by yao.sossou1 -

Examples of successful interaction design for a sustainable future.

An effective interaction design for a sustainable future will emphasize user demands and goals while simultaneously considering the product or service’s environmental impact. This could include using sustainable materials, conserving energy, and planning for ease of repair and recycling. It could also include features that support sustainable behavior, such as tracking and boosting energy efficiency. The main goal would be to produce a design that is user-friendly and accessible while also supporting long-term sustainability. More specifically, a successful interaction design for a sustainable future may incorporate the following elements:

  • Efficient and user-friendly interface: The design should be simple to use and comprehend, with clear and unambiguous instructions and feedback.
  • Minimalistic environmental impact: The materials and manufacturing processes used should minimize environmental harm and promote sustainability.
  • Energy-saving features: The design should include features that reduce energy consumption, such as automatic shut-off or sleep modes.
  • Durability and longevity: The product should be designed to last as long as possible, with easy-to-repair or upgrade components.
  • Encourages sustainable behaviors: The design should include features that encourage sustainable behavior, such as tracking and promoting energy efficiency, or providing feedback on environmental impact.
  • Accessibility: The design should be inclusive, taking into account the needs of those with impairments, older folks, and users with low literacy.
  • Circular Economy Consideration: The product should be built so that materials may be easily reused and recycled at the end of its life cycle.

That being mentioned we would then like to draw your attention to some of the practical examples of successful interaction design applications for a sustainable future. Of course, the list is not exhaustive.

Energy-efficient home appliances: Interaction design can make home appliances more energy-efficient by making it easy for users to adjust settings, monitor usage, and schedule usage for off-peak hours. For example, smart thermostats can be controlled through a mobile app and can learn user preferences and automatically adjust settings to conserve energy.

source: 5 Facts of Energy Efficient Home Appliances | Visual.ly

Sustainable transportation: Interaction design can encourage sustainable transportation by making it easy for users to plan and track their journeys, find the nearest public transportation, and pay for fares using mobile apps. Especially with  newly trending electric and self-driving cars, usability and affordance should gain focus while designing in order to drive the interest of the customers and users.

source: https://www.arup.com/perspectives/sustainable-urban-transport-in-the-uae

Recycling and waste management: Interaction design can make recycling and waste management more efficient by providing clear, easy-to-understand instructions for sorting and disposing of waste, and by using sensors and other technologies to track waste and alert users when it needs to be disposed of.

Sustainable food choices: Interaction design can help people make more sustainable food choices by providing information about the environmental impact of different foods, and by making it easy for people to find and purchase locally-sourced and organic foods.

Sustainable travel: Interaction design can encourage sustainable travel by making it easy for users to plan and book trips that have minimal environmental impacts, such as by providing information about carbon offset options or eco-friendly accommodations. Also, how do we encourage the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the design of engaging and useful transportation solutions?

Sustainable fashion: Interaction design can encourage sustainable fashion by providing information about the environmental impact of different fabrics and clothing production methods, and by making it easy for users to find and purchase sustainable clothing options.

Here is also some descriptive example of sustainable design patterns that can be implemented in buildings

Green roofs: This is a sustainable design pattern in which vegetation is grown on the roof of a building. This not only helps to reduce the heat island effect but also helps to insulate the building and reduce stormwater runoff.

Passive solar design: This is a design pattern that utilizes the sun’s energy to heat and cool a building. This can be achieved through the use of large windows that face the sun, thermal mass materials that absorb and store heat, and strategic shading and ventilation to control temperature.

Rainwater harvesting: This is a design pattern that involves the collection and storage of rainwater for later use, such as for irrigation or flushing toilets. This helps to reduce the demand for municipal water supplies and can help to mitigate the effects of drought.

Biophilic design: This is a design pattern that incorporates elements of nature, such as plants, water, and natural light, into the built environment. This can help to improve the well-being of building occupants and can also help to reduce energy consumption.

by anine.hallen -

Little progress among the giants largely because of lack of accountability and poor-quality data

This and the previous blog post are looking into two major reports about the state of sustainability in the fashion world. “The Business of Fashion Index 2022” is looking at the 30 largest companies in fashion and how they are doing over a variety of fields of sustainability.

“The Business of Fashion Index 2022” by The Business of Fashion

The Business of Fashion Index 2022 “examine the performance of the industry’s 30 largest publicly traded companies by revenue across three market segments: luxury, sportswear and high street (ed. ordinary clothes).” Although the original 15 companies from the last years report had some progress, this was “eclipsed” by the new additions’ inaction.

Business of Fashion (BoF) points at “limited accountability within the sector, poor-quality data and a lack of investment“ as some of the biggest obstacles. This is very clear when BoF writes that “some of the industry’s biggest players — including URBN, Skechers, Fila Holdings, Anta and HLA Group — provided little or no public detail about plans to tackle their environmental and social impact.”

Although this is quite dark, there are also positive news. Fast retailing had the biggest improvement (of 11 points) from last years report, showing some of the “technological innovation, policy cues and standardised reporting frameworks” in action. If the fashion industry can do more of this, if can lead to real change.

”The Index assesses companies’ progress towards ambitious 2030 goals across six impact categories: Transparency, Emissions, Water & Chemicals, Waste, Materials and Workers’ Rights.”

As we see in the figure, waste is one of the areas that has the lowest score overall. This is something “very easy” to work on by not overproducing (resulting in landfill material before it has even been in the store) and to use scrap products and cuttings in a mindful way. Transparency is also something that is also obvious to focus on as a smaller company as this is one of the advantages of being smaller.

For me it would be interesting to read the full report (behind a paywall) as a designer to make sure that I follow the parameters given by BoF. To take part in the politics of fashion would also be an impactful way of taking part of this world.

Source:

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/widespread-inaction-on-sustainability-eclipses-progress-at-fashions-biggest-companies/

by daniil.ivanov -

“Flying machines heavier than air are impossible!”

This remarkable phrase, which I put in the title, was said by Lord Kelvin in 1895, the eminent physicist, then president of the Royal Society. By the way, the unit of measurement “Kelvin” is named after him. This statement was made just eight years before Orville Wright made the first controlled airplane flight. Already by 1904 there was a more advanced model of the plane, capable of performing maneuvers. A year later there was a third “modification”, this model could stay in the air for about thirty minutes.

Just a year ago, we only laughed at AI and neural networks, finding their attempts to look “natural” funny. Siri was “born” only 12 years ago. The first iPhone was released in 2007. GSM was born in 1992, just 30 years ago. We never know how far technology can go or what to expect from it. In this article I would like to remember some inventions that were once met with hostility, but found their place in the world in the future.

Is it spinning or not?
Copernicus was a scientist of the early 16th century, the author of the heliocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution. Scientists before Copernicus believed that the Earth was the center of the universe, and the world was divided into sublunary and supralunary. That was until Copernicus published his major work, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, in 1543, outlining and justifying the heliocentric system of the world. The Polish astronomer assumed that the Sun was at the center of the universe and that the Earth was only one of the planets moving around the Sun. Copernicus also stated that the firmament in which we observe the stars every day does not revolve around the Earth, as previously thought, but is at rest. With his research, the scientist shattered the foundations of traditional worldviews, which caused resentment and misunderstanding among ordinary people. His doctrine was officially condemned 73 years after publication, and only in time did astronomers recognize that Copernicus, and his “colleague” Galileo Galilei, were right. The Earth does revolve. By the way, many people mistakenly believe that Copernicus was burned for his bold statement, but this is not true. The scientist died at the age of 70 from a stroke.

The Age of Steam or Sail?
Another telling story that not all great discoveries were welcomed with open arms is the invention of the steamer. In 1800, American engineer Robert Fulton began experiments to create a steam engine and modernize sailboats. As is not difficult to guess, the scientist’s proposal was met with a hostile reception.

“Mr. Fulton’s proposal to install a steam engine on seagoing vessels is sheer nonsense. A steam engine cannot replace sails.” – Fleet Commissioner François Le Moyne.

Despite the disapproval of colleagues and the public, Fulton still embodied his idea to life, and in 1803 created a steam ship 20 meters long. It was tested on the River Seine, where it reached a speed of three knots against the current. But successful tests did not help the scientist to convince people of the necessity of his invention. Napoleon Bonaparte did not believe in the success of the project either. It is worth noting that ten years later the emperor changed his mind. On Fulton’s models were built several steamboats, including a warship with 44 cannons. But his inventor never caught it.

Space and journalists.
The era of rocket technology did not begin so long ago, and its history was not so easy in the beginning either. In 1909, Robert Goddard proposed a project to create a multistage rocket. The scientist agitated that once the fuel from the tanks was completely consumed, the stages would be discarded, thus reducing the mass that needed to be accelerated to higher speeds. When the scientist talked about his project, many thought the scientist’s words were fantasies. In his column, the editor of the Technology News section of The New York Times even ridiculed the scientist and his idea. But no one knows the journalist’s name now, and Robert Goddard has gone down in world history. The scientist created a liquid fuel rocket, which was tested in 1926. The first prototype rocket was only about 20 centimeters, which took off in just two and a half seconds to a height of about 12 meters and flew 56 meters. Goddard’s designs were used to build dozens of real rockets in the future. The New York Times, by the way, then took it back and apologized for their article.

So, in conclusion, I would like to emphasize again that none of us can tell which technology will be successful and which will remain in the dustbin of history. Sometimes technologies that cause skepticism turn out to be vital after a couple of decades, and sometimes loud and promising inventions are soon forgotten. But that’s a topic for another article…

References:

Misra, R. (2015, December 16). The greatest newspaper correction ever written (49 years too late). Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/the-greatest-newspaper-correction-ever-written-49-year-1491590487

Hartenberg, R. S. (1998, July 20). Robert Fulton | Biography, Inventions, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Fulton-American-inventor

Westman, R. S. (1998, July 20). Nicolaus Copernicus | Biography, Facts, Nationality, Discoveries, Accomplishments, & Theory. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolaus-Copernicus

The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane. (2021, April 25). ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/airplanes-flight-history-1991789

by anine.hallen -

The richest are both the problem and the solution

As I have gotten more into the topic of the sustainability of fashion, I have found some interesting reports with different takes. This and the next blogpost will summarize and highlight some of the most important finds of two reports. I will also mention how I can use these finds further on.

“Unfit, Unfair, Unfashionable” by Hot or Cool

Hot or Cool’s report “Unfit, Unfair, Unfashionable” showes the divide in consumption between high and low income countries and people. They found that “the richest 20% in the UK emit 83% above the 1.5-target.” At the same time, “74% of people in Indonesia live below sufficiency consumption levels of fashion.” On average the fashion footprint need to be reduced by 2030 by 60% among the high income countries of G20, 40% by the upper-middle income countries while the low income countries are already below the 1.5-degree limit. This divide between high and low income is both clear between countries and within countries.

Within a representative sampling of G20 countries they found that the lowest and second to lowest income quintile is responsible for respectively 6-11% and 10-13%. The second to highest and highest on the other hand is responsible for respectively 24-26% and 36-42%. In simpler words: “On average, the fashion consumption of the richest 20% causes 20 times higher emissions than that of the poorest 20%. This ratio varies substantially across countries, following levels of income inequality.” This debunks the idea that the poor is responsible for the emission because they by “cheap” clothes. They often get blamed in discussion about the emissions of fashion, but it is time that the rich scale down on their consumption.

As reducing the number of purchases of new clothes much (respectively 4 and 3 times) more effective than increasing the use time or (what is considered achievable through) decarbonization of the fashion industry, this should be the focus. (https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/)

Consumtion/emission with no action taken and a sufficient scenario
Consumption within countries differs very much relating to income level

In a way this is positive news. Reducing the amount of garments of high income people is a task possible to asses for small companies. This can be done by producing high quality, interesting and lovable pieces that can play many parts in a person’s wardrobe. If we can produce such pieces they can replace the feeling if need of new pieces. The other end, producing lower-emission garments for persons with low income, is a much more complex task. This needs to be assessed by the fast fashion companies and the fashion culture itself. This also needs to be done, but it won’t be as effective as changing the behavior of high income persons.

Another interesting find to consider is that in the UK, Italy and Germany the richest 20% need to reduce their footprint of fashion consumption by respectively 83%, 75% and 75%. However, in the fashion nation France this number is substantially lower, “only” 50% (https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/). This point to the issue that fashion consumption is highly dependent on culture. “French women” is a trademark in fashion, known and praised for using fewer, versatile and timeless pieces instead of indulging in micro and fast trends.

Source:
https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/

Full report:
https://hotorcool.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hot_or_Cool_1_5_fashion_report_.pdf

by anine.hallen -

Why design outerwear?

In this post I will clarify and define my own motivations going into this project. It will be useful for me by checking with this post during the process to see if I am true to my own passions and wishes. As mentioned in the previous blog post I wish to research if designing “yet another clothing piece” can ever be called ethical and sustainable. This is because I have a personal wish to design outerwear that is flexible in use, comfortable and seen as something fun instead of something dreadful.

Since I was little I have been fascinated with clothing and how it affects us. When choosing a direction of study, I chose to not study fashion/textile because I could not see a way I could get into that industry with my ethics and sustainable responsibility. Now I find myself constantly “gliding towards” wanting to get into the designing and production of clothing, but being conflicted by the sustainable matter.

I have two main issues to address if I want to get into the clothing industry:
– how can I design clothing with a clear conscience regarding the climate crisis?
– how can I, as an industrial/interaction designer, contribute in the “fashion world” without a fashion degree?

I need an answer or at least an indication of something positive in these questions before I get into the actual designing of clothing. These questions will therefore be focused on by me in first phase of this project. To find answers I will look into similar phenomenons to see if I can draw any parallel lines.

Eventually I can also look into more specific ways to design clothing in more sustainable ways and how I as a non-fashion designer can help in these aspects.

by yao.sossou1 -

Interaction design’s potential to help create a sustainable future

Image Source: ConverSketch

As the world becomes increasingly digitalized, it is more important than ever to consider how our design choices can impact the environment. Interaction design has a lot of potentials to help create a sustainable future, through things like increasing efficiency and reducing waste. For example, designing user interfaces that are easy to use and understand can help reduce the need for paper instructions or disposable packaging. And by making products and services more efficient, we can help conserve resources and reduce emissions.

There are lots of small ways that interaction designers can make a big difference in creating a sustainable future. So let us commit to using our skills for good and make the world a better place! Interaction design is a powerful tool to help create a sustainable future. The way information is presented, and the tone of the message can be used to influence people’s decisions. For example, if an environmental organization were to simply tell people to stop using plastic, they would likely not be taken seriously. However, if they were to explain the long-term effects of plastic pollution and why it is crucial to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics, their message may be more persuasive. By understanding how different tones can affect people’s attitudes and behavior, designers can create experiences that inspire positive action.

In addition to tonality, interaction design can also use visuals and animations to help make a message more impactful. For instance, designers could create visuals that illustrate the effects of climate change or show what steps people can take to reduce their carbon footprint. In this way, interactive designs can help make complex topics easier for people to understand and provide them with tangible actions they can take to contribute towards a sustainable future.

Finally, interaction design can be used as an opportunity for collaboration between businesses and individuals. Designers could create platforms that allow companies to connect with local communities in order to promote sustainable practices or develop interactive tools that allow individuals to track their own sustainability efforts over time. By providing users with a platform where they can work together towards a common goal, designers have the potential to create powerful experiences that unite people around environmental initiatives.

Overall, interaction design has the potential to play a key role in creating a sustainable future by influencing tonality, using visuals and animations, and fostering collaboration between businesses and individuals. With thoughtful design approaches, designers have the power to inspire positive action towards environmental initiatives and ultimately shape the future of our planet – one design at a time! As we look to the future of our planet, it is clear that we need to find new ways to create a more sustainable society. One way that interaction designers can help is by using our skills and expertise to create solutions that are environmentally friendly.

by edwin.lang -

Finding the right approach for my research

In this blog post I’m going to focus on the topics I worked on during the last two weeks. Inspired from a lecturer I did my research about all the topics connected to my proposed master thesis, that I got in touch during the last year. In the first week I searched for different keywords exclusively, giving me the freedom to dive deeper into very different disciplines without getting lost in detail. The second week was dedicated to clustering, arranging and finally lead to a mind-map.

topics for mind-map

In the following section I want to give an overview of the mind-map and discuss how working with a mind map helped me in my research. The mind-map itself was made with a tool called Miro and shows the clustered topics according the ones mentioned in the upper section.

With the described approach, I want to overcome the pressure I put on me when researching topics. By separating data collection and processing, I want to achieve a feeling of freedom and curiosity that gives me excess to my true interests without being influenced by narratives distracting me. Moreover, this process gives me the freedom needed to switch my focus within topics without the urge of coming to a conclusions, as this will be done later while data processing.

While this is only the clustering of my findings and not all of this year’s topics are on the map, this process truly helped me visualizing my findings as well as showing me potential intersections.

The following blog posts will provide a closer look at the topics including filtering the most relevant aspects and further developing the map.

by anine.hallen -

Deciding a on a topic between two opposites

For my first talk with Mr. Fabry we mainly talked about the topic of designing a digital tool as an aid before and during therapy agains depression. This is clearly an interaction design project and could be very interesting. Still, I have a passion project of designing more instrumental and lovable outerwear for winter. This is a project I know I want to execute at some point, but to me it does not scream interaction design. We still took the time to talk about it for five minutes, but that was not enough to decide what to do research on for a whole semester and if it would make sense in our field. Therefore I present both here as a way to process what I would prefer to do this semester.

Topic option 1 – Designing a digital tool for assistance before and during therapy against depression

Depression is one of the leading health struggles in the world. Even though there are good ways to effectively treat this condition for many cases, people with depression often find them self in a vacuum waiting for treatment. How can we make this waiting time more manageable and less likely to create worse mental struggles? Can a digital tool help a depressed person start their treatment before they receive traditional therapy? What does the tool need to consist of to be effective and manageable for someone who is already struggling to be productive in their everyday life? These are the questions I want to answer in this project.

Many people who experience depression also experience extreme waiting times before they are able to get the help that they need. There is clearly a gap between the demand and the supply of traditional therapy. For example, WHO has created a Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) to aid countries to increase services for people with mental […] disorders from non-specialist in mental health. I want to research if we can also help and train loved ones to better help their family member, partner or friend who struggle with depression before they get professional help.

There are many recognized methods depressed people can use as part of their journey to a healthier mind. To get started with these methods is often one of the first thing a therapist will help the patient with to make their life more manageable to deal with quite quickly. If a digital tool was successful in teaching people with depression about these methods this would have a dual positiv effect: the waiting time before therapy would be less destructive and more manageable, and the patient would already have startet their treatment when they arrive at their first therapy session. This could result in a more effective start of therapy, thereby shorter treatments and less waiting time for the next patient.

In this research there will be multiple answers that need answering:

  1. Does this type of tool already exist and why is it not more successful?
  2. What methods could/should or should not be used by a patient without professional supervision?
  3. How should a digital tool present these methods to make them accessible and manageable for a depressed person to deal with?
  4. How do other digital tools used for observation/follow-ups of other groups by professionals and non-professionals work? For example in relationships between athlete-trainer, patient-doctor or parent-teacher.
  5. Can this type of digital tool also be used during therapy or will it interfere with the therapist?

It is estimated by WHO that 5% of adults suffer from depression at any point globally. In some countries the number is even higher. Between 6% and 12% of the population is depressed at any point. There every sixth person is expected to experience depression in their lifetime. The tool would therefore be very impactful if it creates just a slight net positive.

Topic 2 – Designing outerwear for a more pleasurable experience in winter commuting

As the winter creeps upon us, so does the conversations about how horrible it is with all the layers and all the clothing we need to put on. Going to, being on and walking from a bus can leave you sweaty yet cold. If you have a car, would you be more likely to drive in the winter because of this uncomfortableness? Do you buy a new clothes every year in hopes of finding slightly less uncomfortable outerwear? I want to research how our winter clothing affects us and our decisions to find out whether or not I should put effort in making a perfect outerwear clothing line or if this would just be yet another empty promise in the name of the environment and wellness.

There are indications that uncomfortable clothing can lead to temporary increased stress and blood pressure (American Heart Association) and clothing we associate with smart people can lead us to solve difficult tasks better (Social Psychological and Personality Science). Personally I have both experienced and heard about others experiences of clumpy, ugly, wrongly tempered clothing when the colder weather comes. I can’t help but wonder how this makes ut feel and if our outerwear could help us make better decisions for ourselves and the environment.

In this research it will be relevant to explore:

  1. What do we already know about psychology and clothing/fashion? Does our clothing affect or mood or behavior?
  2. How do people experience their own outerwear? Are there some similarities between the clothing items that are experienced as successful/comfortable or the ones that are not?
  3. What characteristics is needed for someone to buy an item vs. to keep them and repair/perceive/love them for a long time?

by edwin.lang -

Media didactic in museums and science centers

Multimodal learning in the context of social and ecological problems

No matter if old or young, exploring and understanding the unknown is truly one of many characteristics defining human beings. Developing hands-on-exhibits that empower users and touch them emotionally through interactive storytelling matters a lot to me. Participants should be encouraged to be curious – to touch, to hear, to try something out!

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Confucius

Therefore, I want to explore current state of the art approaches of hands-on and get insight into the latest scientific discoveries in the field of media didactic. By combining my findings, I want to find new ways to raise awareness for social and ecological problems and challenge the observer to rethink the status-quo.

Children ask lots of questions. Their curiosity and thirst for knowledge often seems insatiable – this is the motivation needed for all learning and the driving forces […].

ZOOM children’s museum

The motivation comes truly from my previous bachelor program “Environmental System Science”, as well as workshops, projects and people I met during this time. Experiencing how difficult it is to raise questions of emotional topics, I tried different approaches of science communication. Ranging from podcasts to theater, always trying to combine both scientific evidence and enjoyment. I realized that one should not always force people to talk about problems but rather invite them to a voyage of discovery.

Here I want to show some hands-on approaches that inspire me.
As this collection can be seen as an ongoing process it will be updated from time to time. Maybe this section will also lead to a separate more detailed blog post in the future.

Design Studio: badaboom.berlin
Philosophy: Video
Museum: Futurium
Installation: Video

References:

Das erweiterte Museum – Medien, Technologien und Internet; 2019
Give P’S a Chance: Projects, Peers, Passion, Play; Mitchel Resnick; 2014
Wissenschaftskommunikation – Schlüsselideen, Akteure, Fallbeispiele; 2016
Learning through play – A review of the evidence, The Lego Foundation, 2019

by yao.sossou1 -

Interaction design for a sustainable future

This publication aims solely to find an answer to the question of how can interaction design contribute to #sustainability, in an attempt to show on one hand some of the hidden faces of new technologies and on the other hand our share of responsibility as actors and users of digital tools and services in the drought and disasters we are currently experiencing, but also to promote some design approach that can ensure sustainability in the use of new technologies. We believe that design plays an important role in the development of products and services we use every day. “Design is a complex endeavor, covering many disciplines. Engineers create bridges and dams, as well as electronic circuits and new materials.” wrote Donald Norman in his book The Design of Everyday Things.

So, what is Interaction Design and how could it help in designing sustainable solutions? Interaction Design“is the design of interactive products and services” in which the focus of the designer extends beyond the item under development to include how users will interact with it. Thus, a close examination of users’ needs, limitations, and contexts, among other things, enables designers to tailor the output to meet specific demands. It is also useful when creating physical products, as it explores how a user might interact with them.

For instance, everyone who uses the internet and new technologies should be aware that they are two-edged swords. Climate change is more than just a scourge caused by deforestation, the use of chemical fertilizers, and the use of fossil fuels. Let me assure you that the #digital industry is not an immaterial industry. New technologies have a direct negative impact on the #environment, even if we don’t see it. According to studies, #digitalization emits far more CO2 and consumes far more fossil energy than we realize. A smartphone, for example, consumes 80 times more energy than a car (see illustration below). Recently, youths in Switzerland have expressed concern about data centers’ use of electricity, particularly during the energy crisis, and have begun to inquire about the measures the government will propose to reduce the digital footprint of the data consumed.

llustration-by-chad-hagen

The objective of interaction design is to develop products that help users achieve their goals as effectively as feasible. It is a set of “techniques and tools” that enable designers to address actual issues, which has a variety of advantages. If we want to effectively gain benefit from various advantages that Interaction design principles offer, we have to encourage decision-making at each stage of the design process that will lessen adverse effects on the environment and the health of the inhabitants without sacrificing the bottom line should be made possible by combining a sustainability concept with a “design philosophy”. It is a comprehensive, integrated strategy that promotes “negotiation and trade-offs”.

Humans can now communicate more easily as a result of technological advancements. But what are we willing to give up for those advantages? The sustainable design aims to reduce negative environmental and health impacts. Technology has streamlined our lives and improved our comprehension of the world. The key focus is that we are building not just for ourselves or for our immediate needs, but also for the future. This suggests once more that interaction design’s main goal ought to be sustainability. However, the term “sustainability” nowadays is quite ambiguous. To align with our topic, we will emphasize that designing for sustainability also entails designers, specifically interaction designers, taking an approach in product development processes that will provide better user experiences while not compromising on social, environmental, and ecological issues. Furthermore, Eli Blevis, professor of Informatics in Human-centered Computer Interaction Design at the Luddy School of informatics, computing, and engineering at Indiana University, Bloomington wrote a paper entitled Sustainable Interaction Design: Invention & Disposal, Renewal & Reuse where he went further in describing the concepts of sustainable Interaction design.  Blevis provided us with a clear image of what sustainability should entail by emphasizing the interplay between people and nature from a more behavioral perspective. According to him, “The focus is primarily on environmental sustainability and the link between interactive technologies and the use of resources, both from the point of view of how interactive technologies can be used to promote more sustainable behaviors and—with more emphasis here—from the point of view of how sustainability can be applied as a critical lens to the design of interactive systems, themselves”.

Interaction design may contribute to sustainability by providing interfaces that make it simple for users to conserve energy. Designing systems that provide feedback on energy usage, creating incentives for energy-saving behaviors, and making it simple for users to modify settings that affect energy consumption are all examples of this.

Another critical part of interaction design for a sustainable future is the development of longer-lasting products and services. This can include creating systems that are easily upgraded and repaired, as well as mechanisms for recycling and reuse. This not only reduces waste but also helps to conserve resources.

In addition to encouraging ecological sustainability, interaction design can also help to promote social sustainability. This includes creating technologies that are accessible and inclusive to everyone, regardless of ability, age, or background. As well as considering the impact on underprivileged communities and striving to develop technologies that aid and empower them.

Overall, interaction design has a significant impact on the development of technology and society. Interaction designers can contribute to a more sustainable future for all by addressing the ecological and social consequences of their designs.

References