Project Two- Product Service System

The assigned tast to create a Product Service System (PSS). The outcome of my groups work was a system to recycle used coffee grounds. The reason being as these are a valuable source of nutrients from gardens. Thus, to mealy dispose of them with regular waste i.e. landfill would be an immense waste. The products associated with this service were the following. A redesigned ground "dump bin" that will facilitate the easy removal of this waste. Similarly on a small scale it was chosen to make these ground available to coffee shop goers. This was done by implementing a "keep cup" type system. Where individuals can obtain a cup that they can fill with used ground in the coffee shop. They will then be able to take these home to use on their garden. This cup is reusable and thus can be used over and over.

The task of designed not only a product but also a service system that is a part of this increases the difficulty of the task exponentially. The reason being that one is required to consider the effectiveness of the product from far more perspectives. In particular from a design perspective one cannot look at the product purely from an aesthetic point of view. In fact one needs to look at the entire lifecycle of the product with a strong push on the use stages of this cycle. From a purely hypothetical point of view this is extremely difficult as the only source of real fact is from similar product service systems that exist. More often than not these are not very closely related. It can be likened to building something entirely on the computer and encountering difficulties when you start production. This may be to small overlooks of manufacturing technicalities.

Industrials must consider product service systems as possible solutions to problems they encounter. The reason being that a PSS is able to influence a far greater number of people than an individual product. It can be a more environmentally friendly solution, more economically viable and generally better. However, one must not get obsessed with such things as there is still a definite place in design for pure design. As this allows designers a means of self expression which may otherwise be lost and design will slowly transcend creativity into a theoretical and hypothetical practice.

Determining a PSS concept that has a degree of viability is extremely difficult. It is not a task that is to be underestimated. It requires immense research and thought. Thus it is a great form of mental stimulation and a good challenge. However, in my opinion my preference still remains design tasks which allow for more risk to be taken and are a greater expression of ones choice. Thus my most liked part of creating a PSS was the development and creation of the products that support the service. The theoretical side and research is the most laborious and tedious. Hence, this was my least favoured part. I think that this is quite understandable given the nature of design.

A PDF presentation is available for download at:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/82104398/Ground-for-grounds-Powerpoint

A Visual Diary is also downloadable at:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/82105388/J Biet Visual Diary

Task 2d - Ethical Design Issues

The series of short films, Design For Life made in 2009 feature Philipe Starck in his quest to find a young designer to take on for a 6 month work placement. In episode 6 the final two novice designers are forced to design a product to meet the exacting standard of Philipe.

It is interesting to follow these two young designers as they are guided by professionals through the entire design process. From conception all the way through to a final product. As a young designer myself it is both interesting and reassuring to take note of how these people develop in such a short period of time.

It brings to light that there is no substitute for hard work and that if the initial concept is rubbish the best thing to do is to scrap it and start over. In my opinion I think that this is something people find difficult to do as they take it personally. As if this was undermining their skills which is not the case but rather one always has good and bad ideas. It's knowing which are worth pursuing that is difficult.

Task 2c - Climate Change- Who Killed the Electric Car

Who killed the electric car is a documentary on the General Motors EV1. This was an electric car produced by general motors in the 1990's and leased to people to use as their vehicle. They were never sold as this way ownership always remained the right of GM. As it turned out greed and unethical business practices on GM's part saw the demise of the EV1 and in fact all vehicles were crushed.

The EV1 proved to be a perfectly viable vehicle for clients and in fact people loved their EV1's and fought to keep them. As a designer one has mixed emotions about this scenario. As the design/engineering team did an extraordinary job of producing a vehicle way ahead of its time. Not that these were the first electric cars. In fact electric cars date back to the 1920's or before. So should designers not push boundaries, but rather keep within what consumers expect and will bring maximum profits for the business. I guess it comes down to human nature, where greed rules over all. Where it is hard to put the environment or ethics above money.

On the contrary if GM persuade this electric car perhaps today they would have been a completely different company. A leading force in the electric vehicle market... Perhaps if karma exists in business GM's current financial issues would be bad karma for their lack of environmental concerns with the EV1's.

Peer Comments

Pip Conolly

Susanna Li

Nicholas Baroni

Guida Arrezi

Patrick Gates

Designing for Disasters - Peat Firebag

Rationale

The “PEAT FIREBAG” was developed with the notion of creating a product to be used during peat bog wildfires caused by heat waves that occur in rural Russia.

The concept is for the “PEAT FIREBAG” to have multiple applications. The product is essentially constructed as a backpack from a folded 1.8m x 1.5m treated wool fire blanket, reinforced with fiberglass fire retardant matting. In an emergency the backpack can quickly be rearranged to perform several effective firefighting functions.

In the case of a fire, quick reactions can make the difference between life and death. For this reason the various “rearrangements” or uses that are possible for the “PEAT FIREBAG”, are totally intuitive and very quickly effected. The key functional possibilities are:

• backpack
• fire blanket
• sleeping bag
• stretcher
• a device to smother out small fires.

The intention is that people will essentially use the “PEAT FIREBAG” as a backpack and in the event of the user becoming unexpectedly exposed to a bog fire, - which can be rather sudden given the unpredictable nature of peat bog fires,- they will have the most comprehensive unique protection device of its kind available to them.

The materials used have been chosen for their fire retardant characteristics as well suitability for their desired task. The main component of the blanket is constructed from Zipro treated wool. Wool is by nature the most flame resistant of all normally encountered natural fibers (prior to any treatments). When compared to other possibilities, wool has the following excellent features:

• · high ignition temperature (570 -600 °C)
• · high limiting oxygen index (25 -26% )
• · low heat of combustion and low heat release
• high nitrogen content (14%)
• high moisture content
• does not melt or drip, and
• forms a self-insulating char that prevents further flame spread.

The Zipro treatment enhances flame resistance by exposing positively charged wool to negatively charged zirconium or titanium salts under acid conditions. This treatment stabilises the wool protein structure. Furthermore, wool is a sustainable fiber, which in a world where there is an ever-present push for sustainability, the “PEAT FIREBAG” excels.

As this product provides people with a viable device to protect themselves from the danger of spontaneous peat bog fires, the designer is of the opinion that this product will aid the Russian people in lowering the death toll during these natural disasters which occurs during heat waves in rural Russia. For this reason it is felt that this is an appropriate solution to the brief.

Reflection Statement

The Designing for Disaster, has proven to be an assignment of mammoth proportions. The initial design brief seemed to start with a seemingly simple and straightforward assignment. This has evolved into something that I would never have expected to get so complex and difficult.

The complexity was in large part due to the fact that I had never used a sewing machine before. So, in order to produce a model I had to learn the craft of sewing. This in itself presented interesting obstacles and many frustrations, not least of which were all the broken needles. However, I am of the opinion that pushing oneself is crucial to learning and getting the most out of the assignments we undertake certainly does this. Thus, proceeding to create a textile product as opposed to one that uses more conventional model making techniques with which I am familiar, has taught me new skills as well as to think differently as a designer. I now appreciate what a seamstress has to consider when producing a textile product, and the forethought required to give effect to the various steps involved in the construction process.

In reflecting on how the prototype turned out I am happy with the quality. With more advanced machinery such as an over locker and a more modern sewing machine, (the one I used is over 53 years old), it would have been possible to enhance the finer details. However, given the timeframe, materials and equipment constraints, I am very satisfied with the final outcome and feel that the concept is effectively conveyed.

Conceptually I am of the opinion that a more complicated design is not necessarily a better solution to a problem. The “PEAT FIREBAG” is a simple, cost effective idea which I feel is well suited to its particular need. While it does not require any fancy manufacturing processes or particularly “high-tech” materials, I feel that it is a no less valid solution than something seemingly more complicated. As Dieter Rams said, “The spectacular things are not the important things, but the unspectacular things are the important things”. Based on his ethos and achievements as a designer I respect his opinion greatly and hopefully my product reflects, to some extent, his purity of design.

Post completion of this assignment I feel as though I have expanded my model making skill set and broadened by ability to conceptualise ideas aimed at a real niche problem. That will unquestionable prove to be invaluable in design problems I will most certainly/ hopefully be faced with in the future.

Eco Redesign- Dome kettle

We dismantled a plastic kettle and calculated it’s environmental impact through GreenFly Online.

The product being manufactured in China results in transport having a large environmental impact and the everyday use creates great use of water and electricity over time. The heating element is the subassembly that has the greatest footprint due to it’s weight and manufacturing process.

This project gave great insight in to how much impact a simple household kettle can have, I would hate to think what the environmental impact larger appliances would.

Members of the Dome Team

http://pipconnolly-3292106.blogspot.com/

http://www.emilysoares.blogspot.com/

http://gsides3221.blogspot.com/

http://ides3221-charmainechen.blogspot.com/

Task 2b Recycling - Sustainable Consumption

The animations The Story of Bottled Water and Life Psychle-ology are two very clever videos which target the emotions of consumers to try and make a change in consumer habbits .

In the case of Psychle-ology the writer has used personification to given a persona/human features to things such a mobile phone. The affect of this is it make the video more personal and sparks an emotional response in the viewer. This may be empathy for the poor discarded product or disgust that its user has discarded a perfectly functional item. Regardless of the response the video highlights in a clear and concise manner that waist-fullness is a huge issue in the consumer goods industry and designers need to be aware of this. As a result designers can be more conscious of the post consumer stages of a product life-cycle. Thus being able to design products which either extend the life cycle or make recycling into new items more achievable.

Similarly The Story of Bottled Water brings the issue of consumer behavior to light. This is that companies are "manufacturing" demand for their products. In the case of bottled water this is as people are becoming aware of the monetary and environmental cost as well as the fact that bottle water is frequently subpar with regular tap water. Thus by promoting "boutique" water they have given a new life to the humble bottle of water. The video also highlight that while many water bottles are reused that are not being recycled but rather down-cycled. Consequently post down-cycling the material is simply discarded rather than being continuously recycled.

What these two videos are trying to convey is that brands are making product are that are not entirely conscious of the environment and as a result we as consumers need to be aware of this and consume with caution and moderation and designers need to strive for more ethical business practices.