Sunday, October 14, 2012
Rationale PPS
GreenCart
The GreenCart is a product service system which provides the
user with a bin, tool bag, 2 telescopic handles, hessian bag, and garden cart
station. The user takes these things home as well as a bag of organic fertilizer The fertilizer is given the customer so their garden can grow
better and secure a future purchase hire. The hirer has to pick up the
GreenCart from the service station which I though was convenient because there is
a various service stations situated around the Sydney region. This will allow
consumers very easy access to the GreenCart and imminent rehire.
I thought of this idea because many people don’t have the
space needed in their backyard to store the tools, and if they have tools they
are usually left in the elements and become broken or rusted quickly. This
means a frequent repurchase of products that could have lasted longer. With a frequent
repurchase of items there is a constant flow of waste being produce which has detrimental
effects.
The bin sections on the GreenCart has a locking mechanism for
the hessian bag. The hessian bag is inserted into groves and either a
polypropylene ring or disc is inserted into the area left. I used a snap fit
fastening system so there is no need for fastens and the product can be easily
disassembled. So once the product is obsolete it can be easily dismantled and
recycled.
Standard wheel barrow wheels were the choice of wheel so
replacement is easy. I use a wheel barrow wheel because it is a standard and
means if broken the wheels can be replaced easily.
The whole product can be recycled because all materials used
are recyclable. The bin frame and ring and disc for holding the hessian bag in
place are all injection molded polypropylene. The snap fit mechanism for
holding the bin is friction connected to the main frame and cannot be removed. This
section is also injection molded polypropylene meaning it can be recycled
easily. The frame of the bin is
connected to a 40mm pipe made from stainless steel which will not rust and
weather easily meaning a longer lasting product. Once the product is obsolete
the frame can be recycled meaning a 100% recyclable product.
I design this product to be used by people with medium to
large gardens in the Sydney area. The main users for the product will be
elderly and gardening enthusiasts. These people will either be able to take the
GreenCart on the bus and in the car. This product service system will provide
people with the essentials to maintain their garden and keep it looking nice minimizing the need for tools that are only used on occasion and freeing up space
in the garden for leisurely activities. It is as environmentally friendly as
possible making it an all green product.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Video Reflection
‘The light bulb conspiracy’ should be watched by industrial
designers and society alike. It informs all viewers of relevant issues that
need to be addressed in today’s society. The central theme of the film is to
express how and why the development of planned obsolescence was created. The
use of the light bulb throughout the film expresses this planned obsolescence
and how it was used by manufactures to gain profit and increase consumer use to
drive an economy. From planned obsolescence the American and most of the
western world’s civilization and way of life was created without it today’s
western world would have been very different.
The idea of planned obsolescence in products, in theory, seems
to work well. Planned obsolescence is when products have a planned life cycle
and fail or break after a certain time. At first products were made to last for
a certain number of years, such as fridges which were made to last up to 25
years. Within society planned obsolescence would seem to work well old products
can be used by the poorer community while the rich go out and purchase the
newer items, but since the development of the idea it has been utilised to make
profit for companies. Now day companies make products that last up to or are
out dated within 6 months. This means more purchase of products in short
periods of time increasing profit rapidly and disposal of the consumer’s old
products.
This excess of products means that there is an increased
amount of waste that needs to be discarded. Most of the product waste from today’s
society is e-waste which can’t be recycled or decompose. Because of planned
obsolescence this e-waste continues to grow and will not stop in the future. Because
of these factors planned obsolescence needs to be combated in the near future
to reduce this waste. As industrial designer we need to be the ones influencing
this change in society. We as designer need to consider the life cycle of
products, we can still live in a consumer driven society but certain actions
must be taken to prevent waste build up and resource depletion. To do this designers need to create more
sustainable products with an end of life use that is not harmful to the
environment, design products to be modular and can be upgraded this will allow
the consumer to have the one product and remove and add components to improve
their product. With these actions we can reduce the waste dumped on our planted
and not deplete our resources making the world a better place to live for
everyone.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Video Reflection
“An inconvenient truth” is a movie filled with knowledge and
lessons. The film reflects on the work done by Ail Gore to help the environment
and let it flourish. Throughout the film Gore reflects and explains the
environmental impacts that global warming has caused to the earth. He does this
through the use of videos, stories and relevant information that supports his
findings and support the idea for global warming. He keeps referring to the
cause of global warming as us as humans, we need to change, we need to do
something.
I find that this film would be relevant to industrial
designers because it expresses the need for more sustainable design within
society. The film expresses to designers that the need for more environmentally
friendly designs is needed more than ever in today’s society. Gore helps to
clarify why and what the effects of global warming has done to our plant over
last few decades, which helps to determine why as designers we need to change
the way society uses and disposes of products so that more sustainable products
can be designed.
The film was very intuitive and gave me a new insight on to
the way the earth worlds and what our impacts are on it. From the film I gathered
that as a race we as one must do things and help change the world. Even though
we have no say in the running of all the countries we as humans can have an
impact on what the course of history will be. I found from the video that the
governments and businesses who hold the global economy don’t care what the
effects of global warming is or what it is doing to our society but rather if
their profit has increase and they can afford that new corporate jet. From the
film I found that the upper class of society is fine with global warming until
it becomes an issue but as long as it is no issue these companies will continue
to pollute until told otherwise by the government or the environment screaming
at them to stop. This is an alarming thing to consider because as the issue and
effects of global warming will continue on the earth until something is done to
combat this ecological change.
Although global warming is very much relevant today I found
that Ail Gore continue to refer to scientific information not seen by the
public or seen for the first time. This makes me think that do people know
about this phenomenon? Do people know whether or not they act upon this event
in human history? Or if they care about global warming? These question need to
be addressed and the public needs to be more well informed about the issues
affecting global warming and how we as a society can do something to change our
way of living.
We are living in an anthroprocene in our era we need to
consider our impact on the earth and how we treat our planet. As a designer we
need to be wary of the impacts and implications our designs have on society and
the environment, we need to design for recycling and reusability. Through
design we can change the way society views and act in this world and help
preserve the environment for future generations to enjoy and marvel at its
beauty.
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