Ground for Ground

Project 2 Reflection

This studio project definitely did bring some new challenges when considering the whole product service system rather than just the product. Usually we just have to design a product that is a one package deal. I definitely found it more difficult to design a PSS than a product. It required a much deeper level of thinking as there was so much more involved. I think making this project a group project enabled us to create a much better solution for coffee compost than what would be achievable if I attempted this project on my own.

I think it is important for designers to consider the whole picture PSS included. Being mindful of a PSS is all a part of research and development. Even if the product doesn’t need its own new system it might be able to piggy back an already existing one.

I think what I liked most about designing a PSS is that it forced me to really visualise (through research and concept development) the product’s use from start to finish. Even though this is something we do all the time when designing in this project you really had to more so that you could apply it to a real life scenario to enable you to design a system that it could be used in. The worst thing about designing a PSS for this project was that you were required to create a new tangible product when sometimes the best solution was to use a simple interface or to use an already existing product and change it slightly. That wasn’t a problem our found with our project but something that a lot of people had with theirs.

The thing that I will take most from this assignment and incorporate into my next studio assignment is designing for the bigger picture. Not just considering my proposed design but the people and environment that interacts with it.

On a whole I was really happy with my group’s coffee composting system Ground for Ground. The way that we had designed it it could be easily adapted to suit most cafes. I think this PSS is something that cafe proprietors would want to have in their establishments as it promotes sustainability, is low cost and would attract a like crowd that fair trade coffee does. Most of all it brings societal change through people taking responsibility for the waste and channelling it into something other than landfill. 

I am really pleased with how well we worked together as a group. Everybody made a great and equal contribution to this project; we all focused on our strengths and pulled them together to create a really great PSS that we are all proud of. I am really glad we made such a great group! Go team!!

Video Reflection 2D

The Genius of Design

Episode 4 – Better Living Through Chemistry

It was very interesting watching this episode of Genius of Design to see the rise of plastic. I guess it is something that I have taken for granted that plastic was always around but as they say plastic doesn’t grow on trees. It had to be created by someone. As I am exposed to a countless amount of plastic products everyday I never really give much them much thought. Like Robin day’s Polyprop chair I must have sat on them hundreds of times in different venues but I never considered the history behind it or who designed it. I guess I never really saw it as a product that was designed but just something that came into existence when the big bang happened. Sometimes I think that some of the greatest products are not seen as designed but they are just seen as a staple part of our society. 

Just like the road sign format I never really gave any consideration to who made that a standard design. I always find it really interesting when I see the different design considerations that go into things like how from certain distances you don’t read the word but just recognise the overall shape of the word. It makes me realise how research and prototyping really does improve, refine and perfect a design.

Something that really did resonate with me was what someone said towards the end of the episode about how our society will leave behind plastics for historians. I think that is a bit sad about how our way of life is so dependent on plastic.

Reflection - An extremely inconvenient truth.

Watching this documentary was such an eye opener. I had no idea that they have been monitoring the earth’s carbon dioxide levels have been monitored since the late 1950s and the results show that the levels were constantly increasing but there has only been a strong initiative in the last 10 years to actually do something about it. It was alarming to see what the carbon dioxide project is for 50 years from now.

I had no idea that ocean temperature affected tropical storms but now thinking about it it really does make sense. In the past 6 or 7 years there have been so many and so much damage has been done. It’s really quite scary to think of how many and what the magnitude of them will be.

To think that people want to reposition global warming as a theory rather than fact is absolutely ridiculous. People really need to start taking responsibility for their actions and start doing something try and counteract it.

Of all the things I’ve watched and been exposed to in this course this has definitely made the biggest impression on me!! I really hope that I start to rethink my actions and try to decrease y carbon footprint.  Al Gore is such a switch on guy; I wonder how different things would be if he won the election instead of George Bush

The talk around town.

Peer Comments

Kiran Kashyap
Fiona Lee
Jennifer Widjaja
Stephen Mesa
Angela Lam

Pièce de résistance

1:2 Scale Model

Designing for Disasters

Rationale

n July to early September 2010 various wildfires raged throughout western Russia; this was due to an extremely hot summer and most of the country being in drought.  The fires destroyed thousands of buildings in some cases entire villages, also woodlands and farming land were also severely damaged.

The affected Russian community were extremely unprepared for the natural disaster they faced. Little land clearing or back burning was done or any other type of fire prevention activity that we practice in Australia.

A reasoning that I thought would increase preparedness was communication and education; I found there was no visual communication between locals apart from those who had television and the encroaching smoke. In Australia each state has their own type of silent visual communication the Fire Danger Rating Dial. These manual dials that are controlled by the local rural service are dotted along Australia roads; they consist of 7 levels from low to code red. When people drive past they then know if there is a high chance of fire and there is a total fire ban and change their activities accordingly if necessary. 

When a Russian student studying in Australia was asked if there is anything like this in place in Russia; he laughed.

Satellite fire detection is becoming more prevalent around the world and even in Russia. Weather authorities analyse many factors such as temperature, wind factor, precipitation etc and calculate the likelihood of a fire starting.

The FireEcho is essentially a solar powered road sign piggy backing an electricity pole. It communicates the fire danger level in the area.  It works on a four level system.

1.       Blue – Low

2.       Yellow – Medium

3.       Orange – High

4.       Red Extreme.

The FireEcho would be dormant for the winter months due to the extreme weather. Then in summertime the weather station send a signal to each sign to correspond with the current fire danger. When locals drive or walk past the FireEcho and see that the blue light is lit up they will realise that it is getting  closer to wildfire season and it’s time to start preparing themselves and their property before it’s too late

It consists of

·         four Polycarbonate LED lights

·         Galvanised steel sign frame, glare awnings, electrically housing unit.

·         Solar panel

·         Battery

·         Satellite communicator which controls the switch

·         Solar electricity inverter

TeProduct Poster

 Reflection

I must admit that this project would have to be the hardest project we have had to tackle in studio. There were so many more constraints we had to take into consideration compared to past. I really struggled to come up with suitable concepts. It was really hard to see the weeks slipping by and not having a solid concept to work with. I must admit my initial concepts from the first week looking back were pretty rubbish so I can’t blame them for being rejected. This project has really pushed me as a designer to think outside the box and not settle for my first idea as it’s not always the one. I have enjoyed designing for the less fortunate sector of society; it was quite refreshing compared to who we usually design for.

I am happy with my project and the way it turned out. Preparation is one of the greatest saviours in natural ignited wildfires. So I think the FireEcho would be a really useful in country like Russia that doesn’t have the bushfire control infrastructure like we do in Australia. Simple communication like the light system used in my project could really help save people’s homes or even their lives. If Russia keeps on having these intense wildfires they really need to improve their country’s readiness to cope with the disaster.