Lesson video

Hello, there.

My name is Mrs. Dhami.

Thank you for joining me for your Design and Technology lesson today.

Now, the big question today is what design decisions are made at the design stage to make an environmentally friendly design? We're going to explore this with some great examples.

Some you might have at home, some you might have seen around your local town, and some that perhaps you are not aware of.

It's gonna be an exciting lesson.

Hard hats on.

Let's get cracking.

Our outcome for today is we will be able to explain how design affects the environmental impact of a product.

We have four keywords today: circular economy, which is an economic system where products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste or become very, very minimal waste.

Design decisions are a deliberate choice to meet a requirement or solve a problem.

Modular design is a design approach where a product is made up of separate interchangeable parts or modules.

And we'll have a little look at a few examples of that later.

And lastly, design opportunity is a gap or a need where a new or improved product would be beneficial.

Designers are always looking for as many design opportunities as possible.

We have two learning cycles today.

First of all, design, and then we're going to use what we learn to investigate a real life product and system.

So let's start off with design.

This diagram shows the circular economy.

Now the circular economy can be defined as an economic system where products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste or become very, very minimal waste.

And you can see that so clearly on the diagram because each stage has an almost certain thickness to it.

Whereas the waist stage, you can see that's a lot thinner.

The arrow's a lot, lot smaller because the whole aim is to reduce waste with the circular economy.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation explains the value of design in the circular economy.

They say, "Decisions made at the design phase influence how long something lasts, what it is made of, if it can be repaired, and what happens to it at the end of its life.

In fact, 80% of a product's environmental impact is influenced by decisions made at the design stage." Wow.

Those design decisions are so important.

And in the context of a circular economy, it means we have the power to redesign everything in order to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials and regenerate nature.

This highlights the important role that we and you as designers have in reducing environmental impact through our design decisions.

Never underestimate the power of design on our environment.

I feel like I can hear you saying, "What design decisions are made at the design stage that can actually influence the environmental impact at the other stages of the circular economy?" Well, let's take a little look.

Design decisions at the design stage can influence the raw materials used.

So for example, you will make choices, material choices.

So you could choose to use biopolymers rather than synthetic polymers.

Design decisions made at the design stage for a product to have the ability to be flat-pack or assembled or stacked will influence the environmental impact at the distribution stage because it may reduce the amount of transportation required.

Design decisions to make a product use energy sources such as rechargeable batteries will influence the impact, the environmental impact at the product in use stage.

Design decisions to encourage products to be repaired, perhaps having instructions with them or perhaps making certain parts easily accessible will influence the environmental impact at the repair and maintenance stage because it's more likely to be repaired, maintained, and reused rather than turning into waste.

Design decisions enabling products to be dismantled for recycling easily or encouraging products to be passed on will help keep products in circulation and reduce the environmental impact.

Therefore, design decisions made at the design stage have the potential to influence the environmental impact at every single stage of the circular economy.

Wow, these design decisions are really important.

Time for a quick check-in.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation states that something of a product's environmental impact is influenced by decisions made at the design stage.

Is it A, 75%? B, 78%? C, 80%? Or D, 82%? Have a little think back.

Come back to me when you've got an answer.

Well done if you got C.

It is 80%, wow.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation states that 80% of a product's environmental impact is influenced by decisions made at the design stage.

This is a nightlight that we have in our hallway.

It's often used so that children and adults can find their way to the toilet in the middle of the night.

Aisha says, "How is it charged and how is it attached to the wall?" Great question.

Let's take a little look.

It has a USC charging port, and it is attached to the wall using a magnet so you can easily take it on and off.

My question to you is what design decisions may have been made at the design stage to reduce its environmental impact? What I'd like you to do is pause the video, perhaps tell me, perhaps tell the person next to you, perhaps write it on a whiteboard.

What design decisions do you think would've been made? Come back to me when you are ready, and we'll move on and have a little look at the answers.

I imagine you've got some fantastic answers.

Let's see if some of yours match some of mine.

So we're starting with the raw materials and manufacture and materials processing stage, as I've shown by the circle on the circular economy.

So first of all, it is a minimal design from manufacture.

It's very small.

It doesn't take up a lot of room.

Therefore, not many materials are required.

Moving on to product in use, and you can see I've put a circle around that on the circular economy diagram.

It is a multifunctional product, meaning it's got more than one use.

So the magnets enable the light to be taken off easily and used as a torch.

And that's what my daughter does.

It lights up and then she takes it off and she walks with it as a little torch.

So it's got two functions.

It has a charging port, which means chemical and toxic waste is avoided by not using replaceable batteries.

I simply have to plug it in about half an hour and it's completely fully charged, ready to be used again.

It's great, I don't need to dispose of the batteries or find somewhere to recycle them.

I can just charge it myself.

It also uses LEDs, which is an energy efficient light source.

And it has motion sensors and timers to turn on or off only when required.

So it turns on by motion.

It stays on for about 20, 25 seconds, and then it turns itself on, off, sorry, so it's not wasting electricity.

If we move on to the repair and maintenance stage of the circular economy, this light has a standard USC port, which allows compatibility with existing chargers.

It didn't actually come with a charger, so it means I can just plug it into my existing chargers, which means no more extra products are needing to be produced.

It also has magnets to take it on and off the wall.

This is great 'cause I don't need to get out specialized tools to fix it or repair or maintain it, which is great.

And the magnet actually just stuck onto the wall too.

Moving on to recycling.

It has a QR code printed on the back.

If you look very, very closely, you might just about see it in the GIF.

That QR code can be scanned.

It's got recycling instructions, but it's also got repair instructions too to encourage users to both repair and recycle at the end of its life.

Moving on to a new product, this is an ergonomic office chair.

Now my question to you is what design decisions may have been made at the design stage to reduce its environmental impact? So I'd like you to pause the video video, perhaps talk to the person next to you, perhaps jot some ideas down onto a whiteboard or even tell me.

Pause the video, have a think.

Come back to me when you've got some great ideas.

Hopefully you've gathered some absolutely wonderful ideas.

Let's see if some of yours match some of mine.

So we're gonna start at the distribution stage of the circular economy.

And I've circled it there on the diagram.

So this ergonomic chair is designed to be a flat packed, and that design decision was made at the design stage.

Having it flat packs enables many to fit in one box for distribution, which reduces the amount of transportation required and therefore the amount of carbon emissions, which has to be a good thing for the environment.

So let's try and imagine this.

If you've got one chair fully assembled that is not able to be flat-pack, you'd need a box big enough to go around the whole chair.

Now imagine that same box, but imagine disassembling that chair.

So taking perhaps the back rest off, the armrest off, the casters off.

Imagine disassembling it completely.

I wonder how many you'd be able to fit into that same one box.

It might not quite be six, but it's definitely going to be a lot more than one.

Less boxes means less transportation, which means less carbon emissions and a better effect on the environment.

Moving onto the project in use stage of the circular economy, this ergonomic chair is great because it's adjustable so you can adjust the height of it, you can adjust the tilt of the back rest, which means that the chair can be shared with multiple users.

So if me and my husband were trying to use the same chair, he's a lot, lot, lot taller than me.

I have to move my chair down for height, otherwise my feet do not touch the floor.

It means we could easily share an office chair if we're not using the office at the same time as each other.

Therefore, less chairs need to be made, less raw materials need to be used, less chairs need to be transported.

The whole thing means that the impact on the environment is lowered by less amount of products, less amount of chairs.

Moving on to the repair and maintenance stage of the circular economy.

This ergonomic chair has been designed to be modular.

Now that means that separate parts of the chair can be replaced if they break or if they wear, rather than replacing the whole entire product.

So the parts that could be changed include things like the casters or the arm rests.

Now they've also been assembled using what we call standard tooling.

So this Allen key here is a standard tool.

It's something you are very likely to have in your own home.

It might take a while to find, but I'm sure you've probably got one in your own home.

Therefore, it enables it to be easily put together but also easily fixed in your own home rather than needing to take it somewhere else, lowering the environmental impact.

Time for a quick check-in.

Designing a product such as a nightlight with a charging port enables, A, minimal chemical waste, B, product use or life to be extended, C, accessible batteries to be changed, or D, the product to become obsolete.

Have a think.

Come back to me when you've got an idea.

Well done if you manage to get A and B.

Designing a product such as a nightlight with a charging port enables minimal chemical waste 'cause you're not having to change batteries, and also product use or life is extended because you can keep recharging it and reusing.

This is a children's coat made from recycled polymers.

My question to you then is what design decisions may have been made at the design stage to reduce its environmental impact? You've got it.

It's time to pause the video.

Have a talk, have a chat, write down a few ideas, and come back to me ready for the next slide when you've had that chance.

Let's take a little look and see if some of your ideas match some of my ideas.

So we're gonna start at the raw materials and manufacture a materials processing stage of the circular economy.

So as I said, it uses recycled polymers, so it uses recycled polyester or nylon from plastic bottles or fishing nets.

Therefore that means there's less polymer waste in landfills or as pollution 'cause we're taking that out, and manufacturing recycled polymers uses less energy than producing raw polymers.

It's a win-win for the environment.

Moving on to the product in use stage.

This coat is actually an example of modular design because it has a removable lining and hood, therefore that extends a seasonal use.

So it can be used on really, really cold, snowy, wet days and put that lining inside to keep the person nice and warm.

Or it can be taken out when it's a bit cooler, perhaps more of a springtime when it's starting to get warmer.

It means that the coat can be used, it extends the life and use of that coat, meaning you don't need to buy another coat, meaning less products in circulation.

Moving on to the recycling and waste stages of the circular economy.

Now inside this coat, you might have seen it but you might have missed it.

There is a pass me on label inside.

And I love this about this coat.

Can you see it says, "name, name, name." And then underneath it says, "Please pass me on when you are done." So a pass me on label encourages users to hand down to future users and creates a shift away from previous thinking of a throw-away society in which products were designed for one-off use.

So that design decision to put that label in to that coat encourages users to pass it on and for it to be used.

'Cause it's quite nice, isn't it? If it's got somebody's name in, but then there's a space for the next person's name too, and the person after.

What a great design idea.

Onto task A.

Now as you know, the diagram there represents the circular economy.

What I would like you to do is match the design decision of reducing environmental impact to the correct stage or stages of the circular economy.

So those design decisions are A, adjustable height chair, B, plugin rechargeable controllers, C, compostable plastic bags, and D, self-assembly furniture.

Which one do each of these fit into on the circular economy? Have a great think.

Come back to me when you've got your answers.

Well done with your efforts.

Let's take a little look at the answers.

So starting with A, the adjustable height chair, let's say you've got a small chair that grows as the child gets bigger, therefore it extends the use of the product, keeping the product in circulation.

So that links beautifully with the product in use stage.

We then get the plugin rechargeable controllers, which reduces the impact of batteries being thrown away.

So it reduces the waste, so links with the waste stage, and the repair and maintenance is obviously plugging it in, so it makes that nice and easy.

C, we have the compostable plastic bags.

They are biodegradable, therefore having little impact on the environment and reducing waste, reducing the waste stage.

And lastly, we have self-assembly furniture.

This reduces the packaging size, enabling more to be transported in a given method of transport, therefore lowering the environmental impact at the distribution state.

Well done, folks.

Onto learning cycle two, investigate, and we've got a brilliant problem to investigate.

Let's get cracking.

Town centers have become busy places with lots of vehicles and pollution.

Councils want to reduce the amount of traffic within towns.

Therefore this creates a design opportunity.

Design opportunity is one our keywords today.

So let's have a little check-in.

Can you remember what it means? Is it A, a design decision? Is it B, a final design solution? Is it C, a gap or need where a new or improved design solution would be helpful? Or D, is it a design strategy? Have a think.

Perhaps share your idea with somebody else.

And come back to me when you have got the right answer.

Well done if you got C.

A design opportunity is a gap or need where a new or improved design solution would be helpful.

Some councils have responded to this design opportunity with congestion charges and emission charges.

You might have seen one of these signs that are in the picture perhaps around one of your local towns.

I wonder if any of your family or friends have ever been caught out with one of these charges.

So I've got a question to you.

What other ways have councils tried to combat this? I've put a few little pictures just to inspire you.

I would like you to pause this video and have a think.

What are some of those pictures trying to show, but also what other ideas can you think of that the council might have tried? Come back to me when you've had a good think.

I imagine you've come up with some fabulous ideas.

Well done.

Let's see if some of your ideas match some of mine.

So some councils are trying zoning, that might be a pedestrian-only or a cycle-only zone.

Or you might have cycle lanes around your local area where only bikes are allowed to go in and not vehicles.

You might have share schemes around your local area.

That might be bike share schemes or car share or ride share schemes or perhaps scooter share schemes.

Lots of these are becoming popular in different places.

Your council might have tried to improve public transport by making buses, trains, metros, tubes more frequent so people can get on them easier and are more likely to take public transport than taking their own vehicle.

And then lastly, managing travel demand.

Some businesses are starting to offer flexible hours or working from home, which means that less people are out commuting at a certain time.

Perhaps it's spreading out that commuting over a certain amount of hours or a certain amount of days.

All of these ways help to reduce congestions in our towns.

Money invested into cycle zones and lanes as led to an increase in people using bikes for pleasure, commuting or businesses such as takeaway delivery.

Now that's often because people feel safer in these zones or lanes than out on the main roads with all the vehicles.

Now you may have seen a public bike sharing scheme near you.

So the public bike sharing scheme responded to the design opportunity in the UK in about 2010.

My question to you is, do you have a public bike sharing scheme in your local town? Some of you might have seen them, some of you might have walked oblivious past them, and some of you might not actually know what they are.

Don't worry.

We're gonna explain more about them later.

But for now, have a little chat about it.

Have a bit of a discussion.

Have you seen one near you? Pause the video.

Come back to me when you've had the opportunity.

Laura says, "I have seen them in the town that I live in, but how does the bike sharing scheme work?" Great question, Laura.

We'll look into that in the next few slides.

Jun says, "What design decisions were made for the scheme to reduce environmental impact?" Again, another great question.

Let's take a look at both of these questions.

In order to answer these questions, let's start at the raw materials, manufacturing materials processing and distribution stages of the circular economy with the bike sharing scheme.

So first of all, metal is extracted from ores and made into stock forms such as tube.

Tubes of metal are used to weld a durable frame.

The bikes are then delivered to their docking stations across a city or a town.

What design decisions were made at these stages? So with raw materials, they decided the decision was that they would be mainly recyclable using aluminum and steel.

And the design decision was that they would be expensive but durable.

They are a heavy duty build, lasting 6 to 10, and even further, years.

So what's the environmental impact? Well, it means less raw materials are required than people needing individual bikes because they are shared.

If they're durable, it means that the product life is extended, we don't need to keep putting new bikes into the scheme.

So Laura's question was, "How does the bike scheme work?" So first of all, users, which are age 14-plus, find a bike at a starting location.

Now roughly one in six bikes are e-bikes, so there is a choice.

There are signs that provide details of how to pay, and there's normally a number of ways.

You could use an app, a docking station, or a prepaid membership key.

Now, roof cost.

Pedal bikes cost one pound to unlock and then eight pence per minute.

E-bikes are a little bit more expensive, obviously.

They're one pound-50 to unlock and 16 pence per minute.

Once you have paid, the bike is released.

The seat can be adjusted to the user's height so that it's comfortable for you to write.

Then the journey begins and you can go wherever you like.

After you've been on your journey, you need to find a destination docking station.

And lots of towns, there are lots and lots of docking stations, so to encourage you to use them.

You lock your bike into the docking station that you have found.

If it is an e-bike, the bike recharges at the docking station, or it's collected to recharge when required.

What design decisions were made at this stage? So multiple docking stations means that bikes can be picked up and dropped off at a lot of different locations.

So it doesn't necessarily limit where you are going.

What's the environmental impact? Well, it reduces the need for motorized vehicles because you can have access to so many different locations.

As we saw, the bikes have an easily adjustable height of seat, therefore it caters for all sizes and all different heights.

Two, we saw it has clear and simple signage and methods of pay.

So you can choose which method you want to use.

So what's the environmental impact? It means more people of varying sizes and heights are encouraged to use, which reduces the need for motorized transport, which reduces the amount of carbon emissions.

Sticking with the product in use stage still, we noticed it has a secure docking station, which reduces the amount of theft.

And we also saw that some are recharge with green electricity.

So what's the environmental impact? Bikes do not need to be replaced due to theft, and green electricity reduces carbon emissions.

Moving on to the repair and maintenance stage.

Field engineers rebalance numbers at docking stations.

So let's say all of them have been taken at a certain location.

The field engineers will come back and rebalance the numbers to make sure they're accessible for all at all docking stations.

Field engineers also repair and maintain the bikes so that users don't have to.

So what are the design decisions at the repair and maintenance stage? The durable manufacturer enables lifespan of 6 to 10-plus years with maintenance.

Modularity enables parts to be replaced and repaired by field engineers rather than the whole entire bike.

So what's the environmental impact? Bikes are kept in circulation for as long as possible reducing the need for more bikes to be manufactured.

Moving on to the recycling and waste stage.

So firstly, batteries are removed and recycled safely if they need to be replaced.

If the bike has come to the end of its life, the bike can be dismantled for recycling.

Metals are melted down and recycled into new products and new bikes.

So what were the design decisions made at the design stage for the recycling stage? Well, the ability for it to be dismantled for recycling partners to then melt and reuse materials.

And also the design decision to have batteries accessible so that they can be separated for appropriate recycling.

So what's the environmental impact? Less waste is produced and materials are kept in circulation.

As we have just seen with the bike share scheme, there are many design decisions to make whilst designing that will determine how sustainable and environmentally friendly the product will be during its lifecycle.

Successful design can inspire other design solutions such as the subsequent public scooter share schemes.

And perhaps you might have one of those in a town close to you too.

Alex says, "Why don't people just take their own bikes?" Great question.

So time for a check-in.

Why might people choose public bike sharing schemes instead of using their own bike? Is it A, you get paid to use the shared bikes? B, you don't have to worry about bike storage or theft? C, you can pick up and drop off bikes at different locations? Or D, it avoids the cost and maintenance of owning a bike? Have a think.

Come back to me when you've got an idea.

Well done if you've got B, C, and this time D as well.

So reasons people might choose a public bike sharing scheme instead of using their own bike or buying their own bike: you don't have to worry about bike storage or theft.

You can pick up and drop off your bikes at different locations.

You don't have to bring them back to the same location.

And it avoids the cost and maintenance of owning a bike.

The bike share scheme repair it for you.

You don't have to do that part.

Onto task B, part one.

I would like you to identify three design decisions within the circular economy that help reduce the environmental impact of bike sharing schemes.

Have a think, think back to our slides today, and come back to me when you've got some great ideas.

So I asked you to identify three design decisions within the circular economy that help reduce the environmental impact of bike sharing schemes.

You might have said the manufacturer and materials processing and product in use.

The bikes are designed to be very strong and durable so they last a long time and don't need replacing often.

Repair and maintenance stage, modularity enables parts to be replaced when maintained rather than the whole entire bike.

And lastly, product in use.

This scheme makes one bike shared by many people, which reduces the number of new bikes that need to be made.

Part two, public bike sharing schemes help the environment by reducing waste and car journeys.

Think of a design opportunity, a gap in the market, for a product that could be shared in a similar way.

Explain how the sharing system would work and how it would reduce environmental impact within the circular economy.

I imagine you're gonna come up with some amazing ideas.

I can't wait to hear them all.

Come back to me when you've got those ideas.

Sofia says, "I have noticed the design opportunity for shared luggage scheme." She says, "Suitcases could be borrowed from a travel club rather than bought for occasional use.

This reduces the amount of bulky polymer and fabric luggage produced." Great idea, Sofia.

Aisha says, "I have identified the design opportunity board games and toy sharing club.

Families could join a club where toys and games are swapped or borrowed.

This would save money, reduce polymer waste, and keep toys out of landfill once children outgrow them." These are great ideas, and I'm sure you have come up with some amazing ones too.

Well done.

This brings us to the end of our lesson today.

Let's summarize what we have found out.

The circular economy is an economic system where products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste or become very minimal waste.

Design opportunities can lead to innovative design solutions.

And at the design stage, designers have a huge responsibility to influence many other stages of a product's lifecycle through their design decisions.

Well done with all of your hard work today.

I hope you have enjoyed the lesson as much as me, and I hope to see you in another lesson soon.

Take good care.

Bye, bye, bye.