Global Issues: Designing for the Next Generation
It is difficult in an uncertain and ever changing world to understand how one might design for the future. The events and trends of the past and present must be analysed and be taken into consideration.
Designing for future generations incorporates ethical, sustainable and global issues. Within the majority of design disciplines there are characteristics that will have to adapt in order to keep up with the evolution of social, economic, cultural and environmental situations on a local and global scale.
As a designer the question of ‘How to design for the next generation?’ depends on numerous variables that will influence how we design. There are many issues that surpass national and continental boundaries that cannot be solved by one country or designer acting alone.
An annual average of 268million people were victims of natural disasters between the years of 2002 and 2011. The Philippines, India and Indonesia are in the top five areas of the world most frequently subjected to natural disasters. The ability to provide a form of aid that could dramatically reduce the number of deaths from the disaster its self as well as the after effects of the event, could greatly help the futures of both the population and the country itself.
Social and economic diversity have a huge impact on the purpose and power of a product. Perhaps instead of designing for the future one should contemplate designing products that are essential to the development of a population or country. For instance the ability to send effective and long lasting aid to a developing country or a population devastated by a natural disaster could, in the long run allow such areas and people to develop and enhance their futures.
