Mapping "Design Ecosystems"

Nothing on Earth exists in isolation. Everything depends on something else to function. Think of an ecosystem: humans depend on oxygen produced by plants. Plants rely on carbon dioxide, soil, and light from the Sun. Both plants and humans depend on water, and so on. We can use this kind of thinking to understand how designed objects also operate within systems.

1. Pick any object that’s human-made. It could be a design from the Massive Change project, or anything else. Do a quick brainstorm about what it takes for that object to function. What goes into it? Write down everything you can think of. For instance, if it’s a hamburger, it requires: a bun, a beef patty, toppings, a wrapper, a stove, a restaurant with people to make and sell it, and someone to buy and eat it. These are the "primary players."
   
   
2. Now ask yourself what it takes to make all of the things on your list. What industries benefit from, or rely on, the object you chose? Make another list of these "secondary players". Then make a third list of people, resources, industries or energy sources connected to those on the second list.
   
   
3. Now draw a mindmap showing all the players. Put the object you chose in the middle of the page. Draw the primary players around it, and connect them to your object with lines. Draw the secondary players and their connections, and so on. Try not to draw any player more than once, but draw as many connections as you need. This is your “design ecosystem.”
   
   
4. Hang your map up in the classroom for other groups to see and discuss. How does your mindmap compare with the others? Are there any shared connections? Is there a design in the Massive Change exhibition that connects with the players in your mindmap?

Example:

Hydrogenic’s (formerly Stuart Energy) HomeFueler depends on a number of industries, materials, energy sources and human connections in order to operate. First of all, the HomeFueler uses electricity. For electricity to be sustainable it must come from renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind or the sun. The HomeFueler also uses water and an electrolyte – a solution that conducts electricity – or salt, to produce hydrogen. This means the design depends on a pure water source as well as minerals extracted from the Earth.

One of the goals of developing hydrogen fuel systems is to reduce harmful greenhouse gasses by switching from cars that use gasoline to cars that use hydrogen. So the design also depends on advancements in the car industry.

The HomeFueler depends on people, as well. New laws and other decisions made by politicians and other officials – such as tax benefits or signing the Kyoto Protocol – could encourage the use of hydrogen. So it makes a difference how people vote, and how people vote depends on politicians' track records.

Finally, the HomeFueler depends on consumers and whether or not they choose to commit to lowering emissions by using clean alternatives to oil and gas.