ID Green – design perspectives on sustainability

Sustainability is one of the major topics of our age and the landscape of sustainability is huge, divers and complex. So, what is sustainability in the context of Industrial Design? Is there one answer to this question, or perhaps not? And how can you design for a sustainable future? These are the central questions for this course.

The structure of the course is a combination of lectures, self-study, discussions, groupwork assignments and individual reflections.

Through these elements and activities, we will explore various perspectives on what sustainability is and how you can design for sustainability. At the end of the course you will be challenged to translate your findings and reflections into a Manifesto that reflects your vision on (designing for) sustainability.

Perspectives on sustainability that will be explored may vary per academic year. In previous academic years the following topics were addressed in the course:

History – Terminology - Sustainable Development Goals
Materialization for a circular future
Bio Design
Practices-oriented design
Future imaginaries
More-than-Human Design / Ethics
Sustainability as a transforming practice
Within the group assignments (aprox.4-5 students per group) at least two perspectives will be explored further in a hands-on approach through a module spanning several weeks. Each group assignment will be rounded off with a group report and reflection.

The final module is dedicated to creating a Manifesto. This assignment will be rounded off with a team presentation, and an individual reflection.

This course will not provide you with all the answers on how to design for sustainability, nor is it an introduction to industrial design in general. It assumes a basic level understanding of design processes and will challenge you to reflect on various perspectives on sustainability and your own role as a designer. As such, it aims to provide guidance on how to include sustainability in your future development, enabling you to develop your own designers’ roadmap to contribute to our sustainable future.

Assignments and deliverables:
The course consists of four assignments; 2 general modules working in groups (4-5 students) based on a specific design perspective and one group assignment focused on creating a Manifesto, which includes an individual reflection.
The deliverable for the group assignments is a group report including a reflection. Requirements for the report may vary per assignment.
The deliverables for the team assignment are a Manifesto and an individual reflection.

The two general modules each contribute 30% to the end result.
The team-assignment (Manifesto + individual reflection) contribute 40% to the end result.
A peer review may be part of the procedure.

Knowledge (What?)
Developing understanding of sustainability in the (historical) context of sustainability in Industrial Design.
Identifying and positioning different perspectives on sustainability in design
Learning about different approaches on designing for sustainability/circularity
Gaining an overview of opportunities to develop further in designing for sustainability

Skills (How?)
Practicing designing for sustainability by implementing at least two different approaches/perspectives in group assignments.

Attitude (Why?)
Being able to (critically) reflect on (un)sustainability from various perspectives.
Developing a personal vision on sustainability and becoming aware how this relates to your personal design work and development as a designer.

You must meet the following requirements

• Registered for a degree programme other than
• HBO-TOP Applied Physics, Pre-Master, Fulltime

• Preparatory readings and tasks will be communicated through Canvas