repair: 3D printing and product repair Miles Park  17. Unmaking Waste Robert Crocker  Part 4: User Experience  18. Emotional Sustainability Deana McDonagh  19. Pleasant Experiences and Sustainable Design Juan Carlos Ortiz Nicolás  20. Surprising Longevity Silvia Grimaldi  21. Design for Sustainable Use using Principles of Behaviour Change Casper Boks & Johannes Zachrisson Daae  22. Hacking the Probehead: Manipulations for social sustainability Otto von Busch  23. Transitions in Sociotechnical Conditions that afford Usership: Sustainable Who? Cameron Tonkinwise  Part 5: Systems and Services  24. Product Service Systems and the Future of Design Tracy Bhamra & Ricardo Hernandez  25. A Consumer’s Perspective on the Circular Economy Ruth Mugge  26. Designing Circular Possessions Weston Baxter & Peter Childs  27. Longer-Lasting Products and Services Tim Cooper  28. How about Dinner? Concepts and methods in designing for sustainable lifestyles Annelise de Jong & Ramia Maze  29. The Sustainable Energy for All Design Scenario Carlo Vezzoli and Elisa Bacchetti  Part 6: Design Futures  30. From Good to the Greater Good Anna Pohlmeyer & Pieter Desmet  31. Plans and Speculated Actions: Design, behaviour and complexity in sustainable futures Dan Lockton & Veronica Ranner  32. From Products to Relations: Adding ‘jeong’ to the metadesigner’s vocabulary John Wood  33. Products Of the Open Design Context Paul Micklethwaite  34. Promoting Sustainability through Mindful Design Kristina Niedderer  35. Design for Social Innovation and new Product Contexts Nicola Morelli  Index

    Biography

    Jonathan Chapman is Professor and Director of Doctoral Studies at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design. His research shapes future design paradigms for longer-lasting materials, products and user experiences – an approach he defines as 'emotionally durable design'. He has developed this research with over 100 global businesses and governmental bodies – from Sony, Puma, The Body Shop and Philips to the House of Lords and the United Nations – advancing the social and ecological relevance of their products, technologies and systems. Professor Chapman's work in sustainable design has generated international media attention from publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, CNN International and BBC Radio 4. New Scientist described him as ‘a mover and shaker’ and a ‘new breed of sustainable design thinker’. 

    ‘Brimming with intelligent viewpoints, critical propositions, practical examples and rich theoretical analyses, this book provides an essential point of reference for scholars and practitioners at the intersection of product design and sustainability.’ - John Thackara, founder, Doors of Perception

    'To profoundly understand something, you need to study it from all possible angles. This impressive volume does exactly this. With contributions by leading scholars from a diverse range of backgrounds, it brings us the multidisciplinary perspective on sustainable product design that designers, academics, and – ultimately – the world so desperately need.' - Paul Hekkert, Professor, Department of Industrial Design, Delft University of Technology

    'The case against mindless design has never been made more effectively. Chapman brings together an amazing assembly of contemporary design researchers to discuss one of our greatest challenges: making the world safe for future inhabitants. Whatever you are designing, you may want to keep this book close to remind you of all the exciting new possibilities for sustainable design.' - Dr. Conny Bakker, Associate Professor, Design for Sustainability / Circular Product Design, TU Delft

    ‘Product design is at a crossroads with product designers now a fractured constituency. The difference can be viewed in three ways: retaining the historically established focus on the object, be it so often bonded to the unsustainable; redeeming the object by attempting to make it ‘sustainable’; or lastly, abandoning, eliminating or dematerialising it. This collection of essays gives the discerning reader the opportunity to make an informed decision on the most appropriate path design and designing should take.’ - Professor Tony Fry, Director, Studio at the Edge of the World

    ‘An utmost intriguing and extensive multi-angled journey through the constructed world we live in. Design lies at the core of the errors in our system and can only be solved by rethinking it all from the start. This handbook makes clear how we can realise this necessary transformation towards intelligent products with healthy upcyclable materials. When we understand where we come from and are aware of the beneficial alternatives for today’s tomorrow, we can define our future positively.’ - Michael Braungart, CEO EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung, Co-founder Cradle to Cradle

    'Chapman offers an authoritative view on sustainable product design through the collective understanding of key protagonists in the field. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don’t, but the breadth of writing and analysis of key concerns frames the social and ecological agency of design and its role in our material future. It will become essential reading for anyone working in product design and its associated practices.' - Dr Matt Malpass, University of the Arts London: Central Saint Martins

    'Drawing from his experience exploring our emotional relationship with objects, Jonathan Chapman gathers and frames a vital and plural collection of texts on sustainability from the key thinkers in the field. Chapman and his co-authors ably illustrate that the problem is a political one, confounded by our conflicting notions of progress, and reliant upon the psychological frailties of consumer behavior and the appetite for organizational change.' - Tim Parsons, Chair of Designed Objects Programs, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago