The Role of Designer in Sustainable Society

Abstract

Sustainable society is addressed with environmental issues since 1960s. 100 years of industrial society, based on cheap fossil fuels, created several problems: global‐warming and global dimming due to the burning of these fossil fuels to air; consumption society that the price is the major force of marketing decision. But this fossil fuel is not unlimited resource. Experts say that the fossil fuel is reached in its peak of production and people cannot get the same amount of fossil fuels any more in few years. All these problems led designers to think their roles in sustainable society.

Since it is not wrong to say that all the industrial product/service are produced by designers (at least, contributed in some way), it is time for designers to re‐think and solve the problems they have created. The most effective and best example to follow is nature. Nature has no waste. All wastes in nature are foods in its ecological cycle. Products/services in industrial society should follow this example: waste equals food. William McDonough defines this system, cradle‐to‐cradle. This is a closed loop cycle; therefore, sustainable. Ezio Manzini challenges designers to re‐orient creativity towards sustainable solutions: based on strategic design and design for substantiality, with a focus on scenario building and solution development.

Many existing examples of sustainable society encourage people that this sustainable society can be realized if it is planned and realized with no compromise. Once it is realized it is advantageous to all the components in the society: equity, ecology, and economy.