Make Me Yours

by William Greinke

Abstract

The modern consumer has been gifted with seemingly ever-growing consumption convenience, leading to an overconsumption issue on a global level. This has become a significant contributor to the development of the current climate crisis. As a professional practice, product design's role of releasing new products into the market presents a unique responsibility to design for sustainability and for a product's whole life. Consumer expectations of certain materials have a significant impact on the lifespan of consumer durables. The widely accepted opinion that ‘traces of use’, such as chips or scratches on objects, are undesired is unsustainable and results in premature product obsolescence and replacement. This opinion is especially apparent for manufactured rather than natural materials, meaning early disposal is even more damaging. Emotional design for product-related memories and product attachment has been identified as an effective way to extend product life cycles. This research connects these two concepts; how can challenging consumers' expectations of material change influence product lifespans and encourage product attachment? Employing a practice-led design approach, rigorous testing of surface form and ''wear patterns'' was conducted to create an object that emphasises surface deterioration to document product-related memories, thus cultivating strong product attachment. The piece embodies and exemplifies a proposed sustainable design strategy and challenges consumers' perceptions of product longevity, form and materiality.

Design Intent

Any object that is continuously physically interacted with is inevitably exposed to a level of superficial wear and tear. The resulting material change plays a significant role in user’s perceived value of the object, affecting product lifecycles and supporting a throw-away culture. This research project intends to analyse how challenging consumer expectations of material change can encourage product-user attachment and product longevity. It is an exploration of an alternative approach to sustainable design. One that focuses on extending product lifecycles through the creation of emotional attachment, rather than focusing on designing objects that are sustainable purely due to material choice. This concept places more responsibility on the user. It targets mindful consumers who are interested in incorporating sustainable habits into their lives to help instigate change Utilising a design-led research approach, an expressive cross-body bag was constructed from sheet aluminium that, through surface deterioration, reveals new aesthetics, subsequently documenting product-related memories and cultivating product attachment. Creative exploration of form and material was conducted to uncover an aesthetic that yielded a unique and cohesive visual language for the project and provided a ripe opportunity for complex material change. An extensive simulation of ‘wear’ was then applied to a series of swatches containing explorative forms and surface finishes revealing how the material and the applied patina affected the piece’s aesthetic value. Building upon these insights, three identical bags were constructed, with two used by participants for testing as cultural probes. Following the test period, the testers were interviewed to provide critical insights into consumer reactions and affective responses to the atypical form and materiality. The creation of these three prototypes also displayed how the physical documentation of product-user interactions enriches the piece’s visual interest. With the bulk of the project’s research exemplified in the creation and testing of these cultural probes, two identical final prototypes were constructed. These prototypes helped resolve the project by presenting the concept as a finalised product outcome. By embodying the concept, these prototypes provided a precedent for the utilisation of material change in the creation of product attachment and the postponement of product obsolescence.

Bio

I am an Eora (Sydney) based interdisciplinary designer with a
 deep admiration for innovative and classic design. I believe in deeply considered design methodologies that yield meaningful and impactful outcomes, promoting product attachment and longevity. Having graduated from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) with a Bachelor of Design in Product Design (Honours), I have developed a suite of design skills, including competence in the adobe suites, model making, sketching, CAD and a deep knowledge of construction techniques using different materials. This training has also allowed me to explore the diversity of design disciplines, taking elective classes in photography, textiles and furniture making. This broad design education has fostered a personal practice of exploration and design without limitations of discipline, material, or context.

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