Technology and Sustainability In early June, Ralf Nielsen (ID) completed his conceptual exploration into how industrial designers can deal with the apparent contradictions between rapid technological progress in the computer industry and the need for a sustainable way of living. By using the design of a personal computer as a test case, his MDP not only included traditional 'design for environment' principles, but also aspects such as product life cycles, social equity/community focus, mass customization and converging technologies. Having investigated current trends and technologies in the computer industry and the industrial design field, Ralf used two sustainable community scenarios developed by planners (Perks & Van Vliet and Register), to help to create a future context and vision of how people would live in a sustainable society. A process was undertaken to design to a conceptual level the form and function of the computer which satisfied the objectives and fit into the future vision. Out of this process, a "Personal Net" proposal was formulated for a new way in which computers can deliver services and resources to users. Material efficiency, user friendliness and community management were just some of the proposal's benefits. Ralf's exploration led to the formulation of a strategic design process that could assist industrial designers to incorporate sustainable development objectives and criteria into the product design process. He is now actively discussing his work with manufacturers and academics in the US, Europe and Australia.

[ Top of Page | Table of Contents | Intervention | Previous Article | Next Article ]