BY HANNAH FORSE
TH E P R O BLE M The cycle of mass production and the fashion retail industry is one that is harmful from start to finish. The cycle begins with cheaply produced clothing which is then sold at prices allowing them to be seen as disposable by consumers.
THE PROBLEM
These products are eventually thrown away after a short lifespan, contributing to landfill. This cycle can be applied to everything from textiles, to plastic bags, to water bottles.
THE PROBLEM
CONTEXTUA L R E LE VAN C E It is personally relevant as it is something I see on a daily basis at my job as a retail sales assistant. Relevant on a global scale as the entire cycle of wastage caused by mass production negatively effects the environment.
CON TEXTUA L R E L E VAN CE
THE PROBLEM
Through the use of education, interactivity and creative collaboration through social media, I aim to limit the amount of unnecessary wastage of materials seen in Australia through repurposing.
RE SEA C H Q U E ST I O N THERPROBLEM
HOW CAN CREATIVES USE THEIR CREATIVITY AS A METHOD OF CHANGING PERSPECTIVE, ENCOURAGING REPURPOSING AND PREVENTING UNNECESSARY WASTAGE?
M ETHO DS: THE PTHE U R PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T THE P U R P O SE P R OJ E C T
An online space hosting repurposing tutorials & workshops aimed at creatives. Allows social media users to create their own repurposing tutorials and be featured. Aims to make repurposing & recycling seem trendy and stylish. Focused on changing perspectives, educating the Australian people, raising awareness and physically preventing wastage.
M ETHO DS : THE PTHE U R PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T THE P U R P O SE P R OJ E C T
Created using digital outlets including a website designed with WIX, Instagram and Facebook. Advertised through physical posters and billboards displayed in public spaces.
BUILDING WITH RECLAIMED COMPONENTS AND MATERIALS: A DESIGN HANDBOOK FOR THE PTHE U RAND PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T REUSE RECYCLING Addis, B. (2012). Building with reclaimed components and materials: a design handbook for reuse and recycling. Routledge.
The most powerful motivation for repurposing in design is provided by assessments of the environmental footprint of humankind. “if every country were to have the same environmental impact as Western countries currently do, we would already need more than three Earths to ensure our long-term, sustainable survival.� Allowed me to understand how factual evidence could be a strong motivation for the public to engage in repurposing.
Organisations using social media as a method of connecting with an audience should allow for interactivity and engagement. “Participants on Social Media applications have the desire to actively engage and to become both producers and consumers of information”
THE PTHE U R PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T
Allowed me to develop the idea of allowing users to have their own repurposing tutorials featured on the Project’s website and social media outlets.
USERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE! THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SOCIAL MEDIA Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
UPCYCLE THAT JUDY ROM AND JACQUES KARSTEN
THE PTHE U R PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T Judy Rom and Jacques Karsten. “Upcycle That”. upcyclethat.com. “https://www.upcyclethat.com” (accessed July 28, 2017).
Online space that showcases repurposing tutorials using materials including plastic, rubber, wax, wood and more. Focuses on turning the old and no longer wanted into the new and stylish whilst preventing and raising awareness of the issue of wastage. Allowing their audience to engage in repurposing from their own homes, encouraging tutorial submissions. The Purpose Project was inspired by the way that Upcycle That use aesthetics to change the way recycling is seen as an unattractive idea.
“WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MATERIALS AROUND YOU?
THE PTHE U R PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T GET INSPIRED TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY!”
RECYCLART DIMITRI BOULZE AND THE QUENTIN PTHE U R PPROBLEM O SE P R OJ E C T JEANDEL Dimitri Boulze and Quentin Jeandel. “RECYCLART”. recyclart.org. “https://www.recyclart.org” (accessed July 28, 2017).
An online space that aims to encourage the act of repurposing, preventing and raising awareness of wastage whilst connecting and collaborating. Hosts repurposing tutorials, art pieces, interviews and more submitted by creatives throughout the world. Allows for interactivity, featuring a “do it yourself� page and a chat room where viewers can share repurposing and recycling ideas. Helpful in the research of online spaces encouraging repurposing outcomes from designers and people in their own homes.
“CREATIVE IDEAS B ASED ON REPURPOSED, RECYCLED, REUSED, THE P U R P O SE P R OJ E C T THE PROBLEM RECLAIMED, UPCYCLED AND RESTORED THINGS!”
WE B LIN K
RE F LEC TIV E P R O CE S S The Purpose Project’s main platforms including a website, Instagram and Facebook, is a strong idea that will work well to encourage repurposing.
THE PROBLEM
Workshops may be costly for a not for profit organisation and would be difficult to organise without a large team of people.
THE PROBLEM
TIME LIN E WEEK 4: Mocked up advertisements WEEK 5: Website WEEK 7: Tutorials and social media