Experience Design

Although we all wish we could live in a Utopia it is unrealistic. However as designers we must think about how our actions influence the way we live in the present as well as how our designs will influence the future. During a presentation by Nathan Shedroff at UC Davis on November 18^th 2009 he informed the audience about sustainability. By introducing sustainability into the way we think about design Shedroff asked the question, “What is sustainable design?” While thinking about his question it became apparent that there is no such thing, nothing last forever and we want new and innovative objects constantly. But as Shedroff kept going he purposed three questions for us as designers to think about, for the rest of our lives.

What is a more sustainable world look like?

What is a more meaningful world look like?
What is a post-consumer world look like?

To answer these questions completely and fully is impossible because they have no one solution or answer. However by being the generation’s next designers we can think about these questions gearing our design toward them, improving the future as well as giving people what they want in the present. Another influential and realistic solution Shedroff brought up was to use our everyday experiences to connect to the consumer creating useful designs. By doing this we as designers can help restore values, making the world a more realistic utopia. As materials build up in landfills creating waste and pollution, the four R’s, recycle, reduce, reuse and rethink become a large part of the design process. By gearing our brainstorming towards these themes we can generate a sense of sustainability bettering our world and the way we live in it.

Nathan Shedroff has written three books on experiencing design. His influence in the design world has been notably recognized and is worth learning and discussing about. On his web page he states, "The most important concept to grasp is that all experiences are important and that we can learn from them whether they are traditional, physical, offline experiences or whether they are digital, online, or other technological experiences." By traveling around teaching his thoughts to others is helping us as designers find our own inspiration gearing us towards a better future. Thank you Nathan Shedroff for speaking at UC Davis design program.

(http://www.nathan.com)