Most of us are well aware of the challenges facing earth and its inhabitants. Every day we can read in the news about concerns such as climate change, micro plastics in the ocean, an increase in diabetes type 2 and gender inequalities. Even though awareness of sustainability has become common place in design practice, there is a lack of knowledge and many misconceptions amongst designers and product developers. As in many other occupations, designers have a responsibility to assess what impact their decisions and suggestion have on the greater society. We need to recognize what we do not know and understand that, by solving one problem, we are likely to cause another.

In the workshop «Scraping the surface» we will discuss what, in your practice as a designer, you can do to raise awareness and how to avoid unintended outcomes. We will build on your prior knowledge in the field and establish a vocabulary to be able to discuss and argue for a more sustainable practice. We will focus primarily on the dilemmas associated with ecological and social sustainability and look at how unconscious behavior can influence a design proposal. We will discuss design for diversity and how to avoid greenwashing.

Scrape the surface of concepts in sustainable design practice in order to get an understanding of the difficulties in navigating through the issues from a designer’s perspective.

• Learn where to find relevant resources/methods to use in future design projects.

• Learn to analyze, discuss and evaluate concepts in terms of sustainability.

• Make a design project to try out the new knowledge

The workshop will be lead by Charlotte Sjödell. Charlotte received her degree in Industrial Design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, USA. In 1999 Charlotte was hired by Ford Motor Company in the UK to work as a designer. When leaving Ford in 2003 she was the Chief Designer of the European Colour and Materials Department located in Germany. Charlotte is currently living in Sweden and has, over the years, been involved with projects for IKEA and other producers as a freelance designer. Since 2004 she has worked as Senior lecturer and Assistant Director of the Programmes in Industrial Design at Lund University, Sweden. Charlotte is responsible for teaching freehand sketching techniques as well as industrial design project classes amongst other things. Over the years she has supervised over 100 exam projects on BA and MA level.