Video Reflections: Who Killed the Electric Car

The documentary movie is interesting because it has aroused me to imagine what would happen in the future if electric cars do replace the conventional cars in long term. It will definitely make a huge impact on drivers, policies made by the governments, oil and car companies worldwide. Will most of oil and car companies be selfish and would not support the usage of electric cars? How would the companies would change its strategies in order to be competitive to stay ahead in the game and keep up with the trend as shortages of fuel will happen in the long run? Eventually, car companies need to look elsewhere for other energy sources.

Another issue is that I think it will be interesting to see how hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would compete with the electric cars because the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles claimed to be an environmentally friendly alternative. Watching the movie from a different perspective, it is quite sad because the Americans are big car lovers and they should be leading the way in creating fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles but they find it difficult to support these energy saving vehicles to keep the earth green.

Industrial designers should watch this documentary/movie because designers should be interested in energy saving policies. Yes, batteries will make a huge breakthrough but we must be daring  to admit that batteries will be costly as well. Although battery operated vehicles are expensive, these vehicles require little maintenance and less replacement parts, breakdowns are less likely to occur, electricity is cheaper than oil and it also saves the environment The lesson is that designers should not ignore the effects and causes of a particular product that has the potential to make. This documentary would make designers to remind themselves that they have the responsibility to design a product which could lead to a meaningful change in a revolutionary and beneficial way for a good cause rather than sticking to the conventional methods and designing more of the same products that could be useless to the society. This documentary could also help designers to be mentally prepared for the economical crises and how designers should adapt the changes.

One of my take home messages is to be socially aware and learn more about the impacts on the environment especially made by the automotive industry.  Besides that, I need to be responsible when it come to protecting and keeping the environment green no matter what kind of job/profession that I'm doing. Also, I need to learn to feel guilty, dare to admit mistakes and lies and be honest at all times as a designer because after all, good design is about being honest.

Giving a Packaging a New Life and How Its Made: Packaging

Giving a Packaging a New Life and How Its Made: Packaging videos have made me to wonder how manufacturing processes are done starting the year 2000. From observing all the used materials and products in the factory, it forces me to consider the huge amount of packaging materials that need to be recycled and discarded at the same time.

The management process of the recycling plant is interesting because the plant has the ability to collect waste products and separate them for recycling in a very efficient and orderly way. I am amazed how the machines in the factory could separate different types of plastics by infra-red, including the category of mixed plastics. At the same time, food wastes and chemicals are extracted.

I find that Germany is a sustainable and forward thinking nation. The German government, manufacturers and companies promote and create the awareness of the importance of sustainability. Example, they save energy by recycling products rather than creating new products from newly extracted raw materials in order to decrease the energy, money and transportation needed to transport raw materials. Another point that I would like to add is that governments should find solutions to solve land fill problems in long term as land filling would not be a permanent solution as waste products could release harmful substances to the air and use a lot of land space.

Industrial designers should watch these videos because it could help them to realise that it is not just about creating energy efficient, advanced and economical manufacturing processes of recycling, it is also about designing products that is environmentally driven but the core value of design is still remained human centered. Industrial designers could learn how their new designs could help to decrease energy needed for manufacturing processes and transportation and also space saving issues for storing the packaging products.

After watching this video, I felt that there is a greater responsibility for me to do research on new and green materials, or abundant waste of green materials that are often overlooked and ignored so that recycling processes can be made easier and more energy efficient. I also found that sustainable design and technology will greatly impact the society socially and our earth through the good old 3 Rs: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. It is always beneficial and important for us to be competitive as our era will be environmentally driven in a innovative way. In the future, more recycling programs will be implemented and technology will improve drastically overtime. Therefore, it is our duty to design products that are environmentally conscious and human centered with the influences of the surrounding external factors.