Major Project: Initial Ideas
This week I will be starting the development process of my major project in my progression route; Product Design. This post contains my initial ideas and research.
My first idea is to design phone cases made out of biodegradable materials. 'In the United States, the average expected life span (replacement cycle length) of consumer and enterprise smartphones was similar in 2023, with smartphones in the consumer segment having a life span of around 2.67 and 2.54 years.' (Laricchia, 2023), this means that smartphone owners will find themselves with empty phone cases every two and a half years. Those phone cases may end up damaging the environment and contribute to the microplastics pollution once they are thrown away. 'They have the characteristics of larger specific surface area, easy adsorption, and migration, like other artificial nano and micro size pollutants (Graphene sheet, carbon nanotube, and nanoparticles, etc.), which have drawn more concerns internationally on the safety effects on ecological environment. and human health.' (Li et al., 2022). Biodegradable phone cases would help in reducing the amount of microplastics in the environment as they would simply deteriorate until nothing is left of it.
My second idea is organically shaped furniture made from sustainable materials. I felt inspired by the 'Moon' chair picture above, I think it looks modern, stylish and interesting due to its unusual shape. 'Taking inspiration from Scandinavian functional and ergonomic design principles, Moon redistributes pressure points to the knees, relieving the spine and promoting a natural, correct posture.' (DesignWanted, 2023). However, I would like to add a back rest and perhaps a more cosy feel to my design.
My final idea came from this fruit bowl and table. The idea is to design fruit shaped lamps, for example a fruit bowl hanging from the ceiling or a banana in the corner of a living room. The colours of the fruit would make for interesting lighting, think of stained glass, in a home or workplace and I think this would be extremely fun to design.
References:
Laricchia, F. (2023). Smartphones replacement cycle in the US 2014-2024. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/619788/average-smartphone-life/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2024].
Li, Q., Yuan, M., Chen, Y., Jin, X., Shangguan, J., Cui, J., Chang, S., Guo, M. and Wang, Y. (2022). The neglected potential source of microplastics from daily necessities: A study on protective mobile phone cases. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 441, p.129911. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129911. [Accessed 22 Jan. 2024]
DesignWanted (2023). Infinite design innovation and ergonomics intertwine to create a harmonious form. [online] DesignWanted. Available at: https://designwanted.com/moon-chair-quadrifoglio-group-serena-papait/ [Accessed 22 Jan. 2024].
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