Project 2

Project 1

RATIONALE

What it is:

QUICKHEAT is a portable cooking utensil with an inner-clad stainless shell pot for direct heating, and an outer vacuum-insulated container for heat-preserved cooking.

QUICKHEAT is targeted at single-person households in urban areas of China, designed for use in times of a blizzard or snowstorm.

Benefits of using QUICKHEAT:

-Keeping hot or cold food at a safe temperature for hours

-Meal preparation time is shortened as contents do not need to be constantly attended to, saving energy

-Food cooks in its own juices so all the vitamins, nutrients and flavours are retained

How it works:

QUICKHEAT works with a vacuum technology, which eliminates temperature change by creating a vacuum space between two walls of stainless steel. This results in an insulation layer that performs like no other, with a heat loss of 3 to 4 degrees C per hour.

How to use it:

1. Place ingredients into the inner pot and heat on a stove.
2. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and transfer to outer container, close and your meal is ready.
4. The heat retained continues to slowly cook your food for hours without any constant attention.

Technology:

The inner pot is made of a dual-layered stainless steel structure. It has a layer of carbon steel with high heat conductivity, sealed into the heavy base plate.
This combination enables heat to be absorbed and conducted quickly, minimising hot spots and retaining heat for longer.
The heat-retaining plate, made of carbon steel, can also be heated by an induction element.
The outer container has vacuum insulation to prevent heat loss.
This system allows for heat or cold to be retained equally efficiently.

According to the Australian Food Standards, a temperature of 60 degrees C or above has to be kept to prevent food-poisoning bacteria from growing, while chilled food should be kept under 5 degrees C.

In times of a blizzard or a snow storm, where energy has to be rationed, QUICKHEAT comes in handy as it allows more to be achieved, with less, conserving commodities. QUICKHEAT is especially useful in such times, as it allows for gas and energy to depleted at a slower rate as a shorter period of time is needed for cooking. It can however, also be used in Summer, to keep food and beverages cool.

REFLECTIONS OF PROJECT TWO

The start of Project Two kicked off with grouping up with Fanru,Jen and Julia. Having never worked with Fanru and Julia, I was keen to see how our group would interact and what the dynamics of working together would be like.

We initially struggled with grasping the true concept of a PSS, and found it hard to define what a product was, within a new service system, while not just riding on and branching out from an existing product or system.

We toyed around with the idea of shared baby strollers, much like the concept of bike-sharing, but soon scrapped that due to numerous issues that arose, such as safety and hygiene. Having already done significant research on products for children, we then decided to stick to children as our target market.

We explored various existing PSS and finally decided upon drawing up concepts for children's recycling bins.

The journey that followed was not as easy one, as we started to run short of time. With each week and Studio that passed, we progressed, but the flaws in our designs became more apparent. Each week saw us moving forward, but backwards at the same time.

The biggest issue that arose with designing children's recycling bins was the struggle between making it fun and interactive, while letting it fit seamlessly into the current garbage disposal system in schools.

We started to realise how much research we had ahead of us and how much we needed to know and clearly define our problem, in order to strategically move forward and clear all the barriers involved.

Industrial designers should in fact consider PSS as they offer us useful and promising concepts to move in the direction of sustainability, which the entire world is moving towards. This was another reason why we chose to centre our concept around educating the masses on recycling, starting with children.

What I liked most about designing a PSS was that they could very easily be placed into different environments, depending on their purposes. Every PSS has a very specific job and it either works or does not, making the design process clear and concise. This however, was also what I did not like about designing a PSS as, it does not leave much room for error. Given a constraint amount of time, designing a PSS would not be my first choice.

It has been said that despite the advantages that a PSS yield, some PSS changes can generate unwanted side effects: Rebound effects, where potentially environmentally-friendly solutions can increase global consumption of environmental resources.

As a whole however, I thoroughly enjoyed working on Project Two, especially with my group mates, as we managed to work off each others ideas and expand on them as a group. I personally have never experienced working with a group on a Studio project so intensely as this one.

This project has highlighted to me the need and ability to see whether a product can realistically work, and the steps that should be taken to counter the factors preventing a product from working the way that it should.

PROJECT TWO: PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEMS

Children's Recycling Hub


Product Poster


Assembly Poster


Interaction Storyboard


Orthographic Drawing

Other group members:

Fanru Wang, Ruyu Xiao, Jen Jun Zhu

TASK 2D: ETHICAL DESIGN ISSUES

Objectified

Objectified explores our relationship with things, which gets tugged between sometimes conflicted gratification, by going directly to the source: Industrial designers.

It dives into the crux of what is beneath the desire to obtain objects, that programs consumers to momentarily cling to them dearly, and then inevitably discard.

Director Gary Hustwit highlights the thoughts and processes involved in design, considers the inception of products and their corresponding attributes: Form, function, context, inspiration, and evolution.

He briefly touches on the facts that in spite of the existence of machines and rapid prototyping, the original prototypes for most products, are still modeled out by hand. The film opens with a montage of one’s morning routine. Just from getting ready to head out the door, we interact with a myriad of devices and products, many of which are designed to seamlessly fit in with our environment, while remaining exceptionally intuitive.

Hustwit calls upon an elite global posse of talking heads to preach their design beliefs, presenting compressed portraits of the brainstorming, manufacturing, sales, and the use of various products.

Design heroes such as Karim Rashid, Marc Newson, Apple’s Jonathan Ive, and Braun’s Dieter Rams, share their philosophies and products, bringing the driving forces of the field into perfectly composed focus: ‘Good’ industrial design makes the product supreme, but the design invisible.

Dieter Rams, the former design director of Braun, outlines the principles of 'good' industrial design: It should make a product useful and be innovative, aesthetically pleasing, easy to understand, honest, unobtrusive, long-lived, consistent in every detail and environmentally friendly. He also adds that, good design is as little design as possible.

Hustwit asks put these designers in front of the firing squad, asking straightforward questions that elicit thoughtful, sometimes complicated, answers. The film adopts an honest approach; in the way it deals with our constant want and desire to obtain a products, coupled with more than well-informed designers and companies always creating new ways to reel us in, only speeding up the cycle of consumption.

There is however, a sore fact about the practice of industrial design that cannot be overlooked: Designers want to make objects that you will want to pass down through generations, yet ironically, the field of design field thrives due to the sheer disposability of products.

Towards the end of the film, the topic of sustainability surfaces, but it merely skims the top of this issue laden with detrimental effects. The film effectively exemplifies the appreciation of well-designed objects, but it responsibly warns us and pricks our consciences, with the fact that the production and disposal of these objects require numerous resources.

A fusion of thinkers and doers complements and drives home the film’s greater purpose: Getting us to rethink and draw a line between our needs and wants.

TASK 2C: CLIMATE CHANGE

An Inconvenient Truth

Our planet is at the mercy of our hands, and we are on the path to self-destruction, like a ticking a time bomb. A vast majority of the world's scientists have predicted that we only have a decade to avert a massive catastrophe that could potentially lead to our entire planet into a tail-spin of major destruction. Some of these visions include floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves, many of which are already occurring more frequently. The most riveting of all issues, is that this a calamity of our own making.

Former Vice-President of the United States, Al Gore, rerouted away from politics for a moment, to focus on an eye-opening and evocative effort of persuasion to help save the Earth from irreversible change. He shocks us back to reality, proving that global warming is no longer a mere political issue, but the most extensive moral challenge of our time.

We are now sitting in the midst of a climate crisis that threatens life on Earth as we know it. Statistics on-screen revealed trends which serve not to frighten with fluff, but to alarm with hard facts. The film cuts right to the chase, flashing scenes of the horrific destruction of Hurricane Katrina, along with a series of comparative photographs from vanishing glaciers around the world, and data which never lies. Mind-blowing records of storms, floods, and other kinds of extreme weather have sky-rocketed, along with the effects of rising sea levels, diseases, and diminishing flora and fauna.

Gore is no scientist, but he convincingly portrays himself as an expert on the topic. His take on the issue is succinctly rounded up in this carefully crafted film. What started as a nationwide debate, sparked off a movement of educating the masses, on the very real, present and ever-growing threat of global warming.

Appearance Model

Peer Comments

Guida Arezzi: http://arezziguida.blogspot.com/2011/04/project-1-designing-for-disaster.html

Jonathan Biet: http://jonathanbiet-ides3221.blogspot.com/2011/04/designing-for-disasters-peat-firebag.html

Gabriel Ly: http://gabrielly89.blogspot.com/2011/04/designing-for-disasters.html

Emily Soares: http://emilysoares.blogspot.com/2011/04/designing-for-disasters.html

Marco Tallarida: http://marcotallarida.blogspot.com/2011/04/windheat-turbine.html

Project One: Designing for Disasters

Product Poster


Scenario Storyboard


Orthographic Drawings

Rationale

The Heat Flask is an insulated food or beverage container. It is targeted at single-person households in urban areas of China.

It works on vacuum technology which eliminates temperature change by creating an airless vacuum space between two stainless steel walls. The inner portion consists of a multi-layered stainless steel structure, with a layer of carbon steel that has high heat conductivity.

This combination enables heat to be absorbed and conducted quickly, retaining that heat for as long as possible. The carbon steel, heat retaining plate means that it can also be heated by an induction element. The outer container has patented vacuum insulation to prevent heat loss. This system is equally capable of retaining heat or cold efficiently.
It conveniently warms its contents on a stove top, while ensuring that there is only a heat loss of 3-4 degrees C per hour.

Its main body has more thinly insulated walls which keep the exterior of the flask warm, allowing the user to grip the pot warm up his or her hands, preventing Frostbite, which is a very common and real danger in times of a blizzard or snow storm.

In times of a blizzard or a snow storm, where energy has to be rationed, the Heat Flask comes in handy as it allows more to be achieved, with less, conserving commodities. The Heat Flask is especially useful in such times, as it allows for gas and energy to depleted at a slower rate as a shorter period of time is needed for cooking. It can however, also be used in Summer, to keep food and beverages cool.

Reflection

The journey through Project One: Designing for Disasters has definitely not been an easy one.

My group initially decided upon Afghanistan as our chosen country which was struck by a blizzard as it was the most severely affected of the lot. However, after the first week, it became clear that obtaining information and research about the Afghanistan, let alone the blizzard of 2008 was next to impossible. Information that we did manage to gather from articles online were vague and unreliable.

After the first week, we did however, have a better grasp of what a blizzard was and what it entailed. We moved on to China as our chosen country to focus on and dove into doing more research: The events that transpired, how the country handled it, etc. We managed to get two interviews, one from Perisher Valley and one from China. Both interviews were extremely informative and really guided us onto the right paths.

As the weeks went by, we stopped working in groups and went on to do our individual concepts, some of which I struggled with. My initial ideas included a Heatmug, Heatpick and Heatpod, as I felt one of the most important and integral factors of blizzard rescue are centered around preventing Hypothermia and Frostbite. My initial concepts needed heaps of work and more research, I was unclear of my target audience.

More weeks lapsed and with more ideas churned out, I eventually chose a concept and decided to move on with it. My chosen idea was a food or beverage container that could sit on a stove. It was targeted at single-person households living in urban areas.

This container would be insulated with vacuum technology, allowing heat to be retained efficiently. This allowed the user to save his or her fuel and energy, as the contents of the container stayed warmer for longer. On top of that, the sides of the main body of the container kept one's hands warmed as they were a little less thinner than the rest of the product, preventing frostbite.

I played with different forms and shapes, but finally decided to go with a simple for that was sturdy and solid.

TASK 3: ECOREDESIGN

Links:

http://pipconnolly-3292106.blogspot.com/2011/03/dome-16lt-kettle.html
http://pipconnolly-3292106.blogspot.com/2011/03/eco-redesign.html

TASK 2B: SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION

The story of cosmetics

Annie Leonard takes us through 'the story of cosmetics' by first revealing to us how obsessed the world is with material goods, and how we so carelessly treat the planet, along with each other, resulting in all-round unhappiness.

She suggests that we turn problems into solutions by first looking at everyday products such as shampoos, which masquerade around as being 'herbal', 'natural' or 'organic' but which in actual fact, have soaring toxicity levels and various cancer-causing agents present, such as carcinogens, neurotoxins and reproductive toxins.

She sums up the concept of why such products contain harmful chemicals quite succinctly with the phrase 'toxins in, toxins out', meaning, the poisons that are pumped in during the manufacturing process of a product, are directly what the product is made of.

She urges manufacturers such as Procter and Gamble to dump their 50s' mindsets, and for laws to be implemented, allowing a change in the system, towards a safer and healthier future of consumers.

Life psycle-ology

'Life psycle-ology' uncovers the secret and unseen life of a mobile phone, Eric, who is seeing a therapist as he is troubled with an existential crisis after his owner dumps him for a newer model.

The therapist takes Eric through his past life, while the video explores the unknown environmental impacts of everyday things, using an innovative approach in communicating and engaging people with the concept of sustainability.

It encourages product life-cycle thinking and environmentally sustainable decision-making in design and product development, promoting eco-design, allowing and educating designers in making more informed and conscious decisions that will result in products with an overall lighter
carbon footprint.

TASK 2A: RECYCLING

"Giving Packaging a New Life":


Recycling Aluminium:

It was definitely a relief to learn that the recycling quota for aluminium packaging is at a high of more than 87% in Germany.

Aluminium cans, foil caps and lids, to name a few, are quite neatly sorted out, allowing for the ease of recycling.

It was a comfort knowing that the raw material recovered could easily be processed by the aluminium industry, to later be manufactured aluminium products such as sheets.

In this sense, aluminium is quite sustainable and ranks quite high as a material to be chosen by industrial designers.


Recycling Glass:

I fancied the idea that consumers play a large role in the sorting of glass bottles, according to colour, at bottle banks. It highlighted the ease of taking the extra step to do your part when it comes to recycling.

The entire process of recycling glass however, seems to be quite a tedious one, requiring quite a series of steps and sorting.

Prior to seeing this video, I was unaware of the fact that coloured and clear glass had to so specifically be recycling separately, including fragments.

Overall, glass does not seem to be a wise material for industrial designers to use, given the amount of energy and manpower that has to be pumped into recycling it.


Recycling Paper:

The fact that most paper manufacturers are also recyclers is a plus point, as hopefully it cuts transport and other various costs involved.

It is encouraging to see that paper is quite easily recycled and to find out that about 60% of the material used to produce new paper is made from waste paper.

Different processes are used to churn out different types, grades and qualities of paper, which a bulk of the machinery in a paper mill is devoted to.

A consolation though, was that corrugated board, cardboard boxes and news-print, can be produced solely from waste paper, with tissues and toilet rolls not falling far behind.

Paper, especially forms that contain a high percentage of waste paper, is a favoured material that industrial designers can use, provided that it serves their needs.


Recycling Plastic:

It was shown that unlike the beginning of the 90s', where plastic were either incinerated or land-filled, it is easier than ever to recycle plastic.

It was good knowing however, that most types of plastic can be recycled, some more easily than others. Despite how difficult it may be to recycle certain kinds of plastic, today we would find it hard to live without plastic, with it being the preferred material to use.

Unfortunately, the recycling facts of plastic reveal that as compared to other materials like paper or glass, plastic lags far behind in the race to recycle as it is cheap to produce, does not corrode, can be molded into all sorts of shapes and is relatively ductile.

Industrial designers can surely cut down on the ways in which environmental pollution due to plastic, by reducing the use of it as a material.


Recycling Tetra Pak:

Knowing that everyday products such as sauce, juice and milk cartons contribute to the piles of garbage that make up beverage cartons, it is reassuring to know that the key component in each Tetra Pak carton is a specialised cardboard which, like all paper, is recyclable and is indeed fully recyclable.

Watching the process of recycling beverage cartons really shed light on the amount of energy involved, from our used cartons being transported to a recycling plant, where they are then soaked in water to separate the paper-board from the plastic and aluminium layers.

A comforting fact was that the paper content can then be turned into new products like toilet paper, tissue and notebooks, along with, the plastic and aluminium also being recovered to make tiles and pots, just to name a few.

Since the product developers of Tetra Pak profess to be using resources sparingly and designing cartons which can be recycled effectively, industrial designers should support their cause and help to minimise the packages' environmental impact as well.


Recycling Tinplate:

I came to see that tinplate is a extremely recyclable material, and the ease of the operation surprised me: The way their lifted out, compressed and processed.

Tin scrap is then the sole material used in the production of steel slabs, with nothing going to waste. What impressed me, was that the tin cans can be recycled infinity without any quality losses.

Industrial designers can indeed consider tinplate as a material, given that it is highly recyclable and reusable.


Sorting Innovations:

The concept of a sorting plant is new to me and it uses a variety of sorting devices, including screens, magnets and ultraviolet optical scanners that trigger blasts of air to separate certain items from the rest, as well as devices that separate paper from cans and bottles, including glass and plastic, were quite astonishing.

With the existence of sorting plants, consumers can simply put all recyclables into a single container to be sorted at the plant, encouraging recycling as a whole.

This should be good news industrial designers, knowing that the market for which they cater to, is only going to get more and more attuned with the idea of recycling and soon enough, it will be to them as a sort of second nature.

TASK 1: ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

The Ecological Footprint is defined as a measure of human demand on the Earth. It highlights human demand with Earth's ability to regenerate, showcasing levels of consumption and waste production. It brings to our attention: How much nature we have, how quickly we deplete it, and who uses it.

Humanity's total Ecological Footprint currently uses the equivalent of 1.5 planets to provide the resources we use and to absorb our waste. My Ecological Footprint revealed that if everyone on the planet lived my lifestyle, we would need a whopping 5.83 Earths.

Measuring my Ecological Footprint, also identified that amongst all, my Food Footprint soars above the Country Average, which provides a sort of awakening to the environmental impact my lifestyle and everyday actions have on the Earth. My Food Footprint was taken from: My diet, where I obtain most of my food, whether I select foods that are certified organic or sustainably produced, my meal patterns and whether I have a garden or share one to grow my own vegetables and herbs.

Seeing these results have definitely made me think twice about my Ecological Footprint on this Earth and has driven me to want to make more of a conscious effort to apply various changes to my lifestyle, especially in the sector of food habits, in hopes that I will eventually lower my total Ecological Footprint.