Rants and ravings: The Lightbulb Conspiracy

It's pretty amazing to see how the printer failed and how it could be fixed. Something so small causing so many problems. It just seems so stupid for stuff like that to still happen now when we know so much.

We see how planned obsolescence started with the lightbulb, and how these international cartels were deliberately making products last shorter than they could to make more money. To me it just seems illogical to hinder progress like that when you know you can do better.

However it makes sense to why people back then could act like that. They had lots of resources and had set up large factories. They needed to create jobs and get the money flowing. The concept of sustainability wasnt important, at least not in places like the USA. They believed they had abundant resources. Fair enough. They probably had good intentions, like create wealth, jobs, allow people to have easier lives.

Now it just seems dumb, and yet it still happens. We know all the problems yet we let it continue. Why has change not been forced already? Is it greed? Is it because change means a lot of unhappy people? Will people lose positions of power? 

Three things help fuel this crazy over consumption of products, advertising, planned obsolescence and credit. Consumers have to take some blame. They are influenced by advertising and credit makes purchases easy. But this is stuff that consumers can easily ignore if they used some bloody willpower or thought. The bit that you cant really do much about is planned obsolescence...or can you? The video showed the iPod case, with the battery not lasting very long and not being replaceable. Maybe more companies can get taken to court for creating this waste. Or maybe governments should be harsher, but they wont do much if the people dont say anything.

Now back to the topic of planned obsolesence. The video talked about Nylon stockings and the film 'The man with the white suit'. It talked about how progress is halted due to economic reasons. Companies are afraid theyll lose money, and workers are afraid of losing their jobs. People get comfortable and get scared of change even if it is for the good of the world. Pathetic and selfish. I could go on to what if scenarios and what not, but then Id just be dragging on.

I guess planned obsolescence would work if they could figure out how to make the process 100% renewable. The video talked about cradle to cradle, so if designers could work that into products then it should be fine. 

Peer review for project 1

Nicholas Baroni
Gabriel Ly
Ella Setiamiharja
Henry Treloar
Harry Xie

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Yumoo, all the nutrition of sugar and purple, and triple the funsies of ordinary powdered milk flavouring. Plus moo cow!

Project 1 - Cormack Packaging

The idea behind my design was inspired by sugar dispensers which portion control. They are quite common at cafés and restaurants, but have also become more popular in households.

This idea was applied to powdered milk flavouring. With current milk flavouring, it is all pretty much the same. It comes in a container, usually a metal cylindrical tin, and you spoon the contents out into a cup then mix.

With my concept, you don’t need a spoon to get the contents out. You merely tip the container over like you are pouring, and the equivalent of one teaspoon will come out. One teaspoon is a good amount since that is what most people use when getting powdered flavouring out of a can.

Children tend to make a real mess when it comes to using these current tins. They open it messily, they get powder everywhere, they mix a wet spoon with the dry contents and they put way too much powder into their milk, or whatever fluid they are using.

The square shape was done because first of all, it made the alignment of the cup and funnel easier. The reason the funnel is on the side, rather than the middle, is that it allows more efficient use of the content inside, as it must be poured from that one side, and so it will gather around the cup effectively. Next it made it easier to hold on to, which is important for this package.  The square shape also means better use of materials, and more content in the package, which is good for the sustainability side, as well costs. It also helps with storage and transport, which is also very important to the previous mentioned things. The shape also helps with labelling, making it easier to read due to the flat surfaces. And finally it differentiates from the rest of the market. When kids see the different shape, they’ll be drawn to it, and parents will probably get it.

The package is made entirely of polypropylene. This means less sorting when the time comes for recycling; it also has good properties for the intended uses, it is good for food, it is tough, it can come in many colours saving on labelling, and it is recyclable. The product can also be re-used if it need be.

The disadvantages with this package are that it is a bit more complicated than current packages, and will probably cost more to manufacture. It is also restricted to how much it can hold, since a very large version will lose its effectiveness in pouring.