The university community as a design “client”

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an industrial design studio project that partnered third year students with childcare centers and residential colleges at the Kensington campus of the University of New South Wales. The parties worked within a de-facto “designer-client” collaborative relationship, with the goal being to identify and design-out inefficient and unsustainable practices in water and energy usage and solid waste generation, thereby fostering sustainable living. To provide the theoretical background, MacKenzie-Mohr’s model for fostering sustainable behaviors and community-based social marketing was employed. Students presented design concepts to their “clients”, including staff and student residents, who provided constructive criticism on the ideas and which formed the basis for further design development. The final designs were exhibited in a public exhibition on campus to which the clients, staff and students, were invited. Reflection journals and course evaluations from students show that they genuinely appreciated working with “real” clients with real needs compared to hypothetical studio briefs, but were somewhat disappointed that the clients are not actual manufacturers (“customers”) but rather are “consumers”.