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, Synopsis
Dissonance; Direction: Design
Dissonance can be described as the disharmony, dissension, or disagreement between things. I
understand dissonance as an inconsistency between how things are, and how they should be.
Dissonance can exist between conflicting beliefs, attitudes or behaviours that cause feelings of
unease and often guilt. Designers have a responsibility towards the environment and communities
to use their abilities in a way as to direct away from dissonance through their designs.
Environmental Context
Design in an environmental context refers to designing with consideration to the impact that either
the design or humans have on the environmental world.
Volvo is a vehicle manufacturing company that collaborated with the Reef Design Lab to develop
the Living Sea Wall. Road vehicles are responsible for over twenty percent of global carbon
dioxide emissions and therefore vehicle manufacturers are not perceived as environmentally
friendly companies. Volvo wants to be perceived as an environmentally responsible company but
sells vehicles, which creates a sense of dissonance in how they want to be perceived. They were
able to exhibit corporate social responsibility towards the environment to better their customers’
perceptions by collaborating with Reef Design Lab to develop a wall tile that acts as a natural
cleaner and re-establishes habitats of the sea life in the Sydney Harbour. This is possible because
the designer used biomimicry to model the structure and function of mangrove trees. The tiles
are designed to last twenty years which means they do not have to be replaced frequently and
therefore fewer resources are consumed in manufacturing. This means the tiles are more
sustainable in the long term and therefore are exhibiting design for longevity. By promoting
these environmental concepts, Volvo is avoiding dissonance regarding their brand image.
Dissonance exists between the idea that people should start living their lives more sustainably,
and the fact that people also need everyday necessities such as toiletries and food products that
are usually packaged in containers made of unsustainable materials. Jonna Breitenhuber
designed the Soap Bottle with naked packaging by turning the soap itself into its own packaging.
The soap bottle is made of natural resources and is biodegradable and is therefore a design for
sustainability.
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