Issues I think must be considered in the future
I don’t think that the excessive nature of the consumption we rich western countries have can go on without dire consequences for us and the rest of the world. Things we take for granted now like plastics and oil may one day be out of supply and we will need a way of coping without them. It is our job as designers to come up with ideas and concepts to try and develop a sustainable solution, and a sustainable out come that future generations will see the benefits in.
Now I would like to refer to something I said earlier on the blog as a kind of means to create debate, in that what if as consumers, we could expect things to be biodegradable rather than a novelty. There are some very good examples out there of good and very smart use of materials and techniques in design, but these are at the moment expensive and have a novelty aspect to them that people may not want in their own homes. Maybe more time should be spent in making familiar objects environmentally friendly. I am suggesting that eco friendly should be a bit more socialised and keep in mind the average user.
Another thing that should be done for the good of the world at the expense of business would be to make products out of high quality components, reducing the need for lots of replacements. This would perhaps mean that new phones, MP3 players, Televisions etc will be in less demand and the technology (HD for example) people have in their homes would advance slower. Also to do this the consumer would need to have a level of moderation, HD or Blu Ray are just steps up from digital and DVD- which do the job people expect of them. This however would kill off big manufacturers, and because of this it is unlikely to happen.