I Am Timothy

During my level 3 elective dissertation period, dissertation title 'Does the Cradle to Cradle "eco effective" method hold the answer to solving the environmental problems caused by our over consumption of material goods', I called into the question the role of designers in solving the environmental problems caused by over consumption of products and services in the industrialised world.

My arguments were based in and around the book, 'Cradle to Cradle, remaking the way we make things' by William Mcdonough and Michael Braungart. Although the 'eco-effective' method they present is a wonderfully smart, design approach to the problems we face, I concluded it simply wouldn't work without a sea change in the way we, the consumer, consume.

During the dissertation I was able to explore the work of Jean Baudrillard, Victor Margolin, Jonathan Chapman and of course Braungart and Mcdonough. From these sources and the research experience my opinion on the role and indeed the power of the designer changed dramatically. Although my conclusion clearly stated that it's was the role of the consumer to demand 'eco-effective' goods, it allowed scope for designers to engineer this demand by effecting the emotional value of the products they designed.

The dissertation process allowed me the opportunity to build and develop a detailed insight into the 'Cradle to Cradle' method, as well as the work of Chapman (Emotionally Durable Design) and Baudrillard (The System of Objects) who formed the backbone of my thesis. However the restrictions of this type of academic writing did not allow me to really say what I wanted to say. 'I am Timothy' gave me this opportunity.

I Am Timothy

* JosephStebbingTheatreOfObjects

* JosephStebbingUnconditionalLove

* JosephStebbingIamTimothy

* JosephStebbingILikeChange