Essay

Richard Whitehall is an industrial designer and partner at Smart Design where he works to design what he calls “responsible behavior”. I found this great article, here, where you can see exactly what goes on daily at this industrial designer’s desk.

I like this article because within it are some gems that might help you design places for better occupant interactions. Here are some of his ideas that I think make his designs successful — really promoting green human behavior…

1 — Persuade people through cues. (1)

2 — It’s important to observe people using a product or design. The way they say they use them is often not how they use them. Plus, your view as a designer may be entirely different than their view. You should consider both. (1)

3 — Go for changing “small practices” with your design. All of these will eventually add up and make a big difference. (1)

4 — Use texture, instead of adding more materials to get a “decorative effect” (1)

5 — Aim to “optimize the efficiency” of a user. (1)

6 — An idea is to create a feedback loop so you can encourage a person to continue or stop certain habits. (1)

7 — Focus on “experiences and systems” so you can understand how “people interact with objects and information”. (1)

8 — Don’t just build products that are, themselves, sustainable. Build products that change people’s behaviors. (1)

9 — Discouraging behaviors can also be as important as encouraging them. (1)

10 — Look at what is currently on the market and find ways to make them better. (1)

Reference:

(1) Whitehall, Richard. Designing Responsible Behavior Workbench. Seedmagazine.com.

Image Credit: © justHugo | Flickr