Sustainability, Behavior, & Design

Abstract

This graduation project is one of two from Delft University of Technology that were initiated with the User Experience (UX) Research Group at Samsung Electronics to address the role of consumer electronics (CE) in more sustainable consumption and behavior for young professionals. This project started with a strong position on how to approach designing for sustainability with regards to consumer electronics and how the problem should be defined. Time and care was taken to focus on improving social quality of life and develop a long-term vision on how consumer electronics can play a role in helping users live more sustainable lives. A set of Design Guidelines were refined in the process of developing a concept, Fog. With a vision of a healthy evolution of technology for people, the Design Guidelines show how the vision is translated to more tangible product qualities. The Fog concept was an example of how a design can allow space for disconnection by treating the digital connections with care, and not as an addiction to solve. It allowed for a more sensitive way of dealing with overload, that can be naturally incorporated by users with the help of CE. The web prototype, Protofog, was built to enable users to incorporate Fog in their everyday communications with chosen partners. The test yielded valuable feedback for evaluating the potential of Fog. Protofog also showed that following the Design Guidelines can yield immediate changes in polite expectations, and it gave directions for how future development in hardware and software can better support it. The process and deliverables as a whole showed how the approach increased user-centered sustainable value, that in turn gives worth to the CE production process.