How to use Slow Design to make products more sustainable
Barbara Grosse-Hering · 2012
Slow Design is a design philosophy that aims at supporting well-being for individuals, society, and the natural environment. It encourages people in doing things at the right time and with the right speed and helps them to understand and reflect on their actions. Nevertheless, how can this philosophy be used to create mass-produced consumer electronics that are more sustainable? In this graduation project the Slow Design Principles, as defined by Carolyn F. Strauss and Alastair Fuad-Luke, were explored and applied in order to develop concepts for consumer electronics that are more sustainable. Slow Design was used to enhance the bond between the user and the product, leading to a longer and more sustainable use. A home study and interviews were conducted to gather insight into how, when and where it is valuable to slow people, or processes, down. To demonstrate how the Slow Design Principles can be translated into an industrial product, as well as to test if this method affects the product attachment positively, a product of the Philips portfolio was selected – the centrifugal juicer – and a case study created. For the purpose of understanding the main opportunities and threats and of the current Philips juicer, a user research was conducted. Keeping the insights from this research in mind, the Slow Design Principles were applied with the help of Mind Maps. A selection of the resultant juicer concepts formed the case study named ‘JuicyMo’. This juicer was realized in a mock-up prototype in order to conduct a user test and gather insights into the degree of attachment of the participants to the new device and into whether they can find the essence of the Slow Design Principles in the juicer. Among other things, the results showed that the users stayed involved in the process, a key element for product attachment. Furthermore, all of the applied Slow Design Principles could be experienced and identified by the participants. In conclusion, a user and context research is necessary for the understanding of users’ needs and the results have to be taken into consideration during the final Slow Design concepts selection in order to create more sustainable consumer electronics. Once ‘Slow’ becomes ‘irritating’ and is used in the wrong moment, the product attachment decreases as will the frequency of the product usage. If this happens the goal of creating products that are more sustainable is not achieved. Hence, the results of the research can help to pinpoint the ‘right and important‘ moment in the usage process for the ‘slowing down‘ of some segments and the ‘speeding up‘ of others. A selection of concepts developed through the application of the Slow Design Principles formed the ‘Book of inspiration’, explaining the method of Slow Design, as well as inspire designers.