Designing for behavioural change: reducing the social impacts of product use through design

This thesis investigates the feasibility of applying design-led approaches to influence user behaviour to reduce the negative social impacts of products during use. A review of the literature revealed a distinct lack of design-led research in this area. Three promising approaches from other disciplines, however, were found; ecofeedback, behaviour steering and intelligence. The majority of product examples identified did not use a singular approach, but combined two or more approaches. Most of the examples were concepts and focused on the end result. Few commented on the research and development processes undertaken to generate the final design. These limitations reinforced the need for case studies detailing these processes. To this end, two design studies were carried out; a preliminary study using a range of products and a further, more in-depth study on the use of mobile phones. The results of these studies led to the development of a framework of attributes for 'behaviour changing' devices. In response to these findings, two design resources were developed; a detailed design project to reduce the social impacts of mobile phone use in public and a short film on texting whilst on the move. Evaluation by design professionals provided analysis of the effectiveness of these resources and wider reflections on designer's perceived responsibilities for use and the ethics of designing for behavioural change. Collectively, the findings indicated that resources for designing behavioural change should; be explorative not prescriptive, focus on problem solving, be tailored to meet the needs of the intended recipient and ideally be applied in the early 'ideation' stages of the design process. Additionally, the findings indicated that designer's involvement in, and responsibility for, lifecycle impacts must be extended beyond point-of-purchase. Designers, however, are reportedly often unable to influence product development at a strategic level. Prior work, therefore, is needed to engage those at a senior level. Furthermore, the findings strongly indicate that 'behaviour changing' devices must be prototyped and subjected to rigorous consumer testing not only to establish their effectiveness but also to determine their acceptability

Design for sustainable behaviour: strategies and perceptions

This paper presents selected findings of doctoral research exploring how design could be used to influence user behaviour towards more sustainable practices. It describes three strategies for changing user behaviour through design drawn from literature and outlines the methodology and findings of a case study exploring the application of these strategies in sustainable design. Drawing on the perceptions of design professionals interviewed in response to one of the concepts generated, the paper goes on to explore the perceived acceptability and effectiveness of these strategies. It concludes by commenting on the wider implications of these perceptions for ongoing research

Predicting in situ heat pump performance: an investigation into a single ground-source heat pump system in the context of 10 similar systems

Ten similar ground-source heat pump systems installed in small rural social housing bungalows in the UK have been monitored in detail over a period of more than one year. The purpose of the present work was to take one system at random, and study its performance characteristics in the context of the group, in order to explore the potential for predicting performance from a few readily obtainable parameters. The chosen system performed relatively well in summer and relatively poorly in winter (despite an average temperature lift for space-heating). This was found to be readily explicable in terms of domestic hot water set-point temperature, and compressor cycling behaviour. The latter may be affected by building fabric issues, or by user behaviour (e.g. window-opening). The study suggests that where sizeable groups of similar systems are installed in similar buildings (e.g. by social housing providers), an appropriate monitoring strategy may be to monitor a sample of installations in detail, and to predict the performance of the remainder based on limited but more easily obtained data. However, the limited dataset may need to include internal and ground-loop fluid temperatures, heat pump electricity consumption, and some detailed knowledge of building fabric and occupier practices

Integrating ethics into design for sustainable behaviour

Consumer behaviour contributes significantly to society's impact on the environment. Through products, designers can shift user behaviour towards more sustainable patterns of consumption, bridging the intention-behaviour gap between values and everyday actions. Design for sustainable behaviour (DfSB) aims to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of products by moderating users' interaction with them. DfSB strategies have been categorised on an 'axis of influence', which correlates increased product control with a corresponding reduction in user interaction and choice. The process of designing for sustainable behaviour has been modelled within existing literature, yet these models fail to account for, and fully integrate, inherent ethical considerations. This paper presents a design process model with corresponding ethical assessment tools that may better equip designers to influence consumption patterns without compromising users' autonomy and privacy, thus bridging a gap in current knowledge

What they really, really want: user centred research methods for design

The benefits of user centered research methodologies are well documented in the literature. They can reduce the potential for poorly designed or misused products; provide an insight into the complex relationship between people and their products, and be a persuasive tool for communicating wants and needs to higher management. Through these techniques, designers can gain powerful insights into the ‘actual’ practices, habits and needs of the users they are designing for, rather than having to rely on their own perceptions. This paper draws on the combined experiences of the authors with findings from the literature to present a range of techniques which can help designers better understand their customers and lead to the development of more appropriate products and services. Each section provides a brief description of a technique and describes its implementation process, and any associated benefits and drawbacks. The paper concludes by comparing the different methodologies, reflecting on when they should be used, the associated costs and the time required to run them. It aims to provide design researchers with a quick reference to user centered design methods

Sustainable design education - considering design for behavioural change

This paper reports on the development and evaluation of ‘design-behaviour’ (www.design-behaviour.co.uk), a web-based resource created to support the teaching of Design for Behavioural Change – a new field of enquiry in sustainable design research. The paper presents a brief introduction to sustainable design teaching in the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University. It goes on to outline the project methodology used to develop a web-based resource to centralise and disseminate teaching material on the subject of Design for Behavioural Change for a design and engineering audience. Selected findings from a literature review are introduced and the results of a pilot study (through which the authors explored how this subject could be taught to industrial/product design students) are discussed. The paper explains how the resource was developed and presents the results of an evaluative user questionnaire. It concludes with an outline of improvements made in response to feedback received and a discussion of further developments planned

Design for next… year. The challenge of designing for material change

From the momentof purchase, pristine objectsare subjected to an array of stimuli including wear, impact, heat, light, water and air which alter their tactile and aesthetic properties. Material change is often regarded as ‘damage’ or ‘degradation’, but has potential to be used as a tool to engender emotional engagement to an object. We present a framework for designers to betterunderstand how materials change with use, and in turn how people respond to materials as they change. Key challenges are identified which must be overcome to use this framework in design practice people’s physical interaction with objects is poorly understood, it is difficult to simulate material change, materials resources for designers do not provide information about material change, and people’s responses to aged materials depend on a complex web of interactingfactors

Towards instinctive sustainable product use

An effective and holistic corporate social responsibility strategy should consider all stages of the product lifecycle; design and development, manufacturing, distribution, sales, use and disposal. However, there appears to be a lack of consideration on the part of manufacturers regarding the effects of product use, despite this stage having been identified as having a significant environmental and social impact (Environmental Change Unit, 1997, Sherwin and Bhamra, 1998) which is largely determined by the consumers’ behaviour. Technological intervention and consumer education alone is not sufficient to reduce the impact of product use, instead a fundamental shift in behaviour is required (Fletcher et al., 2001, Velden, 2003), a shift which could be initiated by products. This paper reports on the findings of a literature review conducted as part of a doctoral research project in the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University. The aim of this project is to identify ways of reducing unsustainable behaviours through improved product design

Design feedback interventions for household energy consumption reduction

Design for Sustainable Behaviour [DfSB] is an emerging research area concerned with the application of design strategies to influence consumer behaviour during the use phase of a product towards more sustainable action. Current DfSB research has primarily focussed on strategy definition and selection within a design process, with surprisingly little research into understanding the actual impact of the behaviour changing interventions yielded through such investigation. Furthermore, the suitability of evaluation methods and the transferability of evaluation results have seldom been discussed. This paper reports on the findings of a three-year research project within the UK social housing sector, research that aimed to reduce energy consumption within the home through behaviour changing intervention, whilst maintaining occupants comfort levels. A behaviour changing prototype was developed through a user-centred design process, resulting in a physical manifestation of one specific DfSB strategy – feedback; a user agentive performance indicator. In order to evaluate this feedback prototype, an evaluation framework was developed, targeted at the three fundamental questions that arise when faced with the evaluation of a DfSB strategy led intervention: (1) Does the produced design solution function for the specified context? (2) Has the user’s behaviour changed as a consequence of the design intervention? (3) Is the change in user’s behaviour sustainable? Applying these core questions in practice resulted in an evaluation of unparalleled depth. The function and usability of the design were evaluated with users and against extensive feedback design criteria. In addition, behavioural changes in the intentions and habitual processes of the user and their facilitating conditions as well as sustainability changes in energy consumption and comfort were evaluated against pre-intervention state benchmarks. Fitting within the remit of sustainability, the associated ethical dimensions and impact of this DfSB research were also evaluated. Using data collection methods that included focus groups and user trials, the results of this research project illustrate the success of using this tripartite questioning strategy towards the evaluation of a DfSB strategy led intervention, building a vital knowledge platform for the formalisation of transferable DfSB research and evaluation methods

Reducing domestic energy consumption: a user-centred design approach

Energy use within the UK domestic sector is on the increase, causing significant environmental and social stresses. This increase in energy consumption is not only due to the rising proliferation of technological devices within the home, but also to their context of use, and the behaviours and habits attributed to and enacted through their operation. To reduce energy consumption we need to engage with householders in meaningful and effective ways to prompt more efficient behaviour. This paper examines the role of design in influencing a change in energy using behaviours within the context of social housing. Drawing upon the findings of an interdisciplinary literature review the authors outline the impact of domestic comfort practices on energy use. The emerging field of Design for Sustainable Behaviour is mapped out with relevant behaviour models and theories, and factors which could inform the development of design interventions to promote energy reducing comfort practices in social housing are discussed. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the types of interventions which could prove effective in reducing energy consumption in social housing whilst still delivering comfort