SUSTAINABLE MATERIALISM: Exploratory research on designing for reflection on materialistic behaviours in the domain of Interaction Design

• Main Author: Mullane, Aaron
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS) 2010
• Subjects: sustainable; materialism; Social Sciences; Samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23527

To have sustainable lifestyles, individuals need to have support from physical and social infrastructures, as well as institutions, however the major decisions about a sustainable lifestyle are being made at individual and social levels. This research is an exploration into understanding the social influences that drive an individual’s materialistic behaviour, and using that understanding to develop interaction design solutions that reflect on materialism and promote sustainable behaviour and life- styles.An extensive literature review is conducted on various aspects of materialism from the product design, interaction design - that have focused on the material and performative nature of artefacts - and social innovation perspectives. Here, existing work, such as simplicity movements, have promoted the idea that an individual’s life can be more fulfilling if they engage in activities that are purposive and materially light. How- ever, since it has been difficult to convince large populations of the society about the benefits of sustainable living, sociology research provides a platform to understand how our perception of self and social surroundings impacts our lifestyles in materialistic ways. From this understanding , two stages of empirical studies were conducted for design material, firstly exploring the concept of materialism from a sharing and ownership perspective, and then, intervention based studies that gathered insight on the use of techniques that promote reflection on these behaviours. A set of rich insights were identified on methods for design that promote the reflection on materialistic behaviour; focusing predominantly on experiences and identity management. These in- sights are applied and presented in three service design concepts that were explored in a participatory workshop.