“Good design leads to market success and less impact on the environment.” – Vancouver-based product design firm, Form3
“The social and environmental aspects of design have become as important as the functional attributes of modern products.” – LUNAR Design
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, IDEO’s Steve Bishop offered his views on sustainable design. As global lead of environmental impact at the design and business innovation firm IDEO, Bishop helps companies build brands, develop new products, and design new innovation processes inspired by principles of sustainability.
As noted in the article, Bishop believes that sustainability will simply be a part of good design, and good design will take environmental impact into account.
IDEO’s Steve Bishop is not alone in his view of what constitutes “good design.”
Vancouver-based product design firm Form3 also embodies this view in its core values. Comprised of a group of “highly trained, dedicated, and experienced industrial designers,” product design firm Form3 was founded in 1997 with its mission simply to design better products. In this context, the creation of better products meant taking eco-design considerations into account, alongside cost, aesthetics and product performance.
The design firm believes that the ability to design a better product comes from 3 broad considerations of form:
How will the product be made? Better quality results in a longer life. We carefully choose materials and manufacturing processes that minimize cost and reduce the impact on the environment.
How will the product look? Aesthetic and formal considerations help to make a product stand out in the marketplace. We strive to give a product a beautiful form that is appropriate for a given cultural context and that people will respond to in an appropriate way.
How will the product work? There are technical challenges to overcome and functional reasons for the shape of a product. We design products that work well, are comfortable and easy to use, and have a form that provides cues for its function.
Form3’s fundamental design philosophy is simply that, “good design leads to market success and less impact on the environment.”
Palo Alto, CA-based LUNAR Design shares a similar passion for sustainability and good design. In fact, the company has targeted sustainability as one of its key practice areas – and has called this practice, LUNAR Elements. A brief description is included below:
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, IDEO’s Steve Bishop offered his views on sustainable design. As global lead of environmental impact at the design and business innovation firm IDEO, Bishop helps companies build brands, develop new products, and design new innovation processes inspired by principles of sustainability.
As noted in the article, Bishop believes that sustainability will simply be a part of good design, and good design will take environmental impact into account.
IDEO’s Steve Bishop is not alone in his view of what constitutes “good design.”
Vancouver-based product design firm Form3 also embodies this view in its core values. Comprised of a group of “highly trained, dedicated, and experienced industrial designers,” product design firm Form3 was founded in 1997 with its mission simply to design better products. In this context, the creation of better products meant taking eco-design considerations into account, alongside cost, aesthetics and product performance.
The design firm believes that the ability to design a better product comes from 3 broad considerations of form:
How will the product be made? Better quality results in a longer life. We carefully choose materials and manufacturing processes that minimize cost and reduce the impact on the environment.
How will the product look? Aesthetic and formal considerations help to make a product stand out in the marketplace. We strive to give a product a beautiful form that is appropriate for a given cultural context and that people will respond to in an appropriate way.
How will the product work? There are technical challenges to overcome and functional reasons for the shape of a product. We design products that work well, are comfortable and easy to use, and have a form that provides cues for its function.
Form3’s fundamental design philosophy is simply that, “good design leads to market success and less impact on the environment.”
Palo Alto, CA-based LUNAR Design shares a similar passion for sustainability and good design. In fact, the company has targeted sustainability as one of its key practice areas – and has called this practice, LUNAR Elements. A brief description is included below:
The social and environmental aspects of design have become as important as the functional attributes of modern products. Our sustainability practice, LUNAR Elements, pioneers principles in green design and implements them on programs today. From materials research to Life Cycle Analyses, LUNAR helps clients minimize their footprint to maximize their positive impact for their customers, their markets, and our world.
As a part of its sustainability practice, the firm developed “The Designer’s Field Guide to Sustainability” which provides an overview of sustainable product development and the product lifecycle. Encouraging input from others, this "open source" guide offers some useful recommendations for those seeking to design in a more sustainable manner. To learn more, see: http://www.lunar.com/fieldguide/tips.html.
In short, sustainable design is gaining favor as a critical foundation for simply good design. And that’s encouraging – because as one industrial designer recently confided to me, “The last thing I want to do is to design for the landfill.”
Bravo! May we actually be moving towards more durable (or more easily recycled) products – and may these products increasingly contain more recycled content, less toxic materials, and boast greater energy efficiency.
What do you think? Tell us. It’s not too late! We’re still seeking participants for the study. To learn more, see, “Participate in a New Sustainable Product Design and Manufacturing Research Study and Be Eligible to Win an iPad 2!
It’s all part of next-generation product design, a topic that is explored in greater detail in our current research study, “Sustainable Product Design and Manufacturing: What’s Happening Now… and What’s Ahead?”
See also:
Form3
Lunar Design
IDEO's Steve Bishop on the Future of Sustainable Design Thinking
“The Designer’s Field Guide to Sustainability”
Participate in a New Sustainable Product Design and Manufacturing Research Study and Be Eligible to Win an iPad 2!
