A useful summary by Harriet Powney of Robin Roy’s paper for the Design Research Society’s 2016 conference and his book Consumer Product Innovation and Sustainable Design has been featured on the website of the OU’s IKD Research Centre & SRA in International Development and Inclusive Innovation.
She writes:
New products are never simply the result of technological progress. Socio-economic, political, commercial and cultural forces all play their part. And, although these cannot be controlled by engineers and manufacturers, it’s important that they appreciate the ways in which such forces affect innovation.
Consumer Product Design and Innovation: Past, Present and Future, a paper by Robin Roy in Proceedings of the Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference, discusses six consumer products from their invention to the present. It draws on empirical evidence to investigate patterns of innovation and how environmental concerns have influenced design.
The main drivers for sustainable design – which aims to use the least environmentally harmful solution, such as relying on solar energy rather than batteries – tend to be NGOs and media pressure acting with internal corporate sustainability policies or environmental champions. As a result of such pressure, for example, Microsoft and Apple reduced smartphone energy and resource use through power-saving software and minimising material use.
In a move to sustainable innovation – which includes socio-economic considerations such as a product’s fair trade implications and/ or workplace health and safety – they were also persuaded by pressure groups such as the Gaia Foundation to consider factory conditions and sources of raw materials. This meant avoiding child labour and conflict minerals such as tantalum and gold, which may be mined by African slave labour and traded under the control of violent armed groups.
Designers and manufacturers are also starting to appreciate the importance of developing products to meet needs that go beyond those that can be discovered by conventional market research. User-centred design involves detailed observations of user behaviour and product developers co-designing with consumers in creative workshops. Inclusive design, meanwhile, extends this by trying to design for the demands of all potential users.
The paper, which summarises some of the content and conclusions of Roy’s book Consumer Product Innovation and Sustainable Design, also highlights the importance of environmental legislation in promoting sustainable design and innovation.
Find out more in Consumer Product Design and Innovation: Past, Present and Future.