What is eco-design? What are designers asked to do for the environment? Are they able to help fixing what seems to be the hugest global threat of all times? Will they succeed if so? What does the planet need? More eco-designs or less junk products? Don't you feel that everything around shops and magazines is about green design?
Far from presenting here a two double-sided sheet explanation about eco-design, using therms like LCA (life cycle assessment) or cradle-to-cradle, I rather expose what are the advantages of tapping into designers expertise and creativity to produce smarter greener solutions.
There are two great ways to mix ecology and design, either within any kind of company or in general every day life. First of all, just to let you know that if you are a business owner, getting an eco-sensitive design team will help you to reduce your production expenses. The strategy will be investing to scan and improve the production methodology of a specific product, ending on a new green-product for a "eco-hungry" consumer. Let's say this is the engineering, the industrial way to put in practice eco-design.
On the other hand, there's the creativity that designers use during their practice. Business oppurtunity research, design thinking and innovation quest technics can also be used to reduce, recycle, reuse or even re-think a whole new world where sustainability meets society and economy.
Finally, as an example, check out Ideo's new web site, where they suggest short videos where ecologists and enthusiastics of design will have hours of pleasure while learning. But learing what? That design can improve our ways of purchasing.
by david
