101 Design Standpoint

Design Standpoint for Stop Motion

My aim for this stop motion project was to create a body of work that shows the impact of the natural outside environment on design. Further to this, I wish to explore the importance of eco-friendly design as well as its use in today’s product design. My chosen major as Culture + Context allows me to show this standpoint through a brief evolution of product design from wood. Hitachi Ltd. produced a report on green productivity that argues “to establish a sustainable economic system, we must consider product manufacturing from the viewpoint of the relationship between products and the environment.” I agree with this standpoint as product sourcing and materials are an important consideration in the design process. The effects of using unsustainable materials have taken its toll on the natural environment. Rainforest Facts suggest that while the Earth’s land surface was 14% covered in rainforest, it now covers only 6% and is estimates that “the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.” Whilst my stop motion project enforces the idea of using natural resources such as wood, I am opposed to consumption of materials without replenishing them. E.g. if a log of wood is used for furniture, another tree can be planted in its place as well as being a bio-degradable material, unlike plastics in which “global consumption of all flexible packaging, estimated at 12.3 million tonnes/year, estimates put global production capacity at 327,000 tonnes/year for related bio-derived materials.”

            The argument of eco-friendly design is a big issue impacting us today and one that corresponds with Culture + Context –social issues in design. This issue is particularly relevant today with the environmental climate we are in. Many designers have commendably been aware of this and incorporated it into their design. I think that promoting awareness for this issue is one of the biggest ways to promote change as well as our ideals about sustainability as well as minimising consumption.

Sources Cited:

Eco system quote:

Hitachi Ltd. (Year Unknown). Eco-Design Towards Green Productivity. Japan: Takeo Takagi. Retrieved from http://www.apo-tokyo.org/gp/e_publi/gsc/0307RES_PAPERSrev.pdf

Tree image:

Shadowmagick. (2011). Retrieved from http://trevillian.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/the-talliston-tree-the-all-pervasive-tree-of-life-the-motifs-of-the-world-tree-or-axis-mundi-appear-many-times-throughout.html

Rainforest quote:

Rainforest Facts. (1996). Retrieved from http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

Plastic Quote:

Plastic News. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.plasticsnews.com/fyi-charts/index.html?id=1132774806