Pantheon of Wonder
Essay
10 Great Ideas for Designs that Promote Green Human Behavior
by Maria Lorena Lehman
Building Green
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
Maria Lorena Lehman has received the following awards and has been seen in the following publications: