This is a question I found lying around my room. Gonna attempt it, without timing, and with the book. I just think that I might as well use all the help that I can get at this moment.
Designers must consider sustainability and the effects of the manufacture and use of products on the environment.
With reference to two dissimilar products, explain where concern for environmental issues has been an important factor in determining the design.
You should make reference to the following in your answer:
-The use of raw materials
-The manufacture of the product
-The use and function of the product
-The final disposal of the product
Today's increasing eco-conciousness of the governments and the general public means that designers are more and more pressured to make their products more environmentally responsible, considering the 'Six Rs' is vital for a successful product.
A great example of such a product is a plastic drinks bottle, such as the one designed for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is a huge company which pays great attention to their status, so making themselves become more sustainable and eco-friendly increases the positive image amongst the public.
The packaging for the 500ml bottle is made of Polythene (PET), a thermoplastic, which is easily recyclable, an important factor when it comes to mass production such as Coca-Cola's. The cap is also a thermoplastic, high density polyethylene (HDPE). This, together with the calendered Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) makes the whole bottle fully recyclable. [A diagram of the bottle with labelled parts]
The processes used for the manufacture of the bottle must also be considered to reduce the company's carbon footprint. Blow moulding is a quick process, which although expensive to set up, is profitable and efficient. Such heavily machined process, however, can put people out of jobs. This means that the ethical and moral sustainability of the company decreases. To make the public more aware of the product's sustainability, Coca-Cola should comply to legislations such as the ecolable or the packaging directive.
Another product that should be heavily weighed on sustainability and environmental issues is a kitchen kettle. This is a product that has been designed specifically to limit it's effect on the environment. The raw materials that are extracted in order to make the kettle are exhaustible, so to make the product more environmentally friendly the design would be reduced in terms of the materials used, or be heavily made up of already recycled polymers. The manufacture of the kettle will lead to material wastage, so the process should be made of efficient mould designs to mould as many parts in one cycle as possible. Distribution wise, the transport from point to point leads to greenhouse gas emissions and consumption of fossil fuels, so efficient box designs to allow easy transport are vital. Use wise, kettles can consume unnecessary amounts of energy, so a number of solutions can be applied to decrease this. An easy to read filler gauge could be included to aid precise fillling, a thermocromic patch to show if it is necessary to re-heat or not or even using air to insulate the water when hot could increase the environmentally friendly value of the kettle. Finally at disposal, the kettle also produces some difficulties, such as polymer degradation or the difficulty of separating curcuit boards. THis can be helped by the designer making the kettle use a 'timeless' aesthetic to extend it's useable life. The kettle should be made of a minimal amount of different types of polymers to aid recycling, and the curcuits should be made from surface mount components in order to separate them easily with the use of infra-red oven.
So yeah, that's my take, agains sorry it's so long. It took me a long time because I get distracted easily on 9gag and 4chan :P
Feel free to criticise, I'd appreciate constructive comments.
Peace, have fun revising.