Environment-Community-Human-Oriented (ECHO) Design: A Context-Appropriate Design-Thinking Process for the Well-Being of
This work builds upon the user-centric “design-thinking” methodology to form environment-community-human-oriented (ECHO) design, a process that strives to create solutions that not only meet the needs of the potential users but also create positive experi
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Abstract This work builds upon the user-centric “design-thinking” methodology to form environment-community-human-oriented (ECHO) design, a process that strives to create solutions that not only meet the needs of the potential users but also create positive experiences and meaningfully influence their communities and the environment. As important as the users, the environment and communities are also key design considerations and target beneficiaries of the design outcomes. ECHO design was applied to solve the lack-of-safe-drinking-water problem in under-resourced communities. The resulting solution was an integration of products and services, consisting of an inexpensive, easy-to-use-and-maintain, aesthetically pleasing, and environmentally friendly water-disinfecting device; a model to fit the use of the device into the local daily routines, skills, resources, communities’ cultures, social conducts, spending habits, health understanding, and environmental settings; and a business model aiming to sustain the use of the product, healthoriented mind-set, and positive long-term impacts on the individuals, communities, and the environment. Keywords Design thinking • Human-centered design • Environmentally conscious design • Solar water disinfection
1 Introduction Design has been practiced in many disciplines, subjected to various interpretations, and given different definitions. It can be described as “a plan for arranging elements to accomplish a particular purpose” [1]. Designers seek to “match human needs with available technical resources within the practical constraints of business” [2]. Design can also be considered a problem-solving process for finding solutions S. Sukkasi (*) MTEC, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathumthani, Thailand e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer Japan 2017 M. Matsumoto et al. (eds.), Sustainability Through Innovation in Product Life Cycle Design, EcoProduction, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0471-1_8
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Fig. 1 Remote controls [3]
Fig. 2 Ticketing service of a mass transport system
that meet human needs. The resulting solutions are typically in forms of products and/or services. Some designs, however, might result in solutions that can deliver the required functionalities to satisfy the users’ needs, but fail to further create positive experiences for or meaningful impacts on the users. For example, the remote controls in Fig. 1 might satisfy the users’ basic needs: to be able to operate devices, e.g., televisions or cable boxes, from a distance away from the devices. However, many of the existing remote controls, like those in Fig. 1, are unintuitive, difficult to master, and sometimes even frustrating to use. Another example is the ticketing services of some urban mass transport systems that primarily have ticket machines that only take coins. Consequentially, many passengers who do not have the right amount of coins have to line up at the customer service windows to buy tickets or, in some systems, to exchange for coins first
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