Communication of sustainability

Introduction:

Design to me has never solely been about just an object, as with everything we create people and communities are at the heart of the project. Creating more meaningful objects or experiences is necessary, we should interact and grow with our surroundings and create more of a sensorial experience. Social issues have and will always create barriers to overcome and work through. A particular interest of mine is environmental and social sustainability and the issues surrounding it. People always have a different approach to it but many still see it as an extra cost on top of what we should be doing instead of something which should automatically be considered.

Project Background:

Definition of Sustainability: (adjective) 1.able to be maintained. 2. Maintaining ecological balance, exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area. My Definition: Sustainability to me is about lifestyle and attitudes. Being aware of consumption and aiming to consume less it’s not about remaining stationary and sustaining what we already have but a reduction on our resource consumption and reducing our ecological footprint.

Communication is a vital day to day occurrence, using a vast skill set including listening, intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, speaking, questioning, analysing and evaluating. But what exactly is communication? “Communication is defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding.”

Environmental Sustainability has become too much of a medium to open up the doors and cloud peoples judgement by playing on peoples fears and anxieties. People don’t know how to the issue of sustainability as governments and other organisations take the opportunity to redefine its meaning each time. Confusion and ambiguity surround this topic and every one fears they are being told lies.

As greenwashing entered the product market place everything and anything could now be called a green product including paper towels (recycled paper) this has lead to consumers then either turning a blind eye to the issue or wanting true environmentally friendly products. To label a product green has little reference to sustainability after the market place turned it into a gimmick, these products are labelled as eco design, environmental design or even the new phrase of blue design.

Sustainable products shouldn’t just be about using recyclable materials but assisting in a lifestyle choice where the aim is to reduce all resources consumed, and preserving land for natural ecosystems. With our global population continually on the rise and a reserved amount of resources available we have to be globally aware of what is consumed. In Australia we are facing an affordable housing crisis, expanding out suburbia only puts further strains on systems in place.

As with the water issue affecting Melbourne and having reached peak oil our current lifestyles have to dramatically change to accommodate new lifestyles. As more lighting, and electrical appliances are consumed worldwide the energy consumption increases. This then impacts on the land we are all continually fighting for as more power stations are built.

Other issues arising from products are the landfill problem due to consumerism. This is all to do with material choice, consumer’s reaction at end of life of a product, and societies following fashion trends, with the continual remake, redesign of products. Should materials chosen for new products be eco friendly, recyclable, recycled, used or waste materials in response to this issue?

With the continual discussion on Environmental issues, higher levels of anxiety form. As humans we find it hard to quickly adapt to rapid change unless there is no other choice, we like to keep things the same surround ourselves with the familiar and work with things already known.

Approach:

Research into Sustainability and Design find examples of reactions to the issues. Example artworks created around green washing. The Bruce High Quality Foundation's installation Beyond Pastoral (Shroud of Turin) a scale model of the BP petrol station located opposite the gallery, underneath which thousands of lemons and limes were arranged in the form of the BP logo.

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