Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences and Empathy

Authors: Jonathan Chapman
Publisher: Earthscan Publications
Edition: 1
Publish Year: 2005
ISBN: 9781844071814

This book is a call to arms for professionals, students, and academic creatives; proposing the emergence of a new genre of sustainable design that reduces consumption and waste by increasing the durability of relationships established between users and products. Chapman pioneers a radical design about-face to reduce the impact of modern consumption without compromising commercial or creative edge.

The author explores the essential question, "Why do users discard products that still work?" It transports the reader beyond symptom-focused approaches to sustainable design such as recycling, biodegradeability, and disassembly, to address the actual causes that underpin the environmental crisis we face. The result is a revealing exploration of consumer psychology, the deep motivations that fuel the human condition and a rich treasure of creative strategies that will enable designers from a range of disciplines to explore new ways of thinking and designing of objects capable of supporting deeper and more meaningful relationships with their users.