Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Towards a more 'Green-centric' business model

My last post, I ended it with a claim that I have come out with a more sustainable, yet still profitable, 'green-centric' business model, that perhaps is still a win-win outcome for both the consumers and producers of electrical products.

In Singapore where I am staying, the major electrical appliance stores are Courts and Harvey Norman. The typical product cycle, or 'usage-cycle' of this product goes on like this:
1) Product get purchased by consumer from the relevant household appliance shop
2) Product get used by the consumer until it gets spoiled, or until a newer better, and more cost-effective model comes out
3) And then the consumer will once again, buy another household appliance, of a better, newer model perhaps!

From the standpoint of the sellers, the scene goes like this:
1) Buyer comes to the shop to browse and buy the appliance
2) Buyer buys the product, and the seller is only accountable during the warranty period of the life-span, or the usage-span of the product
3) After a few years later, the consumer, needing to get a newer model, will once again browse and be looking again at the same or similar household appliance.

Now this is where an opportunity presents itself. If there can be a link to the consumers' decision to buy a new model, to the sellers' desire to wanting to capture and be the definite outcome of this latter's decision, would that be a good business model or what! But how can we do that? One way that I think might just work is for these sellers to work towards a more life-long approach towards equipping families or their customers, whether potential or current, with the products or appliances that they are selling. What these means is that the sellers can be providing some sort of a discounted price on the prices of the newer models, in exchange for the older models, if these 'old' customers were to come back to them again for their more current models. In terms of customer-centric approaches, this would definitely work out more positively for the consumers, benefiting from having some discounts off their more current purchases (who doesn't love a discount right?), and getting a newer model in return for a smaller sum of money. For the sellers, it is definitely one way of prolonging their customers' loyalty to their shop or branding, which of course would translate into higher profit margins.

But where does the green-centric approach fall into place? Well, think about it, back in my previous post, if producers are able to use the products that they 'got' back from these consumers and perhaps, recycle or cannibalise them for their newer models, wouldn't it make more economic sense too? Cost savings...check, recycling...check, green-centric...check, a more stable and prolong customer loyalty to their brand of products...check!

Hmmm, i just think that this might just work!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Moving from a 'User-centric' to 'Green-centric' designs

The mantra "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" seems to pervade more and more of the media right now, as the world population realizes the fragility of the state of health of this planet, and the subsequent major adverse effects that would happen if no remedial steps were to be taken. But can design do anything about this state of affairs, and perhaps, just perhaps, if even though it doesn't have a Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point effect, can something be done at the designer's point of view in order to make this world a better place to live in?

One idea that perhaps might just work, is to move away from the concept of user-centred design that seems to be the 'in' thing right now, and really, move into a more 'Green-centric' design. In fact, I would actually say that perhaps being green is in 'fashion' right now, so one might not really think this as something that is something that revolutionary! But before we draw the conclusion that this convergence is just an issue of renaming a particular design-centric approach to product design, I do believe that designers can do their part in more ways than one in order to make products really GREEN!

One idea that I would like to offer is to do away with customised parts for each model of a particular product line, so much so that a few product lines are actually using some common components within the overall make-up of the final products. If I'm not wrong, I have read somewhere that Xerox (I think!) actually did something like this for their product lines of copier machines. So their engineers, when coming out with designs of their copiers, has an explicit intent to enable some components of these copiers to be 'future-proofed' in any newer product models or lines! So old models that have either gone to the junkyard due to wear and tear, or simply being replaced by newer models, would be able to be cannibalised! Cost savings..check, being green...check, faster product 'design-to-market' time...check. Well, I suspect that companies are already doing this, but can we then have even more companies to do this, companies that perhaps this simple business/design model can actually apply, and of which the impact is more public? Like what you may ask? Perhaps we can start off with the pens that we are using! I mean do we really need the fanciful cylindrical plastic outer casings, when the main writing tool is actually the ink-filled cylindrical centre-core!

Or how about our water bottles, the bottles that come along with the purchases of our bottles of Coke, Green Tea, and other drinks! Would it be ok if we have, instead of drink stalls, 'refill' stations instead...stations where a drink consumer would be able to get his refill, without ever the need to buy another bottle. Well there's always a new bottle if he wants to get one, but he would need to exchange it with his old bottle! Is that being a little green, or what!

Another business model that perhaps might just work is something that I had in mind for a couple of months now. You know how when one purchases an electrical appliance from any major appliance store, just like (in Singapore that is) Courts, Best Denki, Harvey Norman, or even in other places, the after sales service is just dependent on the warranty that is provided and perhaps ends there totally! Right? Well how about a better business model, that is both a win-win situation for both seller and consumer, and at the same time, sustainable as a business profitable model and 'green-centric' too!

Hmmm, to know more, stay tuned then!

The 'Roti Prata' Theorem...Redux

I've blogged about this 'Roti Prata' theorem a long while back, back at my old blog...just being jolted to blog about this yesterday as I was enjoying a few of these crispy pancake-like pieces with my colleagues.

The basic premise of this theorem is that, given say an X number of slices of prata, regardless of 'with or without egg versions :) ', what is the minimum number of times that one has to turn over these slices in order to get each of these sides slathered with the gravy/curry. Some pre-conditions/assumptions that I have come out with are:



- Each 'turnover' need not necessarily be done using one slice; it can involve a few (integer) slices at one go too
- It is assumed that the gravy/curry is being introduced only from a singular source point
- The intent is on having both sides of the pieces being slathered with the gravy/curry, regardless of the 'absorbability' of the surfaces or the pieces

Now to make this a little more wicked, let us introduce some parameters into the 'theorem', if I can even call it so:
- Can there be N number of source points for the source of the curry/gravy, theoretically speaking of course?
- How about if we decide to break up the slices into smaller pieces, perhaps into halves or quarters, how then would the theorem consider these non-integer conditions, hmmm, maybe perhaps by reintroducing integers within this integer conditions (is there such a thing at all?)
- What happens if the initial assumption that one wants both sides of his slices doesn't hold true, meaning for example, what if I want only the first slice to be doubly-coated, but not the second one?
- What happens if I want more than 1 gravy/curry type then...and this must not be mixed on any particular sides of any of these pieces, where there is only 1, or two distinct and separate source points!

- And how about if the prata slices are NOT flat, but perhaps comes in various shapes, such as the 'Crispy' or 'Paper'-version on the right? Hmmmmm.

Well, it doesn't help that I love the series 'Numb3rs' :), perhaps there is more inspiration to be had when you watch 'Numb3rs' over a plate of prata for dinner!? ;)

Organically-designed designs: the next phase of design thinking?

Without a doubt, the design of any product is a key element in the sustainability of a product beyond its initial life-cycle. What more with form taking over function in more ways than one, where technical specifications are just mere secondary features that could easily be replicated anywhere and everywhere, what defines a product as THE product to have, and must have, is its design. Clean lines, minimalist approach, and simplicity rules the Apple product lines, superb GUI and its consistency across its models catapults Nokia to the leading handphone brand, well at least in this part of the world. How much better can then design be? Is there still room for innovation in design itself.

Well one possibility is in looking at design as something that is just beyond straight lines and forms. Making design more organic...much like what organic plants do! Clean, pure, without any rationalised forms and defined lines, not easy perhaps, but definitely revolutionary if I may say so.

Some examples perhaps! Look at the pebble-shaped MP3 player by Samsung, and I think you would get what I mean.



And how about Theo Jansen's BMW ad. The smooth motion of the wind-powered contraptions (hell yeah, IT IS WIND-powered!) is a real masterpiece of sorts, of what organic design can do to not only a form, but perhaps, a function!

Possibilities, possibilities, possibilities...

a noob in photography

I have just begun to indulge myself in photography early this year, and the results so far has been a mixed bag of surprises and disappointments. But that is to be expected, isn't it? Here's one of my favourites, something that took me 6 shots on a tripod, and stitched together using Photoshop. There is so much more to learn...and I do hope that I can spare the time to learn as much as I can, within whatever time that I can spare! I'm still a noob (newbie), and hope to take better and better pictures. Enjoy!