2020.12.31 / Viewpoint

Sustainable Design and the Sustainability of Design

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, design is all about making something beautiful and easy to use, and a good design is defined as being profitable. But now the times have changed, in the face of the new cultural context, design are no longer just used to "decorate the facade", the more important factor is to make life better and achieve sustainable development in the future.

To designers and their clients, “sustainability” is a theme that’s is becoming more and more prominent. Not only is it because of the large amounts of wastes produced after the development of the industrial revolution. But because more and more designers are becoming involved in the sustainable development movement, taking design as effective means of intervention, and using different design majors to help people build a sustainable society.

U.S. General Services Administration defines sustainable design as followed: 

Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments.

For a long time, the significance of sustainable design are shown in the field of architectural design and product design, focusing on the importance of environment and energy. The principle of sustainable design is shown through green materials, recycling, energy consumption and the negative impact on the environment that must be minimized in the whole life cycle of products.

The development of globalization has broken through the regional limitations. The progress of society and science and technology has made the flow of information more rapid. Driven by the development wave of contemporary sustainable movement, design has gradually turned into a complex systematic project. The boundary of design has been collapsed. Designers must have interdisciplinary knowledge and use diversified systematic thinking, If they know how to integrate design resources, they must consider human nature, environment, economy, society, culture and other factors. This kind of design concept has been widely used in all design majors. Contemporary designers have developed the concept of sustainable design into a more comprehensive communication language and interactive experience that can arouse public resonan

The diversified sustainable design can deliver more things to consumers than the product concept. It is a creative concept. It not only brings more stimulation and competition to the market, but also stimulates dialogue in a wider field. Therefore, the significance of "sustainability" to "design" has gradually spread from designers using the concept of "sustainable design" to let consumers begin paying attention to the sustainability of the design itself, which echoes the change of the contemporary design trend from the perspective of designers to user centered.

In the past decades, capital has built consumerism culture with the help of ideology. In the modern era of consumerism, design is not only an important part of production, but also in direct relationship with consumption. First, consumption is the motive of design, and design serves consumption. Design creates consumption, and design is regarded as an effective way to promote consumption, It triggers the motivation of consumerism.

The world's major brands constantly brainwash consumers with new innovations, articles, celebrities, etc., and produce a larger number of used and waste designs, which create a great burden on the environment. Our lives are filled with overwhelming advertisements every day. Deeply affecting our values, outlook on life and the world.

In the “Fourth consumption age” written by Japanese writer Sanpu Zhan, we are told of the four changes of consumption in Japan, from quantity to quality, from material to mind. Although the world seems to be changing constantly, some things stay the same. For example, people's heart seems to be more and more stimulated, thinking more and more, recognizing more and more, but in the bottom of our heart, something still remains constant.

Under the design stream of consciousness, the sustainability of contemporary design is to truly grasp the constant things in people's hearts, do honest design, bring more goodwill to people and the environment. Let the design get rid of the shackles of consumerism, and convey more exciting ideas  that can elevate the product value.

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