Sustainability

I agree with Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design. It would seem that designs must follow these rules to become truly successful objects, both on an economic and cultural level. Out of all of Rams’ principles I think sustainability is a pretty important quality. Having an object be environmentally-friendly is a difficult task. If I was designing objects for the marketplace, sustainability would be my number one goal. “Green” designers have the tough task of taking familiar objects and making them smarter, more efficient, and intriguing to the consumer, all the while being Earth friendly. They must try to appeal to everyone, not just the environmentally aware. The design itself must make a potential buyer (who might put environmental concerns on the back-burner) want the object solely for its look or function, not because of any possible benefits to the planet. 

While there seems to be a shift in the design consciousness to be more responsible, there still is a large lack of accountability from the designers, suppliers, and consumers. Rams comments about our “throw-away society” and the clutter that consumes our daily lives. There are countless things I throw in the trash because they have broken due to poor design, have reached their allotted life-span, or are simply superfluous. I understand Rams' assessment about the way our  civilization seems to operate. Humans tend to sacrifice quality over quantity quite frequently. The idea of durability and long-lasting craftsmanship is no longer as important in today’s world where you can easily go out and purchase something cheap and hassle-free. We seem to end up with a great deal of excess; the more material goods we buy, the less meaning they seem to have, or the faster we grow tired of them.

One thing that helps create a healthier environment is to create items that are long-lasting. Trendy things go in and out of favor, and sooner or later end up in the donate/trash pile. Designing something classic is key - those are the objects that continually resonate with society and well outlive their creators.