Design Upcycling

Y10

What is Earth overshoot day?

What is Earth overshoot day?

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. 2 August.

pillars of sustainability

environmental protection, social development and economic growth

As product designers what can we do?

Design more sustainable products and build ‘systems thinking’ into our solutions.

What is re-use?

Using something again, and it can mean repurposing it. Requires the least effort and energy meaning it also conserves resources and reduces waste. Counteracts current throwaway societal habits.

example: a tote bag

What is recycle?

Taking products that have been disposed of or reached the end of their lifespan and then breaking them down into their raw materials that are then reused to manufacture a new/other product. Allows us to conserve resources and materials and often energy. eg recycling PET plastic bottles to make new ones.

upcycle

To repurpose a wasted product or material to give it a second life, with the same or greater value. Eg. Turning old clothes into an apron

prototype

a physical model built to test a concept or process, or to act as an object to be replicated or learned from.

repair?

Fixing something to try to restore it to its original state.

• Encourages people to buy quality products and prioritise getting it fixed instead of discarding them.

• The right-to-repair movement is an evident example that is established by the UN to promote more sustainable consumption by making it simple to repair products and thus minimising waste and supporting repair companies.

recondition

Refurbishing a product by taking it in since it has a problem, then restoring (fixing, cleaning and repackaging) the product and selling it again but for a lower cost.

• Reduces amount of waste created

• Eg. reconditioning a smartphone produces 40x less greenhouse gas emissions than producing a brand new one(source). Eg. Repan

What are the three Ps?

Planet, People and Profit

What are the three Es?

Environment, Equality and Economy

re-engineer

Re-designing an existing product by reconstructing it to make it still/more useful(today also sustainable) using new technology.

• Done by adding, adjusting and removing components or how they function together. 

• Eg. With cars today reduce their emissions(minimise pollution) with new technology.

What is dematerialisation?

A waste mitigation strategy where the product is made with less material.(improves product efficiency).

• Includes reduction of raw materials at production state, energy, material inputs at user stage and disposal stage

• Very effective when thinking about reducing packaging.

• Eg. Moving from physical certificates to virtual bookkeeping(don’t need to use paper and cut down trees.

cradle-to-cradle

It is a design strategy that aims to remove waste from a products making, usage and disposal of product and centers on the idea of it being made again(potentially infinite circulation of materials in its life cycle).

• Eg. Puma incycle sneaker

cradle to grave process?

The products are designed in a way that makes their lifecycle short, and end up as waste to humans(refers to life journey of products).

Linear economy

The process when the products are designed to be used for a limited time; take, make and dispose(end up in land fill).

Circular economy

The recycling of products is avoided because it focuses on products being designed from the start to be reused, repaired and remanufactured. Products are designed to last for many life cycles. 

What is design for dissassembly?

A waste mitigation strategy where the product can be easily, cheaply, quickly and cleanly be broken apart when it is at the end of its use to then reuse/recycle the parts.

What is green design?

A design that has a minimal effect on the environment, the design is as sustainable as possible

What is a waste mitigation strategy?

A general strategy where the amount of material wasted and affecting the environment is limited

What is a recycling economy?

A process where the product’s materials are being broken down and used again, but eventually the materials will have to go to waste

What are the three steps of creating?

Copy, Combine and Transform

What is low fidelity when it comes to a design?

• Not functional

• Ensure content is correct, test size, ergonomics of it.

• Mock up idea, still far from final product.

• The user can provide input/feedback.

medium fidelity

Medium fidelity:

• Includes functional aspects of the final product(to some degree).

• Allows for rapid changes based on user feedback.

• Used to test ease of use and functionality

why is recycling necessary

reduces the need to extract new, raw materials from the earth as it reuses the stuff that's already processed and protects natural resources, reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere and prevents adding more rubbish to landfills.

What is high fidelity when it comes to a design?

A prototype that is very professional and could be ready for sale.Full-scale working prototype. Durable enough to be testable and used by the user group to gather usability data.

What is sustainability

development meeting current needs without hindering/limiting future generations(abilities). It involves balancing economic, social, and environmental factors for long-term well-being.

What is a replacement rate?

The rate we need to replenish the sources we take from the earth

Biomimicry

A waste mitigation strategy by mimicking  nature (in the way it adapts, evolves, and systems work together) to find solutions to real world problems.

• Make products more energy efficient

• Putting Nature’s lessons into action

• Eg. fur on animals, feathers have inspired and helped designers create insulative coat designs.