ABSTRACT
Designing with materials will inform the designer about the physical realm of a product and can provide the knowledge to design for sustainability. It enables the designer to stay in control of the production process, or at least facilitate competent discussions and co-creation with experts, stakeholders and production personnel. When a design is based on a material reality, the role of the designer is not just as the inventor of a concept, but also as a creator of a recipe for a product to be followed in the production chain. Nevertheless, even with the right knowledge, sustainability does not come automatically – it is still up to the designer to make the right decisions. Designing for sustainability means taking responsibility for the designs that we contribute to the world, and design educators are obliged to instil a moral framework and build this sense of responsibility within their students. A product designed today should be designed for the future. This is important to remember in our efforts to measure sustainability, because a quantifiable existing reality may not express the future potential of something. It also means that we should not just design for the minimum requirements of today’s legislation and infrastructure.
