Product semantics for eco-efficiency: redesigning product characters to communicate eco-efficiency in home appliances

Currently the communication of Eco-efficiency in home appliances is very weak as this industry has only concentrated on the technical attributes (technology content) of appliances, overlooking the appearance attributes of their products. Eco-efficiency is the production of goods and services which meet human needs while reducing environmental impacts (Schmidheiny, 1992). This thesis investigates the encoding of Eco-efficiency as a meaning in product forms using the Product Semantic theory, and proposes that this linguistic shortcoming i.e.: ambiguity in exact usage context of Eco-efficiency, is also reflected in the design approach towards Eco-efficient home appliances, as according to Krippendorff (2006) parallels have existed between transmission of meanings through design and the link with language. What cannot be clearly defined in language is difficult to translate into design. When the meaning of what a product has to communicate is not clear to the consumer then he or she will have difficulty in assessing the product and will therefore appreciate the product less (Blijlevens, Creusen, & Schoormans, 2009). From a point of view of language the term ‘sustainable development’ (and by its derivation ‘sustainable design’) is a semantically empty term (Vezzoli & Manzini, 1989) due to large scale improper usage. Byrnes (2010) goes on to state that sustainability and by its extension Eco-efficiency is too much of an abstract concept. What human beings cannot visualize clearly ie: electricity for instance, they cannot internalize properly. This thesis will explain the application of product semantics to extract product characters which successfully communicate Eco-efficiency as a meaning to consumers in home appliances. The final output is to derive a ready to reckon set of design guidelines in the form of a set of 6 product characters-Futuristic, Feminine, Unconventional, Practical, Simple, Smart -which appliance designers can apply. Extracting these characters is an attempt to throw some light into the issue of communicating Eco-efficiency in EuP’s (Energy using Products) by demonstrating the application of product semantics in home appliances and endeavoring to lay a foundation for future research into other allied product categories. The aim of this research is to attribute the above characters to communicate Eco-efficiency through the appliance intrinsic features using a non-instrumental interaction paradigm. Intrinsic product features are physical attributes– form, geometry, colour, proportion, & composition, as opposed to extrinsic features which are strictly related to a manufacturer’s marketing identity, packaging, and branding (Lee & Lou, 1996). Non-instrumental product interaction is based on the ‘Design as a process of communication’ model proposed by Crilly, Moultrie & Clarkson (2004) - which in turn was inspired by Shannon’s model of communication - where the product meaning is expressed by relying primarily on visual sensing of a product’s intrinsic features. At one level this model of communication has overlapping concerns with the ‘human centred design’ approach discussed by Krippendorff (2006). This thesis will conclude by analyzing the degree of success of the 6 product characters, and reason upon the advantages of applying an objective product semantics process to solve an inherently subjective domain of Eco-efficient design, and attempt to tame what has been compared to Horst Rittel’s concept of a wicked problem (Erlhoff & Marshall, 2008, p-108; Syarief & Hibino, 2003).