Welcome, Introductions, and Project Brief

Welcome to Waste Not, Want Not, the Dundee edition! This blog will track the progress of our team as we work towards a design solution in the realm of food sustainability. Our team consists of five members of the People and Design module at the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. They are (appearing alphabetically by first name):

Liza M., a Masters of Design student from Scotland

Neha T., an MSc Design Ethnography student from India

Ryan M., a Masters of Design student from Scotland

Rachel S, an MSc Design Ethnography student from the US

Wendy W., a Masters of Design student from China

Our project will be entered into the Usability Porfessionals' Association 2010 International Student Design Competition. This year's brief is Designing for a sustainable world. The UPA writes

Sustainable design is an attempt to remedy the current problems of excessive energy consumption and pollution in two basic ways:

• Designing the product allowing for a eco-friendly process, materials etc: Have the materials and processes that have been used been recycled and are they re-usable? Are they user and environmentally friendly? How can existing products be optimized to contribute to a sustainable world?
• Designing concepts and products that influence the behaviour of users, for example the labeling of products to raise awareness of consumers on the real energy use in order to influence their decisions of buying or using a product (such as labeling schemes for domestic appliances or indicators / systems that visulize users’ consumption)

Our mission is to "invent a system or create a concept that addresses this design problem," while "[following] a user centered design process supported by background research and, if possible, ethnographic research of the solution space"

Because that sustainability is such a large issue, our module leader has requested that we "consider sustainability through the 'lens' of food."

This blog will follow our progress through the user research and design process: we hope you enjoy the ride!