Meaningful Stuff. Design That Lasts.

A book by Jonathan Chapman.

Meaningful Stuff
Design That Lasts
By Jonathan Chapman
An argument for a design philosophy of better, not more.

A book that I have read with great pleasure and interest. 

It is like a conclusion or summary of all previous books and lectures by Jonathan Chapman with greater depth and a broader approach. An insightful and holistic examination to our needs, wants and consumer behaviours.

Order the book here

“What does it mean to ensure that products last over time when, as happens today, they have to be seen as hybrid, complex, and dynamic entities? Jonathan Chapman tells us everything we need to know both to answer this question and to give products a longer life.”

Ezio Manzini

author of Politics of the Everyday and Design, When Everybody Designs

“What we need is: less, but better. ” Dieter Rams.

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From Domus magazine

“I find it better to improve things than to be constantly forced to come up with something new, which is often not new, but formalistically superimposed. If I start with the outside, then it will always be formalistic. And that’s why I prefer the term ‘re-engineering’. I want to start with the inside. Always form inside to outside. And I have to do this with my thinking as well. (Dieter Rams, 2018) 

A ground-breaking phenomenon in the 60s and 70s, when designs by him and his group were associated to an increasing general drive for modernity and modernization, during the 70s the figure of Dieter Rams was temporarily overshadowed by different tendencies emphasizing the attention on provocation and color; still, since the 80s, it has made a grand and permanent comeback as a reference for design at a global scale, inspiring philosophies of designers like Jonathan Ive at Apple — as expressed in a contemporary icon such as the iPod, with its shapes evocating the legacy of the T3 radio.
Since its early research, shared with the group at the School of Ulm, Rams has been one of the first to experiment the systemic design approach — conceiving the objects starting from the inside, from the disposition of components in connection to their use — and he has then framed his research in the theoretical system he christened as good design, anticipating all contemporary attentions to sustainability and criticisms against “programmed obsolescence ”of products. This theory is represented by the famous general principle of the “less but better”, but it has also been distilled in an equally famous sequence of 10 principles ( good design: 1) is innovative; 2) makes a product useful; 3) is aesthetic; 4) makes a product understandable; 5) is unobtrusive ; 6) is honest; 7) is long-lasting; 8) is thorough down to the last detail; 9) is environmentally friendly; 10) is minimal).

Read more here

Sustain – Ability & Furniture Design.

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Georgia LalakouA&D Consultant at Knoll Office UK I MBA

The 2005 World Summit on Social Development identified sustainable development goals, such as economic development, social development and environmental protection. Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of social, economic, and ecological sustainability.

The intention of sustainable design is to eliminate negative environmental impact through skilled, sensitive design. Great design is sustainable design! Sustainable furniture design is an effort to address the environmental impact of furniture products on the environment by considering all aspects of the design and manufacturing process. Design considerations can include using recycled materials in the manufacturing process and using products that can be disassembled and recycled after their useful life.

Read more here

“It’s not enough to ask designers to be sustainable” says Formafantasma.

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India Block , Dezeen

Long-term relationships between designers and clients are vital to creating sustainable design projects says design studio Formafantasma.

It is virtually impossible to create something truly green and ethical when clients commission one-off designs, said Italian design duo Simone Farresin and Andrea Trimarchi, who make up Formafantasma.

“Companies don’t realise that it’s not enough to ask designers to be sustainable,” Farresin told Dezeen.

“You need to allow the designer to work in a way that is different, is more realistic. And that’s a different approach.”

Read more here

And here

To beat the ‘throwaway’ waste crisis, we must design loveable objects – that last.

A circular economy is a less wasteful one. WRAP

By Jonathan Chapman

Professor of Sustainable Design, Director of Design Research Initiatives, University of Brighton

Just over a century ago, “disposability” referred to small, low-cost products such as disposable razors and paper napkins. Today, practically everything is disposable – it is culturally permissible to throw away anything from a barely-used smartphone, television, or vacuum cleaner, to an entire three-piece suite or fitted bathroom.

The notion of a “throwaway society” is nothing new. American economist Bernard London first introduced the term “planned obsolescence” in 1932 as a means to stimulate spending among the few consumers who had disposable income during the depression. The concept was popularised by Vance Packard in his The Waste Makers in 1964. In fact, the concept of disposability was a necessary condition for America’s cultural rejection of tradition and acceptance of change.

In design terms, we can support greater levels of emotional longevity when we specify materials that age gracefully, and that develop quality over time. We can design products that are easier to repair, upgrade and maintain throughout their lifespan. These are effective product life extension strategies, and while they can come at an increased cost at point of purchase, they generate revenue downstream, through the introduction of service and upgrade packages.

Extending the life of a product has significant ecological benefits. For example, take a toaster that lasts about 12 months. Even if the toaster’s life is extended to just 18 months through more durable design, the extra longevity would lead to a 50% reduction in the waste consumption associated with manufacturing and distributing it. Scale this up to a national or international population of toaster-buyers, and it’s clear how significant an impact this could be.

Read more here

Super Normal.

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Super Normal began with an understanding or rather a gradual noticing that certain objects, usually the more discrete type, and mostly, though not inevitably, anonymously designed, outperform their counterparts with ease when it comes to long-term everyday use. Why that should be seems worth understanding if we are to design more real, lasting, and pleasing things and avoid the designer’s trap of placing too much importance on how things look.

More info here

“Why is Mid Century Modern Furniture ‘So Expensive?'”

Julian Goldklang, core77 23/3/2017

 

Scandinavian pieces produced in the 1950s and 1960s were made in factories like Carl Hansen & Son, Slagelse Mobelfabrik, CFC Silkeborge Mobelfabrik, etc. out of the best quality rosewood and old growth teak hardwoods. These pieces were handcrafted by artisans who had 20 to 30 years of cabinet making experience under their belts, and their customers paid good money for heirloom pieces that they would own for the rest of their lives.

As proof of the quality, look at the condition these pieces are still in after nearly half a century of everyday use. Look at a piece made in the 1950s or 1960s and you’ll see that structurally and cosmetically, they’re almost always in excellent shape. Well cared for, they will last you another 40 – 75 years.

Additionally, most new production knock offs are made in low-cost factories overseas using low-quality materials. These pieces are merely mirroring the look of good design, without having put in the work to understand ergonomics, craftsmanship, functionality and form. Sitting in an original Arne Jacobsen Egg chair versus a cheap new production “Egg” chair from China, you will instantly be able to tell the difference in comfort and quality.

There are current manufacturers offering that “mid century look” for a bargain basement price, and those manufacturers have set the quality and price bar for furniture extremely low, creating an unrealistic standard for what people believe should be the average price for a “good” piece of mid century furniture.

read more here

Carbon fibre: the wonder material with a dirty secret.

alberto meda: carbon fiber chairs

 

Mark Harris, The Guardian 22/3/2017

Carbon fibre is increasingly celebrated as a wonder material for the clean economy. Its unique combination of high strength and low weight has helped drive the wind power revolution and make planes more fuel efficient.

Carbon fibre turbine blades can be longer and more rigid than traditional fibreglass models, making them more resilient at sea and more efficient in less breezy conditions.

But carbon fibre has a dirty secret: the hi-tech material is wasteful to produce and difficult to recycle.

Read more here

MANUFESTO.

Tommy Papaioannou – August 2016.

To summarise the thoughts and the suggestions of this research 10 recommendations have been developed and a manifesto has been produced. This is to act as a general guide for furniture designers. Wanting to keep it short and sharp it is generic and not analytical (like most manifestos are). Please note that these suggestions are the result of this research as well as part of years of personal experience.
A short analysis of each point follows bellow to assist towards a better understanding. It has been named MANUFESTO signposting that repairing is a manual process/practice.

 

1. Check your materials, their origin and your suppliers.

There are unsustainable sources and practices in the global supplying chain of prime materials. Usually certification and accreditation gives a good indication of origin and practise. Local sourcing is ideal. Very low prices are usually an indication of low quality, hidden costs and bad practises.

2. Suggest non hybrid-composite materials.

Reinforcing two or more materials of varying properties forms composite or hybrid materials. Hybridisation is a process of incorporating synthetic fibers with that of natural and metallic fibers in order to yield better strength, stiffness, high strength to weight ratio and other mechanical properties. Composites can offer a series of advantages (especially light weight and strength) but are extremely hard to take apart and reprocess for recycling or reuse. Usually they are petrochemically based and are highly toxic and unsustainable.

3. Suggest mechanical joining rather than: gluing, welding, brazing and soldering.

Gluing and welding is a fast, cheap and very effective way of putting together two separate parts or materials. It makes it impossible to take these elements apart for repairs. It seems impossible but there is a variety of examples of how to put together different parts using mechanical means without problems. Cars, boats, motorbikes, airplanes etc are all assembled with mechanical joints and fasteners. They carry heavy weights and are subject to massive physical forces. They all function and operate sound and safely as long as they are serviced accordingly

4.Make sure parts of your product are separable and easy to disassemble and be replaced.

Ease of disassembly has a cost effect and that can be key to whether repair will take place or not.

    5. Suggest solutions that do not need special tools or custom processes for their assembly and disassembly.

Special tools and processes function as disincentives for people. Ideally a user should be able to replace a part without going to specialists using everyday tools.

6. Make assembly-disassembly instructions comprehensive and easily accessible.

It is essential for instructions to be comprehensive to the average user and widely accessible via Internet.

7. Make sure your product will last as long as possible.

Products were made this way for thousands of years. This is a matter of prime materials quality and manufacturing processes. It adds cost on the product but it can be seen as an investment. Quality furniture has a very high resale price.

8. Replace any heavy footprint material with a light one.

Traditional materials have a lower environmental impact. A life cycle assessment of materials gives a very good picture of their impact. An organisation like the Materials Council can help designers being informed. See image of materials footprint.

9. Avoid design trends and fashion.

As professor Tim Cooper argues in his ‘Longer Lasting Products’ book: today’s fashion is tomorrow’s junk. Today’s functionality is tomorrow’s dysfunctionality. Today’s beauty is tomorrow’s tawdry reject.

10. Get informed about materials and processes and inform others.

It is essential to be and stay informed about materials and processes. It is a big part of any designer’s job. Developments and research results are in a constant motion getting updated and introducing new insights and results all the time. Spreading the word is essential for every conscious designer.

Today’s fashion is tomorrow’s junk.

The cover photograph is of Paul Bonomini’s design for the RSA’s Weeeman Project. The robotic figure is made of scrap electrical and electronic equipment that weighs 3.3 tonnes, the average amount that each person in the UK throws away during his or her lifetime.

 

Tim Cooper, 2010

The throwaway society. How quaint that term seems now! I am old enough to remember the shock that attended its arrival as a description of modernity. The wastefulness it implied. The damage it evoked. The erosion it predicted, not just in terms of product durability but in terms of social durability, in the durability of society itself. And yet today the concept is so deeply entrenched in our cultural self-image as to be almost redundant. Very soon, I imagine, there will no longer be a generation that remembers what it was like to live in a society other than this. Was there really ever a time of make do and mend, of repair and reparability, of continuity and durability? Or was it just a dream? A figment of history books and senile imaginations? Our children have already inherited a very different view of the world. In which it is taken for granted that things don’t last. That relentless novelty is the order of the day. And for a few years they may even be able to sustain the belief that things don’t need to last. That today’s fashion is tomorrow’s junk. Today’s functionality is tomorrow’s dysfunctionality. Today’s beauty is tomorrow’s tawdry reject.