The disassembly and life cycle analysis was a really interesting exercise in many ways. Firstly i never realised how many products go into a toaster to make a simple piece of toast. Secondly i didnt realise that 90% of the toaster would end up in land fill all around the world and how much energy is used to transport the product from china, to australia from the docks to the warehouse, to the retailer and then to your home. Does this warrant me making toast every morning?
Green fly was a great website that i will definitely use again. You are able to enter usage, products manufacturing, transport etc. It is a real eye opener and recommend everyone to at least use it once to see the carbon footprints of all the products we love.
Our groups main findings you can see below in the report but the two main aspects i was chocked about was the transport and the landfill.
Overall a great exercise.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Video reflections
Video reflection:
How can i become a 'green' designer?
There are many different aspects where one can become a greener designer. One is the advances in material sciences for example bio plastics and stronger composites. Due to this engineers and designers have more options for green and more sustainable materials which can increase a products efficiency.
Through my own experiences studying as a designer and also working in retail where i am surrounded by products i understand that chocie of material and the weight of that material is very important throughout the product lifecycle.Making things lightweight reduces cost throughout every process from production to consumer especially in shipping costs and material breakdown.
Extending a products use phase is another way to extend its life. To do this you can make it more durable, recyclable or even make it possible to be upcycled.
Light weighting has a huge environmental impact that benefits when materials are a big part of your product’s environmental impact or when you’re designing something that moves.
As a designer it is important that i am educated in material selection and regulation an have access to a broad materials data base. Material choice can have an immense impact of a products life.
Good Material selection and reducing weight ultimately results in one thing, more efficient energy usage. As a designer it is my role to help reduce societies usage of energy and waste. This is something that i have incorporate into my design for my pill packaging for parkinsons patients. I have created a strong housing which will last for the duration of the disease but the cheeps recyclable plastic tablet casing gets replaced and recycled by a pharmacist insteadt of replacing the whole tablet packaging. This reduces costs as it is lighter.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Reflection
This week was really helpful as i devised a system for my pill dispenser for people with Parkinsons Disease to make it simple for them to hold and dispense their medication. As seen in the posters the system is made from 4 parts with the inner housing being the replaced when medication runs out. Initially the packaging was in a slide open position but actually locked. After discussion with Mar and my focus group it would make more sense if the packaging was closed and locked rather than opened and locked as this is the way the human brain would deceive it. The placement of the whole where the pill dispenses from was also a talking point as it was in the centre and there might be a possibility that the pills may not fall out. I have now moved the whole from the centre to the corner as it will be easier to guid the pill out. The overall size of the packaging was good but in the replacement mechanism could be easier to open for pharmacists and replace then this would save time when refilling a script. This would be a huge plus because the last thing people with PD want to do is spend half their time at the chemist. Overall good feed back and ready for a busy week ahead.
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