Extant design: Designing things as they are

Abstract

A brief overview of two quite different but interrelated ways of addressing sustainability in relation to product design, namely "incremental improvement through design" and "more fundamental considerations of sustainability and product design" is followed by a design exploration that focuses on the second, while also incorporating aspects of the first. The basis of the exploration is described, and supplemented with tangible examples that illustrate the ideas. The focus of the discussion and the design work is on the still-useful objects that are so readily discarded and replaced because they are no longer regarded as useful, or for aesthetic reasons, or because minor technical advancements render these older objects less desirable. The three design explorations included here attempt to offer ways of re-valuing older products, thereby increasing their useful life and, in the process, making some contribution to mitigating the need for and effects of replacement products.