Category Archives: Product Design

Design Research Conference

Title: Design research Conference
Location: Spertus Institute, Chicago, IL.
Link out: Click here
Description: The Design Research Conference (DRC), hosted by the IIT Institute of Design, brings together a growing community of design professionals advancing the role of design research in innovation.

The conference strives to spread knowledge through the discussion of compelling experiences and case studies, innovative methods and approaches, and the future and sustainability of design research.

Enthusiastic speakers interested in sharing their knowledge take the stage, enchanting the audience with best practices of design research and enthralling stories. The audience, two-thirds professionals and a third students, leaves with key takeaways: new ideas for further discussion and methods to throw into their own toolkits.

In its eighth year, DRC (formally About, With and For) will be more participatory in nature. Workshops, student presentations, twenty-minute lightning round TED style talks, and other group activities and networking opportunities will fill the two days.

Source: Core77 and IIT Institute of Design
Start Date: 2009-10-01
End Date: 2009-10-02

The University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative (UDSAI)

University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative offers ten policies for apparel brands and retailers to implement into their business practices. Click here to learn more about the policies and the initiative. Although all ten policies are crucial considerations for sustainable practices, “Policy 5: Consider and implement end-of-life strategies (recycle, renew, or reuse) when choosing materials, designing, and producing apparel” pays particular attention to design through suggested best practices in both material and design assembly considerations. In the context of socially responsible fashion design education, how can these policies be integrated into your fashion curriculum? Early next week, Social Alterations will be opening a members based discussion forum for fashion and apparel educators to ask questions and share ideas on how to best approach social and environmental concerns within the industry in their design classrooms. I hope you will join in on the conversation and share your ideas with this community.

Press Release: UD publishes sustainable apparel business guidelines

What does it mean for a clothing or footwear company to be environmentally sustainable? Browsing some brands’ Web sites, you might think a company can lessen its impact on the environment just by using organic cotton in some of its clothing. But it’s not that simple.

The University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative (UDSAI) is demystifying the process of becoming more environmentally sustainable for brands and retailers. Companies seeking this information are invited to read and utilize UDSAI’s recently produced policy guide, “Creating a More Environmentally Sustainable Apparel Business: Policies for Apparel Brands and Retailers.”

“Sustainability is the ‘buzz’ throughout all industries. The problem is there is no clear definition of what this means,” said Rick Horwitch of Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services. Bureau Veritas is an international firm that helps clients comply with standards and regulations relating to quality, health and safety, environment and social responsibility.

“I applaud the University of Delaware for taking on this daunting task of trying to put some structure and context around this very important issue. UDSAI will help bring clarity and direction,” Horwitch said.

University of Delaware faculty and students collaborated with industry professionals involved with environmental sustainability to research best practices.

“The apparel industry is predicated on change and planned obsolescence, which often results in overconsumption and waste throughout the value chain,” said Huantian Cao, UD associate professor of fashion and apparel studies and co-director of UDSAI. “UDSAI attempts to provide some simple guidelines that, when followed, will result in a more sustainable company.”

Source: UD News Releases

Greener By Design 2009 Conference

The second annual Greener By Design 2009 “Greener Products for Leaner Times” conference was held yesterday and today in San Fransisco. William McDonough gave the keynote speech at the conference yesterday. This article, “Greener By Design: Nature’s Rights, Nutrients and Quality Design,” by Jonathan Bardelline sums it up.

Check it out. For more on the conference, live blog posts, and twitter feeds (#gbd09) visit Greener Design

Makower talks Greenwash

TerraChoice: Sin of the Hidden Trade-off

Back in April, TerraChoice released their second report on greenwashing, titled “The Seven Sins of Greenwashing.” The first report, “The Six Sins of Greenwashing,” came out in 2007. The recent report offers new stats and, of course, the added seventh sin. Unfortunately, fashion, textile and apparel products were not included in the TerraChoice research. Don’t let this fool you; greenwashing is rampant in the fashion, textile and apparel industry.

Joel Makower from Greenbiz offers a great commentary on the report, outlining where, and how, it may have fallen short:

“Late last year, TerraChoice repeated the process, though extended its reach: Its researchers were sent into retailers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia. The track record was slightly better: 25 products found in North American stores were deemed “sin-free,” says TerraChoice. The trends were similar in the other countries.

At first glance, those findings seem dire and depressing. But much like some of the eco-claims themselves, TerraChoice’s report doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. What’s really going on here? Are manufacturers truly that overwhelmingly misleading? Is just about everyone out there pulling the green wool over our collective eyes? Or has TerraChoice set a bar so unreasonably high that even the most well-intentioned companies can’t clear it, and lumped the imperfect claims together with the truly bad ones in order to make its point? In other words, who’s greenwashing who?

Truth is, there’s a little of each going on.

First, honor is due. TerraChoice has performed a public service here, calling attention to the fact that so many companies are making claims that are anything from fuzzy to fraudulent. The groundwork they’ve done here is invaluable, even if the conclusions they’ve drawn from it are, in my opinion, a bit misleading.”

Read the rest of his article here. Make sure you check out the full TerraChoice report.

For more information, listen in on this Greenbiz.com Podcast, “Lies, Damn Lies, and the Seventh Sin of Greenwashing,” where Makower interviews Scot Case, Vice President of TerraChoice on the issue of greenwashing and the 2009 report.

Stay informed!

Source: TerraChoice, Joel Makower, and Greenbiz.com

cradle to cradle

Just added William McDonough’s TED talk on ‘cradle to cradle’ design theory to the videos section. You will also find Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things in the suggested reading section of the site.

“I think we have a design problem.” (William McDonough’s, TED)

Objectified set for a special Vancouver screening

You might remember an earlier post re: this documentary, but if not you can still watch the trailer and read up on it here.

At last the film will be showing in Vancouver.

Tuesday, May 5, 6:30pm
Vancouver BC, Canada
Rio Theatre
Post-film Q&A with Gary Hustwit
Tickets on sale now

Source: Objectified

the science of design

'Wonderland' movie still

‘Wonderland’ is an amazing example of a fashion designer and a scientist working together in search of sustainable fashion design solutions. The interdisciplinary nature of this project draws attention to the fact that a designer is not limited to work only in the confines of traditional fashion. Textile science can help designers think outside the strictly aesthetic context of their design, taking it to another level. The Helen Storey Foundation is dedicated to the promotion of creativity and innovation through collaboration. ‘Wonderland’ is a design project that explores the design potential of biodegradable materials. I suggest watching the Reuters video first for some background context. Then move on to watch the project finale video.

Source: Center for Sustainable Fashion and The Helen Story Foundation

Compostmodern09 tweet along

Below is my tweet along for Compostmodern09, which took place on Sat. Feb 21^st 09. This event was greatly inspiring, and I will be writing a post soon on the over all themes of the conference and where the convergence into sustainable fashion design comes into play. Stay tuned for that post (and some images as well).

· excited to be at #cm09 8:19 AM Feb 21st

· #cm09 only 5000 days left. take it as fact. 9:55 AM Feb 21st

· #cm09 Allan Chochinov ten rules applicable to fashion design. 10:23 AM Feb 21st

· Michel Gelobler: design through the lens of soul and policy coming up, #cm09 10:26 AM Feb 21st

· wonderment being made plain/plain being made wonderment cm#09 10:28 AM Feb 21st

· Michel Gelobler certainty/worry/sorrow/hope #cm09 10:30 AM Feb 21st

· need to bend the Al Gore curve #cm09 10:32 AM Feb 21st

· Michel Gelobter: what we have, what we are using, need to establish equilibrium looking to connect product to solution. #cm09 10:40 AM Feb 21st

· #cm09 we own the solution not the problem, Michel Gelobter 10:43 AM Feb 21st

· Michel Gelobter #cm09 further mention of the design acccord http://tinyurl.com/b5yzl4 10:47 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith howtoons http://www.howtoons.com/ #cm09 10:52 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: 2008, the year of ‘peak waste’ #cm09 11:03 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: need to re-design everything. make it small, fish shaped,slow. need a new soundtrack, font, aesthetic. need a bob dylan.#cm09 11:14 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: we need an heirloom culture #cm09 11:17 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: I’m an earth fucker and so are you, #cm09 11:19 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: http://www.wattzon.com/ #cm09 11:20 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: soon to be born child going to kick ninja ass #cm09 11:23 AM Feb 21st

· Saul Griffith: the planet is the new design client. #cm09 11:25 AM Feb 21st

· HR + PR does not equal CSR 11:55 AM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 1. what>how (sustainability=human+environment) 1:59 PM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 2. the other 90% is next door (local+global) 2:00 PM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 3. always bring pom-poms (and a picket signs) 2:00 PM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 4. scalable systems, not stuff (take the product out of product design) 2:01 PM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 5. 2 (thousand) heads are better than one (the more the merrier) 2:02 PM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 6. more cattle, less hat (stop talking and just do it) 2:03 PM Feb 21st

· whats the opportunity for graphic design, asks Makower..needs to play a bigger role. 2:05 PM Feb 21st

· Emily Pilloton #cm09 started project H with 400$ in her bank 2:08 PM Feb 21st

· take the poll http://tinyurl.com/coebq5 2:10 PM Feb 21st

· Watching Pam Dorr short film “Housing Hope” 2:15 PM Feb 21st

· John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr #cm09 spoke on Project M, and some amazing housing projects. 2:17 PM Feb 21st

· John Bielenberg wants you to think “wrong” so you can find solutions. Inspired by Sambo rural studios and a beautiful mind. 2:19 PM Feb 21st

· John Bielenberg #cm09, breakthroughs happen in your late 20’s-he is inspired by grad/students. 2:22 PM Feb 21st

· #cm09 project M: think wrong http://www.projectmlab.com/ 2:23 PM Feb 21st

· #cm09 project H http://www.projecthdesign.com/ 2:25 PM Feb 21st

· all speakers at #cm09 stress the importance of serendipity in the process 2:30 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 takes an interdisciplinary perspective on responsible design 2:38 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 concerned with the small size of sustainable design social network 2:41 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 asks “are we not educating our designers correctly?” this is my research question (fashion designers) 2:45 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 “1. be cool w/ paradox 2. learn the local language 3. reconsider work worth doing 4. YOUR CLIENT IS THE PLANET” 2:46 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 talking: sustainability is not a communist plot…semantics are crucial here. **YES!** 2:54 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 designers are looking for direction-but they still need to understand the numbers in product lifecycle analysis 3:01 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby-if your client is the planet…then it’s on you to figure out how to solve the problems that weve got and how to pay for it 3:03 PM Feb 21st

· Dawn Danby #cm09 “we need to get rid of our specialness” and open it up to others, interdisciplinary partnerships 3:04 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 is about to tell us what we can do Monday morning, when we wake up at work with all of this. 3:08 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 conservative = conservation start the ‘conservative’ movement with the actual definition 3:15 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 don’t use green… use blue… it comes off more effective in business (without being too ‘environmental’) 3:17 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 OH… and use the work capital *this business advice is awesome* 3:18 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 use some sustainable frameworks: 1. lifecycle analysis 3:19 PM Feb 21st

· 2. natural capitalism (eco- efficiency).. 3:20 PM Feb 21st

· 3. cradle to cradle 3:20 PM Feb 21st

· 4. “natural step” (trademarked) 3:21 PM Feb 21st

· 5. biomimicry 3:21 PM Feb 21st

· (the point here is that these frameworks are all incomplete…they do not cover social, financial and environmental) 3:22 PM Feb 21st

· 6. Datschefski’s “Total Beauty” 3:23 PM Feb 21st

· 7. social return on investment (SROI)*very difficult to quantify* 3:24 PM Feb 21st

· 8. (last one) sustainability helix 3:24 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to bring the frameworks together for a good place to start..overlap them to cover all ground 3:25 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to design for use be the ‘apple’ and lead the way the challenge is on your compeditor will do it if you dont 3:27 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to design for dematerialization (all the way back) the whole lifecycle 3:29 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to think about material substitution. **in the context of fibre (textiles) diversify and substitute** 3:31 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to think local, to decrease transport. not always a good idea though. 3:32 PM Feb 21st

· transmaterialization, Nathan Shedroff #cm09, and informationalization, are more sustainable (still have impact) 3:33 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09: next, design for durability (did i miss one? oops) 3:35 PM Feb 21st

· design with multifuction in mind, design for reuse: Nathan Shedroff #cm09 3:36 PM Feb 21st

· design for disassembly (Rickshaw zero bag example) http://www.rickshawbags.com/# 3:38 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09: redesign the system (Curitiba, Brazil, example) 3:39 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants us to find new models, economic models suck (ex. GDP and GPI measurements) 3:41 PM Feb 21st

· Nathan Shedroff #cm09 said DONT USE PVC!!!!!! YES!!!! http://tinyurl.com/bftk4d *thank you!!* 3:42 PM Feb 21st

· How is this a debate, again? why are these shoes being sold as “sustainable” http://tinyurl.com/b4tnaf I wish i new more about PVC 3:46 PM Feb 21st

· Joel Makower asks about green marketing #cm09 3:47 PM Feb 21st

· #cm09 Joel Makower wants gree to equal better. work around the dogma. remember the business case, here. 3:51 PM Feb 21st

· #cm09 question asked “the planet is your client” is an internal conversation? Ans. sometimes. sometimes we have to talk around the subject. 3:55 PM Feb 21st

· Joel Makower #cm09 stories through design can/should/will integrate head and heart in the discussion 4:02 PM Feb 21st

· AIGA #cm09 http://sustainability.aiga…. 4:04 PM Feb 21st

Emily Pilloton talks responsible design

I just wondered onto this site from David Muro II ‘s blog, and wanted to post the link here. It is a video of Emily Pilloton speaking on ‘social minded product design’ at the Metropolis Conference. Pilloton was one of the guest speakers presenting this past Saturday at Compostmodern09 on her work as founder of Project H. Check out the video; these are product design concepts that need to be discussed in fashion design courses. They are interdisciplinary and the cross-over to fashion students is a necessary step toward sustainable fashion design.

The video link is embedded in the photo.

Or, follow this link to listen to Emily Pilloton talk about her work at Project H

Review: Do Good Design: How Designers Can Change the World, by David B. Berman

David Berman asks his reader to understand the ways in which design can impact society, arguing that it has the potential to change the world. Berman successfully establishes and outlines the need for change, and inspires his readers, both designer and design aficionado, to open their minds to the possibilities of a new design industry. What might such an industry look like? For starters, it would hold itself accountable.

With supporting Forwards from Erik Spiekermann (of Spiekermann Partners and Honorary Professor, University of the Arts in Bremen), Min Wang (Dean of Central Academy of Fine Arts School of Design in China and design director of the Beijing Olympics) and Richard Grefé (Executive Director of AIGA), there is no question that Berman’s work is not to be taken lightly.

It is not a book about outlining his own accomplishments as a designer, or his own designs. Rather, it stays focused on qualifying the ways in which design has failed democracy, the environment, the feminist movement, and in fact design itself.

All hope is not lost, as Berman maintains an extremely positive attitude in outlining the ways that design can be used toward creating positive and lasting change. The message is simple: designers have a social responsibility.

I absolutely loved this book, and can’t wait to use it as a guide in my own research.

Interested in taking this design pledge? Do it.