Issues with posters and how to fix em.

• Show the usage of the product. Be more clear. Use user instructions, more images, diagrams.
• Use more colour and graphics. Show its a kids product. Both with the product and the layout of the boards.
• More information: research, how it works, go in-depth on points, show images
• Put names on posters (ID number whatever)
• Manufacturing: Show steps, more information.
• Show proof it works. How it works effectively.
• Make sure the posters show all the info they need to without a mock up or me to back up.

ifixit

I like this site. They teardown a bunch of products. People can send in their own tear downs. Its set out nicely, and can satiate your curiousity about how the insides of your thingy come together in a neat little package.
The gave the new MacBook Pro a 1/10 for repairability. You cant upgrade the memory or the HD. The monitor is a clusternut of assembleness. The battery is glued to the computer (lol what?) And you need special screwdrivers to remove screws. Have fun!
Even though Apple seem to have gone backwards in the repairability side of things, its still impressive how they fit everything together so nicely. Too bad they make it impossible for noobs like me to fix em.

Class exercise: product disassembly

In class we took apart some products. Our group did a toaster. It took like 50 minutes to take apart, although we had to break a bunch of stuff to do so, so trying to assemble it from the original parts would be pretty damn hard.

Using a drill to make a hole bigger to remove a screw. What? You never had to that? Well really you should only need the one screwdriver. All the holes and screws should be the same. Get on to that Breville!

ACTION SHOT!!! also the removal of the outer Al shell from the insides

Removing the heating element sub assy and the PCB's.

Welp, that was fun!

After taking it apart we looked at the different materials used in the product.

Two bad screws. Note they require different tools to remove, one is a Phillips the other is just lame.

Aluminium

PP

Nylon

Real Steel

I dunno

ABS

Mica, for the heat protections man!

PCB's having a good time

After that we looked at ways we could improves its disassembly, repair and durability. We said that the electronic components could be put together, then they could be easily accessed for repair, upgrade, disassembly. The steel parts on the Al shell could be made from the Al shell so less parts. Using the same screws for the whole thing. Make the heating elements easy to remove for cleaning and repair.

Improving product life cycle

These sheets are from the adobe sustainability site. They talk about how to make a product more sustainable. This can be through making it easier to disassemble, repair, upgrade, recycle and dispose of. Its about closing the loop to eliminate waste, or at least reduce it significantly.

The 11th hour. Reflection, review, blabberings.

The 11^th hour is a documentary which goes in depth into the problems with the worlds environment. The documentary itself is quite dry and boring, and I can understand why so many people can’t take the sustainability issue seriously. There is a lot to understand, it isn’t a simple issue, and this documentary is not going to appeal to those who don’t care about the environment since they repeat the same thing over and over and it just drags on. Also some of the people being interviewed don’t help when they over exaggerate, which will get the denialists scoffing.

However if you are passionate about this topic and don’t have ADD, you should learn a lot from this, and hopefully it should get you to research more about certain topics and learn more about the complexity of ecological and social sustainability,

The most important thing that I’ve always taken from sustainability documentaries/lectures/articles is that the whole capital system we have is wrong. We treat economic capital as the number one thing, with social and environmental below it. It should environmental at the top, social next then finally economic capital.

Consumerism is another topic talked about in the film. The way we consume and just want more. As industrial designers we know this, and we know the problems. But this ties into changing the way that we live. Putting the environment and society ahead of the dollar.

The film also talks about how technology isn’t an issue. It is a people issue. People don’t want to change, and there is too much money for them to lose if they do change. On one hand it says it’s the politicians fault and the leaders of the companies, but then also goes on to say that we as people can change it by the way we live and ‘vote’ by purchasing goods that help the sustainability cause. The governments of the world can definitely help change the way things are done (putting a price on carbon for instance), but at the end it is up to local communities and everyday folk like you and me to change. Don’t blame the government and become apathetic, do something about it.

Industrial designers have a role here. We know the technology is there, and we design the products, these products become waste, and they use up energy and resources. We can try to put more sustainable things into our products, maybe design it so it can be repairable, use less parts, use energy efficient parts. Also try to use our influence to get others to change their ways, instead of just sitting back, doing a job and getting paid.

Amazingly, as in depth as the documentary was, there is still much more to learn about the topic of sustainability. It really is a complex issue, and it can seem overwhelming to try to understand it. But just try learning a bit here and there and it makes perfect sense. You start to see why things are the way they are, and it'll make you sad and angry and frustrated, but also try to focus on the positives and do what you can to change the way things are.