Using ceramic crafts to teach user centred design for water purification and development

R. Harlow, L. Buck

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference outputConference publication

Abstract

The development of more advanced technologies for manufacture and knowledge exchange has opened the world to wider trade and partnerships, requiring designers to consider the suitability of their products for cultures other than their own. With these advances a students ability to access other cultures has also increased, allowing them to research a cultures practices and traditions in greater detail. However, the availability of certain technologies differs from country to country, with many developing countries having stable access to mobile telephones, while still lacking basic access to clean drinking water. The use of design for development briefs give students the opportunity to implement user centred design within a cultural context, and to select appropriate material processes for their intended areas of development. This paper explores the work produced by level five product design students completing the ceramic portion of their manufacturing module. The students were given a brief inspired by the authors work in the EU Horizon 2020 funded WATERSPOUTT project. The students were asked to design and produce a ceramic filter and storage vessel for a developing area of their choice, taking into consideration the usability of the product, the cultural heritage of the area, and the local manufacturing resources available. The WATERSPOUTT project has worked to provide solar disinfection (SoDis) resources for the disinfection of local water for target communities in Uganda, South Africa, Ethiopia and Malawi. The authors role in the project was to design a ceramic filter to be used in combination with solar disinfection technologies.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, E and PDE 2020
EditorsLyndon Buck, Erik Bohemia, Hilary Grierson
PublisherThe Design Society
ISBN (Electronic)9781912254101
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2020
Event22nd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, E and PDE 2020 - Herning, Denmark
Duration: 10 Sept 202011 Sept 2020

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, E and PDE 2020

Conference

Conference22nd International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, E and PDE 2020
Country/TerritoryDenmark
CityHerning
Period10/09/2011/09/20

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, E and PDE 2020.All right reserved.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • ceramics design
  • design for culture
  • user centred design
  • Water filtration

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