Sustainability Is Not About Designing Less, But Designing Better

Good design, we all agree, should be sustainable. But how exactly are designers creating products, environments and services that are ecologically sound while economically viable? And how, in an industry often characterised by the embrace of the new, do we eliminate waste? These were the questions tackled by three speakers at the Brainstorm Design conference in Singapore on Thursday 8 March – designer Beatrix Ong, artist Daan Roosegaarde, and design consultant and curator Jane Withers. They were joined by the conference’s co-chair, Wallpaper* New York editor Pei-Ru Keh. Ong, a former creative director at Jimmy Choo, left her career in luxury goods to start an eponymous label that produces shoes from upcycled rubber, leather offcuts, charcoal and bamboo. ‘Sustainability is a big topic, which can put people off,’ she said, but she believes that we can start small. Whether in footwear decisions, choosing cups and saucers over disposable beverage containers, or eliminating single-use plastic, ‘we need to individually do our part.’ Read more at Wallpaper.