“1) What kind of projects and work do you think might be needed by designers because of the Great Acceleration? What are two ways that the changes resulting from the Great Acceleration are affecting your life?
I consider important that designers can work on projects that send society a message that creates a reflexion on our non-stop lifestyle. Making people think about the consequences of their actions through media, and even with clothing (just like how fashion is now an essential tool for feminist movements). Furthermore, two ways in which the Great Acceleration is affecting my life is in a personal and professional way. First, all the changes of the Earth like the sun exposure affects us directly causing several damages like skin cancer. Therefore, my daily life is affected by this change as I need to live with more precaution about my exposure to the sun. On the other hand, my professional life is also affected by the Great Acceleration as it is in my hands to counteract or contribute with the acceleration. That said, I need to be a better critical thinker and consider different and innovative ways to create clothing like an alternative fabric which doesn’t pollute as much as the others. Therefore, now as designers, there is no option to don’t care about issues we are facing. We need to stop, reflect and dont be part of the acceleration.
2) What do you think it means to “think and design beyond the present” as a designer? Why might this be important?
To “think and design beyond the present” is thinking about the future of future generation and the impact of what we create. As designers, we have the responsibility to act ethically and think how our design, beyond its function and aesthetics, will impact society and the world we live in. Materials, processes, function, durability are some of the many aspects we need to consider and think beyond the present. Because every single procedure will have an impact but is in our hands to make it positive instead to contribute to the Great Acceleration. For this reason, it is important and I must say necessary on this epoch that designers don’t focus on the present but on the future as part of our legacy as designers is to leave a better world.
3) Research the word Anthropocene and write a short description that you would share with a close friend (using your own words/language to explain, not an internet definition). What is one example of how the Anthropocene is affecting your home country? Images are encouraged.
The word Athropocene comes from the Ancient Greek which “anthropos” means humans and “cene” means recent or new. Therefore, when referring to Anthropocene we are talking about a recent geological period, as it is an epoch of the Earth, in which human beings begun to influence or impact in it as we develop and grow as a population. For example, at the coast of Ecuador, because of the construction of piers and docks, the direction and formation of waves have changed affecting also the shape and amount of shore. Specifically, before the construction of the pier of the Yacht Club of Salinas, people could surf but now there are no waves because the block of rocks changed the course of the sea, making also the shore shorter as the level of the sea got higher.
Yacht Club, Salinas Chipipe
4) Read the following article, “Everything that’s in your iPhone” (Links to an external site.). What surprised you most about this article? What are some of the locations involved in the process of making an iPhone (list three)? What are some of the materials (list three)? Describe some the effects (at least 2-3) that these materials have on humans, air and water systems.
What surprised me the most about the article is the real price of the Iphone itself by analyzing each component of it. It is unbelievable that the Iphone which is sold at $600 and up, really cost $1.03. Some locations involved in the process of making the Iphone are mines at Congo; Cerro Rico over the city of Potosí, Bolivia; Em Vinto, Bolivia; OMSA, Bolivia. Some of the materials used in the Iphone are aluminum, cobalt and carbon. Also, the effects that these materials have on humans, if they are not well protected, are dangerous even causing death, because of the exposure to being trapped into a mine or the exposure to toxic dust from the metals. The process of getting these materials to be use in the Iphone is highly pollutant, as it takes to dig and destroy landscapes polluting water and air systems. Also the need of other materials, which causes a lot of excess waste to refine the metal that was found to be ready to use as a component of the Iphone.
5) Next week we will tour Parsons’ Healthy Materials Lab Resource Library on campus. Please visit their site (Links to an external site.) to learn about their work and watch the Green Science Policy Institute’s video series (7 videos in total, each about 3 minutes long) on the “Six Classes of Chemical Concern.” (Links to an external site.) Answer the following questions: Do you use any of these materials commonly in your work or personal life? Will you change your behavior as a result of watching these videos? Why do you think so many chemicals exist in contemporary designs?
After watching the videos about chemicals that are present in our daily life, I must say that most of the things that I own contain most of them. It is surprising that almost everything contains chemicals, and if one chemical is banned, is replaced with another similar that causes the same health problems. As a result of learning about the reality of the products that I own, I will be more careful when buying products and even make up. At the beginning, the change will be difficult as I am not used to read the components of the products that I use but in a long term I will see the effect. I believe that now must contemporary designs contain so many chemicals because designers don’t think about the product and its consequence but only to sell and make money. On the other hand, people are also willing to pay for anything that makes their life easier and more comfortable but without thinking the damage that those products can cause. Knowing this fact, for designers and producers the most important thing to consider is not the composition of the product but only the function of making something easier than it is.
