[Key words] green design; industrial design; design style
[Abstract] "Green design" is an international design trend that began to emerge in the late 80s of the 20th century. The requirement of sustainable development of the society indicates that "green design" will still be one of the hot spots in the 21st century. This article discusses the status and role of design and designers, the “green design†method and its development, and the future “green design†style and trends.
Today's mankind is faced with such problems as rapid population growth, shortage of natural resources, and serious environmental pollution. Human development and utilization of natural resources in an unrestrained manner has caused a crisis in its own living environment. In addition to the destruction caused by industrial and agricultural production processes, the large amount of rubbish produced in people's daily lives also causes great damage to the ecological environment. The consumption of household daily life resources has increased substantially. Not only because of the increase in population, but also because of the increase in per capita material consumption. Evidence shows that more than 50% of people on Earth still want to improve their living standards in the last 40 years, which means that they will consume more resources and generate more waste.
In the past few decades, the use of environmental technologies in the manufacturing process has made considerable progress, such as the use of appropriate technologies and cleaner production. Now people gradually realize the important role of design in environmental protection, and “green design†has become the focus of attention. Traditional product design theories and methods are based on human-centered, satisfying people's needs and solving problems, while ignoring the subsequent resource consumption and environmental impact in the production and use of products. Therefore, the theory and method of traditional product development and design must be reformed and innovated.
First, the status and role of design and designers
"Green design" is an international design trend that emerged in the late 1980s. As early as the late 1960s, the famous industrial designer and educator, Viktor Peppnik, published a book entitled "Designing for Real Life" that has aroused strong reactions in the design field. From a different point of view, he believes that all the things around us are created by designers. Designers not only play a role of “beautification†in marketing sales and user satisfaction, but also emphasize the social ethics of designers. value. The profound influence of this book has continued to this day.
Into the 21st century, due to the importance of environmental issues in governments around the world. With regard to the establishment of environmental protection laws and regulations and the competition among enterprises, the trend of "green design" with idealism gradually has practical significance. Based on the importance and understanding of environmental issues, people have evolved from an over-aggressive "green movement" in the 1960s to a relatively mature "green consumption" behavior. This brings new opportunities for "green design."
Designers, as the main planners and creators of products, will have direct and indirect influence on the environmental issues arising from various stages of the product. In particular, it is often up to them to determine the main materials selected for the product, how the product is manufactured, what special surface treatments are used to achieve the final surface effect, how the product is used, how waste is treated, whether it is recycled or reused. The materials used? Designers play a decisive role in many issues.
More importantly, designers are the link between products and people. They can guide and change the way people use products, and at the same time are responsible for these products and services. Design affects people’s lifestyle and social culture changes. People have become accustomed to designing to reflect their social status and personal taste. Design is the promoter of “consumerismâ€, which promotes the “planned abolition†of product styles and accelerates the replacement of products. Design also participates in advertising campaigns to further stimulate consumption. Design can transform social culture, and most of them represent certain specific lifestyles. Therefore, in theory, “green lifestyle†may be praised and followed by others. This kind of lifestyle does not have to be extremely frugal. It is to advocate a simple lifestyle that is as low-key as possible.
The commercial value of industrial design has increasingly been recognized and valued by many manufacturers. Designers have been entrusted with responsibilities in the research and development departments of many companies. All this has given designers the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to deal with environmental issues and their morality in environmental issues. Responsibility. The scope of "green design" has also expanded from non-mainstream areas to mainstream areas.