C1.1 Responsibility of the designer

Introduction

Designers play a crucial role in creating products that are safe, sustainable, and ethically sound. They must adhere to safety standards, consider the environmental impact of their choices, and be aware of product obsolescence. By balancing these factors, designers can create products that contribute positively to society and the environment.

Guiding Question

What is the role of a designer in innovative and continuous product development?

Designers bear significant responsibilities when creating products, balancing the needs of clients, communities, and the environment. Their decisions can lead to products with substantial positive or negative impacts on society and the natural world. This holistic approach to design requires careful consideration of various stakeholders and potential long-term consequences.

A crucial aspect of a designer's responsibility is ensuring product safety. By adhering to established standards and guidelines, designers can safeguard the well-being, health, and safety of users. This focus on safety is an integral part of the broader ethical considerations in design, directly affecting both individuals and communities.

Product obsolescence, whether planned or resulting from social, style, functional, or technological factors, plays a significant role in the design process. The lifespan of a product has far-reaching implications for sustainability and societal impact, affecting what is known as the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) – the economic, social, and environmental aspects of a product's lifecycle.

These interconnected themes of responsibility, safety, and product longevity highlight the complex nature of design. Designers must navigate ethical considerations, environmental impacts, and societal effects while creating products that meet immediate needs and stand the test of time. By understanding these relationships, aspiring designers can develop a more comprehensive approach to their craft, considering both short-term functionality and long-term consequences.

Korean

디자이너는 제품을 만들 때 상당한 책임을 지닙니다. 고객, 커뮤니티 및 환경의 요구를 균형 있게 고려해야 합니다. 그들의 결정은 사회와 자연 세계에 상당한 긍정적 또는 부정적 영향을 미치는 제품으로 이어질 수 있습니다. 이러한 홀리스틱한 디자인 접근 방식은 다양한 이해 관계자와 잠재적인 장기적인 결과를 신중하게 고려해야 합니다.

디자이너의 책임에서 중요한 측면은 제품 안전성을 보장하는 것입니다. 확립된 표준 및 지침을 준수함으로써 디자이너는 사용자의 안녕, 건강 및 안전을 보호할 수 있습니다. 안전에 대한 이러한 초점은 디자인에서 더 넓은 윤리적 고려 사항의 필수적인 부분이며, 개인과 커뮤니티 모두에 직접적인 영향을 미칩니다.

계획된 것이든 사회적, 스타일, 기능적 또는 기술적 요인으로 인한 것이든 제품의 노후화는 디자인 프로세스에서 중요한 역할을 합니다. 제품의 수명은 지속 가능성과 사회적 영향에 깊은 영향을 미치며, 제품 수명주기의 경제적, 사회적, 환경적 측면인 이른바 트리플 바텀 라인(TBL)에 영향을 미칩니다.

책임, 안전 및 제품 수명이라는 이러한 상호 연결된 주제는 디자인의 복잡한 특성을 강조합니다. 디자이너는 즉각적인 요구를 충족하고 시간의 시험을 견디는 제품을 만들면서도 윤리적 고려 사항, 환경적 영향 및 사회적 영향을 탐색해야 합니다. 이러한 관계를 이해함으로써, 미래의 디자이너들은 단기적인 기능성과 장기적인 결과를 모두 고려하는 보다 포괄적인 접근 방식을 개발할 수 있습니다.

Chinese

设计师在创造产品时承担着重大责任，需要平衡客户、社区和环境的需求。他们的决策可能导致对社会和自然界产生重大积极或消极影响的产品。这种整体性的设计方法需要仔细考虑各种利益相关者和潜在的长期后果。

设计师责任的一个关键方面是确保产品安全。通过遵守既定的标准和指南，设计师可以保障用户的福祉、健康和安全。这种对安全的关注是设计中更广泛的伦理考虑的组成部分，直接影响到个人和社区。

产品过时，无论是计划性的还是由社会、风格、功能或技术因素导致的，都在设计过程中发挥着重要作用。产品的使用寿命对可持续性和社会影响具有深远的影响，影响到所谓的“三重底线”（TBL）——产品生命周期的经济、社会和环境方面。

责任、安全和产品寿命这些相互关联的主题突显了设计的复杂性。设计师必须在满足即时需求和经受住时间考验的同时，应对伦理考虑、环境影响和社会影响。通过理解这些关系，未来的设计师可以开发出更全面的设计方法，同时考虑短期功能性和长期后果。

C1.1.1: A designer has responsibility to the needs of clients, their community and the environment when designing and creating products.

Guidance: You should be able to outline how design decisions have resulted in products that have had significant positive or negative impacts on a community or the environment.

Designers play an imortant role in shaping the world around us. When creating products, designers must carefully balance the needs of their clients, the broader community, and the environment. This multifaceted approach to design requires thoughtful consideration of the potential impacts a product may have, both positive and negative, on various stakeholders and ecosystems.

Design decisions can have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the immediate user experience. For instance:

a product designed with sustainability in mind might use recycled materials or have easily replaceable parts, reducing waste and environmental impact
a product that prioritizes convenience at the expense of durability might contribute to increased landfill waste and resource depletion.

As a designer, it is essential to critically analyze how your decisions might affect not just the end-user but also the wider community and environment. This involves considering factors such as:

Material selection and sourcing
Manufacturing processes
Product lifespan and repairability
End-of-life disposal or recycling options
Energy efficiency during use
Social and cultural implications of the product

By carefully weighing these factors and aiming for a balance between client needs, community well-being, and environmental stewardship, designers can create products that not only serve their intended purpose but also contribute positively to society and the planet. This holistic approach to design is becoming increasingly important as we face global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and social inequality.

Consider the following examples:

Positive impact

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The development of affordable, durable water filters for use in developing countries has significantly improved community health by providing access to clean drinking water. This design decision addresses a critical need while also considering long-term environmental sustainability.

Negative impact

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The widespread adoption of single-use plastic packaging in the food industry has led to severe environmental pollution, affecting marine life and ecosystems globally. This design choice prioritized convenience and cost-effectiveness but failed to account for long-term environmental consequences.

Mixed impact

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The rise of smartphones has revolutionized communication and access to information, positively impacting productivity and connectivity. However, the rapid obsolescence of these devices due to constant upgrades has contributed to growing e-waste problems, highlighting the complex interplay between technological advancement and environmental responsibility.

C1.1.2: It is a designer’s responsibility to ensure their products are safe to use.

Guidance: You should be able to discuss how standards can help designers ensure the well-being, health and safety of users when using their products.

Designers play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and well-being of users. Beyond creating aesthetically pleasing and functional products, they must prioritize safety in every stage of the design process. To achieve this, designers rely on industry standards and guidelines that provide a comprehensive framework for safety.

Standards establish minimum safety requirements that products must meet before being marketed or sold. These requirements often cover aspects such as electrical safety, mechanical stability, and chemical composition. By adhering to these standards, designers can mitigate risks and prevent accidents.

Furthermore, standards provide specific testing protocols to evaluate product safety. These protocols ensure consistency in safety assessments across different manufacturers and products. By following these protocols, designers can identify and address potential safety issues before a product reaches the market.

Many standards are developed in response to identified hazards or accidents. By incorporating lessons learned from past incidents, standards can help prevent future occurrences. For example, after a series of product recalls due to faulty batteries, standards were implemented to ensure the safety of battery-powered devices

Additionally, safety standards often emphasize the importance of user-centered design. By considering user behavior and potential misuse, designers can create products that are inherently safe even when used improperly. For instance, childproof packaging and clear safety instructions are examples of user-centered design principles that can improve product safety.

Toy Design Safety

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Toy designers must follow strict safety standards. Typically, these standards focus on minimizing choking and suffocation risks, and require the use of non-toxic paints. These might include:

Ensuring that toys don't contain small parts that could pose a choking hazard.
Ensuring that small batteries are securely enclosed and cannot be easily removed by children, as they can cause severe injury or death if swallowed.
Using non-toxic paints because children are more sensitive and more likely to put objects in their mouths.
Avoiding materials that can break into small, sharp pieces.

Check out this resource about Designing for children which includes considerations of the age, physical and cognitive abilities, as well as other stakeholders in successfully design for this user group.

Automobile Design Safety

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Automotive designers incorporate numerous safety features into their designs:

Crumple zones: Designers create specific areas of the vehicle structure to absorb and dissipate energy during a collision, protecting the occupants.
Airbag systems: Beyond just including airbags, designers must consider their placement, deployment speed, and interaction with other vehicle components to maximize effectiveness while minimizing potential injuries from the airbags themselves.
Seatbelt design: This includes not just the belt itself, but also its anchoring points, tensioners, and how it interacts with the vehicle's structure during a crash.
Visibility: Designers must ensure good visibility for the driver, considering factors like pillar thickness and mirror placement.

C1.1.3: Products become obsolete due to a number of factors and can be planned.

Guidance: You should be able to discuss how obsolescence (including planned, social, style, functional, technological) affects the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and identify products that have been impacted.

The different types of obsolescence can significantly impact the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) - economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability:

C1.1 Obsolescence

Economic impacts:

Planned obsolescence often leads to increased sales and profits for companies in the short term, as consumers are compelled to replace products more frequently.
However, it can negatively impact consumer trust and brand loyalty in the long run.
Frequent replacements increase consumer spending, which can be a burden on household finances.

Environmental impacts:

Increased product turnover leads to more waste generation and resource consumption.
Manufacturing new products to replace obsolete ones requires energy and raw materials, contributing to increased carbon emissions and resource depletion.
E-waste from discarded electronic devices poses significant environmental challenges, including toxic material leaching.

Social impacts:

Planned obsolescence can create a "throwaway culture" that values novelty over durability and repair.
It may exacerbate income inequality, as lower-income consumers struggle to keep up with frequent product replacements.
However, it can also drive innovation and job creation in design and manufacturing sectors.

These two videos tell similar, but different, stories about planned obsolescence and eWaste.

Linking Questions

How does the classification and properties of the materials affect the designer’s ability to meet their responsibilities to minimize negative impacts on the communities they design for? (A3.1)
What are the key considerations of ensuring products can be used safely when designing them to include mechanical and electronic systems? (A3.3, A3.4, B3.3, B3.4)
To what extent are there differences between the responsibility of the designer and the responsibility of the design student as they engage with the design process? (B2.1)
How does the designer mitigate the impact of social, style, functional and technological obsolescence when using a design for sustainability strategy? (C2.1)
How do designers ensure they design out obsolescence when working with a design for a circular economy strategy? (C2.2)
To what extent is it the responsibility of the designer to ensure that the outcome of the life-cycle analysis for their product is relatively positive? (C3.2)

Linking questions are questions that help you connect different parts of your design technology studies. They can show how ideas and skills are related to each other.

Why are linking questions important?

Linking questions can help you:

Understand the big picture: See how different parts of design technology fit together.
Learn more: Connect new information to what you already know.
Show your knowledge: Demonstrate your understanding of design technology in a deeper way.

How can you use linking questions?

Connect subtopics: Find relationships between different parts of the course
Use your skills: Show how you can apply design technology skills in different areas.
Think about the nature of design technology: Consider the big ideas and principles that guide design technology.
Apply to the real world: See how design technology can be used in real-life situations.

Citations

Architecture For Humanity (Organization. Design like You Give a Damn. [2], Building Change from the Ground Up. New York ; London, Abrams, 2012.
Cary, John. Design for Good - a New Era of Architecture for Everyone. Island Press, 2017.
Conny Bakker, and Et Al. Products That Last : Product Design for Circular Business Models. London ; London, Bis Publishers, 2019.
Francisco. Design like You Give a Damn : Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises. London, Thames And Hudson, 2011.
Gao, Fei, and Shiliang Cui. “Product Design with the Triple Bottom Line.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4125728. Accessed 21 June 2022.
Kenton, Will. “Triple Bottom Line (TBL).” Investopedia, 24 May 2024, www.investopedia.com/terms/t/triple-bottom-line.asp.
Liu, Xiao, and Ming-Yang Li. “Sustainable Service Product Design Method: Focus on Customer Demands and Triple Bottom Line.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, vol. 80, 30 May 2024, pp. 103935–103935, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103935. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.
Peleg Top, and Jonathan Cleveland. Designing for the Greater Good : The Best of Non-Profit and Cause-Related Marketing and Nonprofit Design. New York, Harpercollins E-Books, 2011.
Pilloton, Emily, and Allan Chochinov. Design Revolution : 100 Products That Empower People. New York, NY, Metropolis Books : D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, 2009.
Siem Haffmans, et al. Products That Flow : Circulaire Verdienmodellen En Ontwerpstrategieën Voor Verbruiksproducten. Amsterdam, Bis Publishers, 2020.
Solanki, Seetal. Why Materials Matter : Responsible Design for a Better World. Munich, Prestel, 2018.

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