Research assignment help: Architecture, industrial design, communication design
Research and examine four recent designs from architecture, industrial design, communication design and/or multimedia design, which have several qualities that would improve the lives of poor people in developing countries. Consider issues such as functionality, durability, cost and maintenance of the designs, as well as the safety, health and dignity of those who use them.
90% of the world’s total population of 6.5 Billion have little or hardly any access to the most of the basic products and services like clean water, transportation facility, healthcare etc. that many of us use it in our daily life. Nearly half of the population lacks basic necessities like food, water and shelter. Smith suggests that most of the new inventions or designs are targeted at few rich people of the world which constitutes 5-10% of total population. For e.g., automobile design engineers use ultra-modern software to make sure that the modern cars are elegant and smooth while majority of the people in the world can hardly dream of buying a bicycle (Smith, 2007).
MNCs have the potential to make a huge impact to eradicate poverty and earn higher revenues. The potential at the bottom of the pyramid is huge and needs to be taped. However to take advantage of this opportunity, businesses or individuals needs to innovate and bring out a radical product. They need to be different from the regular product in terms of durability, price and design. To implement such radically different models to improve the lives of very poor people, 1st priority should be given to customers living below poverty line. As it is said, like 4Ps of marketing, there are 4As of rural marketing. 4As that are to be taken into consideration while formulating a new plan or design for poor customers are Availability (spread), Affordable (due to low disposable income), Acceptability (suit the needs), Awareness (access to media).
The needs and requirements of the poor in developing countries, who constitute twenty to one, are never paid heed to. They are prepared to compromise on quality to get a cost-effective product, however nothing, which may satisfy their needs, is available. Extraordinary design is required to make sure that facilities enjoyed by a few percent reach large part of the population in some form. In last few years, there has been a realisation and hence we see many designers, engineers, architects and social entrepreneurs design some of the most innovative low-cost solutions for the poor people belonging to developing countries. They are designing cost-effective and quality products to provide access to basic necessities like food, shelter, education, healthcare for people in far-fetched world.
A poor farmer from a developing country can make a lot of money if he learns which crops to grow, where to buy raw materials like fertilisers, seeds and which market to sell it to make a profit. However Polak insist that people in charge of large poverty alleviation programs rarely focus on simple solutions and these huge investments have failed to produce any desired results (Polak, 2008). Moreover, Prahalad by making a plea to the business world to come up with innovative products for the ‘’base of the pyramid’’, brought new enthusiasm and resources for development collaboration. He suggested that companies can make a profit while poverty gets alleviated (Prahalad, 2005).
Pilloton in his book titles “Design Revolution: 100 Products That Are Changing People’s Lives” talks of exceptionally user friendly and well-designed products like braille based building blocks for blind children, low cost prosthetics for landmine victims, wheelchairs for rugged conditions etc (Pilloten, 2009). It has been talked about the empowerment of women through innovative microfinance products (Salinger, 2008, p. 39). This perspective could lead to more financial independence. The design of these innovative products, however, is underexposed in the BoP literature, as Thomas has noted (Thomas, 2008).
Four recent designs from architecture, industrial design, communication design and/or multimedia design, which have several qualities that would improve the lives of poor people in developing countries
1) A $3 Drip Irrigation System
Oosterlaken suggests that new technologies should be introduced in developing countries in such a way that it will expand their human capabilities and empower them. Farmers in developed countries spend millions of dollars to establish a modern drip-irrigation systems as it ameliorate quality of the output as well as decreases wastage of water by miserly using it drop by drop. Whereas a kitchen garden drips kit sells for $3 in India. A larger drip system which traditionally cost more than $1000 is being sold at far lower cost of $160 in India. The short plastic pipes that deliver water to small farm plots do not require redundant high pressure to be maintained. Lower pressure requirement leads to lower thickness of walls of pipes. For e.g., cutting 80% pressure demand lowers cost of plastic by 80%.Expensive sand trap filters that prevent clogging were replaced by simpler and low cost filters and high-tech expensive emitters by simple plastic tubes which didn’t clog easily at drip points (Oosterlaken, 2009, p. 100).
The drip lines are movable from one row of grains to another. Hence, a poor farmer would undertake this initiative with 20 Sq. mar for $3 and expand it to larger area depending on the results and profits from the initial trial. Thus the project is affordable, expandable and customisable and it can help the farmers to use this system in lower value crops like cotton, sugarcane etc. This low cost drip system set up using building blocks of affordable design has established a massive market for productive irrigation on smaller plots in developing countries like India.
2) Tricycles for the Disabled in Ghana
Murcott believes that relationship among different partners in the global village leads to evolutionary engineering design. He also emphasizes the requirement of information related to on-the-ground realities will bring forth culture/location-specific/environment specific or customisable solutions. Cooperation among partners, local expertise and reliance on the global technology will act as a lab for open-source innovation (Murcott, 2007, p. 128).
The disabled in Africa and other developing countries have a few opportunities available in areas of education, employment, entrepreneurship and even participating in social life. A tricycle, hand-operated vehicle propelled by a crank lever mechanism, helps handicapped people to travel over long distances. It is designed for large number of disabled people to drive smoothly under bad road conditions seen in the African countries. Western countries produce tricycles which are too expensive and not designed for people in developing countries. However price and unavailability of spare parts decreases their desirability. Many small workshops producing tricycles designed for handicapped people run in developing countries. However these designs are not apt and calls for huge improvements including customisation according to local market while also providing comfort to the rider.
Industrial design engineers as well as local entrepreneurs have been working on design improvements to address local problems and making sure the facilities enjoyed by a few are available to socially marginalised people in developing countries. In a case in Ghana, the production of tricycles had to be stopped by various workshops due to lack of financial support. However, a team of industrial design students did a broad research into local market, production workshop, requirements of disabled etc. to find an appropriate design solution. They customised the tricycle in such a way that it was adjustable and would enable the disabled people to run ice-cream business by having a cooler in front of the tricycle. Not just ice-cream, but they would be able to act as street vendor in public places and sell any food items (PrabhuKandachar, Jan D, Gabrielle L and JaapDaalhuizen, 2007, p. 99). To make sure that this tricycle is affordable and low-cost, companies whose brands are being sold by these handicapped people have been brought in. Thus, by making minor design changes, the disabled people can be empowered and their opportunities, income can be increased which will increase their self-respect and make them independent.
3) Pedal-powered washer
Zheng proposes that the capability approach is a useful conceptual foundation for future research. Human-powered washing machines have been there since years but the challenge remains to make it one which is cheap, portable and easy to use while also cleaning the clothes effectively (Zheng, 2007). Design students Alex Cabunoc and JiA You of the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles worked on various models based on salad spinners, sink plungers and other things; however they came up with picnic cooler alike with a top-loading washing machine named GiraDora. It is a plastic tub designed in such a way that it is tall enough to sit on while it also keeping it stable.
There is a 2nd tub built in like in case of conventional washing machine and the centre post is connected to a pedal located on the base of the tub. Then the machine is filled with water, clothes, detergent and the lid is put back. The operator then presses down the pedal with her foot while sitting on the tub. This helps to clean and rinse the clothes well. After the clothes are cleaned, a stopcock in the base is opened. Again, the operator presses the pedal and the washing machine becomes a drier. The cost of this machine was estimated to be $40.
This machine does not require any electricity, is more efficient than hand washing and saved hours of time for women in developing countries which do all the house chores by themselves. It is also more comfortable to use and less stressful on hands, back and arms. Also, the machine gives opportunity to women in the developing countries to earn money by taking other people’s clothes for washing.
4) H2OME
H2OME provides the user with a shelter to save them from cold and hot weather. Also, it possesses a unique feature of water collection/filtration system which delivers safe and clean drinking water all times. When H2OME is used as a shelter, the structure due to his unique shape collects rainwater and funnels it through a carbon water filter. This gets emptied onto a water bladder used for storage. A flexible water hose can also be attached to water reservoir to allow for easy access while H2OME is collapsed.
While designing H2OME, cost and sustainability were kept in mind to deliver the best in the market. The supporting legs of the tent are constructed using aluminium from 100% recycled soda cans and the protective barrier is made from the material as used in emergency blankets. H2OME is foldable and when it is to be transported, it collapses into a small cylindrical shape that will hold the collected water. The compact cylindrical shape allows H2OMe to be strapped directly at the back or attached to a backpack. The final product is a very cost effective and can be donated to a village or a community.
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