Tag Archives: sustainability

THE ‘S’ WORD

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A few weeks ago, in my class for ‘Mapping the Creative Economy’ we had the most interesting guest lecture to date, in my most humble opinion. It was on the topic of sustainability, which is something I am very interested in. The lecturer, Paul Micklethwaite from Kingston University’s Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, linked sustainability to design and also took us through a lot of theories associated with sustainability. I can safely say I was switched on throughout the entirety of the class. Wide awake, like a child after 5 energy drinks, but less chaotic and more engrossed in the subject matter.

He introduced the class to some really interesting books and once my funds are no longer as dry as the Sahara desert, I shall invest in a good few of them to expand my knowledge of this vast subject. Anyway, here are the books he recommended:

  • Gaia Theory – James Lovelock In this book, Lovelock talks about the fact that we are a part of nature. He believes that organisms engage with the inorganic atmosphere which makes an automated that essentially plays a crucial role in the sustainability of the planet. Gaia is the personification of the Earth according to Greek mythology. At least, I think what I’m saying is correct. It’s hard to condense really!
  • Six Degrees: Our future on a hotter planet – Mark Lynas Instead of me trying to explain this, I’ll leave it to the rather short, sweet and apt description from his website: “Winner of the 2008 Royal Society Science books prize, and now translated into 23 languages, Six Degrees maps our humankind’s globally-warmed future – degree by horrifying degree.”
  • The Atlas of Sustainability – Ann Thorpe  Again, the website has provided a condensed version of what the book basically entails, “This highly visual book crosses a lot of boundaries to bring together a concise, time-saving compendium of key concepts about sustainability and to explore these concepts in design term”.

Paul talked about how we are living in the ‘Age of Ecocide” and took us through the 6 different reactions to this concept – the concept of the world collapsing. I am copying these 6 points down from my notes, so hopefully I can figure out my scribbles…

  1. DENIAL – “It’s not happening”
  2. “I’LL BE GONE, YOU’LL BE GONE”
  3. SCEPTICISM – “it may be happening, but it might not be that bad” – Nigel Lawson, a climate change sceptic has this outlook. Click here for an interesting article from The Telegraph about Nigel Lawson’s verdict on the IPCC report.
  4. “WE’RE DOOMED” – “it’s happening, but it’s also too late to do very much about it”
  5. ADAPTATION – “it’s happening, but we can stop it,only prepare for its consequences.
  6. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – “we can do something about it if we act NOW!” – Look up Nicholas Stern for more on this

Sustainable design was a key topic throughout the lecture and it ties in with our ‘Designing a Business’ module. He asked the question, does sustainable design equal good design? Paul introduced some of us to DIETER RAMS and the ten steps that define good design, which are as follows:

  1. Good design is innovative

  2. Good design makes a product useful

  3. Good design is aesthetic

  4. Good design makes a product understandable

  5. Good design is unobtrusive

  6. Good design is honest

  7. Good design is long-lasting

  8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail

  9. Good design is environmentally-friendly

  10. Good design is as little design as possible

Looking at these 10 points puts good design into a simple and effective perspective. To all the budding designers out there, read into Dieter Rams.

NOW, I really would love to sit here and spend all day writing about this most fascinating lecture, but alas, I cannot. I can only hope that this has sparked enough interest to make anyone reading this hungry for more knowledge and, if this is the case, I suggest you look into Paul Micklethwaite and his work. You won’t regret it!!