Thesis Proposal

Useless Things

Lots of stuff gets thrown away. Truckloads of it go off to landfills around the country every day. Industrial Designers would have designed a lot of the things that ended up in there. And the thing that bothers me about all this is that there seems to be a lot of waste.
When you think about how much energy and effort has gone into creating a product, the fact that it can go to the tip without further ado seems criminal.

If we want to live more ethically, like Norbert Wiener, and engage with the consequences, having a greater awareness about waste would seem a good thing.
The proposal would be to examine the psychology of waste from a consumer perspective and aim to determine if our relationship with our objects is a healthy one.

This would involve reviewing historical precedents as they affect the current situation.

Also why consumers buy products, what are their motivations and needs that are being fulfilled by the object. Is it emotional, functional, spiritual need etc. A lot of people buy things they don’t really need. Why? This is the waste prevention side of the equation.

Waste can also be tackled from a remedial aspect. Are there ways to get people to keep their objects for longer (engaging with object etc)? What Recycling/reclamation opportunities are there?