Combating throwaway culture with products that people cherish
Most people understand the need for changes to our current usage of natural resources and consumption behaviours but find steps towards consuming less to be a challenging shift in behaviour. This project explores ways for product designers to combat throwaway culture by designing products that people will love deeply and have no desire to upgrade, replace or throwaway.
Research Question
How can designers create consumer products that users will cherish and keep for longer?
Project Outcomes
- The design of 6 personalised consumer products.
- A design strategy for promoting consumer-product attachment.
Procedure
An in-depth analysis of attachment theory and relevant consumer behaviour constructs was conducted to develop an appropriate strategy for promoting product attachment within a design process.
In-depth interview sessions were conducted with 3 individuals discussing their life stories to serve as inspiration for the design of several personalised products.
For each participant, 2 unique products were designed with the intention of containing meaningful associations to significant aspects of their past, present and anticipated future.
Participants were asked to live with the products for a two week period before sharing their evaluations in a follow up interview session.
Design
The 6 resulting designs contain aesthetic and functional cues to the personal life stories shared by the intended user. These links to significant personal memories and experiences lead to the development of a deep user-object relationship.
Kiruna, a decanter designed for Alex (56) to capture his memories of mastering skiing on a trip to America.
Globe, a world clock designed for Alex (56) to reflect his wealth of adventures around the world.
Diramu, a candle cover designed for Louise (48) to reflect her childhood living in rural Australia.
Geo, a set of placemats and coasters designed for Louise (48) to bring to mind her youngest son.
Crater, a pendant necklace designed for Karen (58) to bring to mind her late father.
Dyad, a set of pot plants designed for Karen (58) to reflect the personalities of her two dogs.
Key Insights
To be cherished, a product must fulfil two criteria:
The product must relate to a significant part of the user’s identity (e.g. their childhood, personality traits, memorable places or relationship with a loved one).
The product must be perceived as a genuine representation of this part of their identity. To explain this distinction, a fridge magnet of the Eiffel Tower might make you think of Paris, but it might not reflect a person’s memorable two-week family vacation in France.
Designing cherishable products doesn’t necessarily require making a different product for each person. There are many things that groups of consumers collectively find meaningful (for example, unique aspects of a culture).