Title: An integrated design system for sustainable consumer products

Authors: Hassan S. Abdalla, Mohamed Ebeid

Addresses: College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah (UOS), P.O. Box: 27272, UAE. ' Espranza Ltd., Heliopolis, Salah Salem Street, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract: The aims of this research are to investigate new concepts, methods and an integrated system for designing sustainable electrical/electronic consumer product from a holistic point of view. Taking into consideration a set of interrelated aspects such as design for environment, design process optimisation, materials used, production, energy saving techniques and end of life analysis. A new integrated system called |SustainDesign| that provides designers with the relevant background knowledge for designing sustainable products and guides users step by step through the design process from the conceptual phase to the detailed realisation phase has been developed. The system integrates a set of user friendly tools and techniques for evaluating the environmental impacts of the product during the design and development processes. It also highlights the areas that may require further refinement within the product and then provides users with material declaration and life cycle assessment analysis reports.

Keywords: consumer products; environmental impact; integrated design; design process; sustainability; sustainable development; sustainable design; electrical products; electronic products; design for environment; DfE; optimisation; EOL anaylsis; end-of-life products; energy saving; materials; production; product design; product development; life cycle assessment; LCA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDE.2010.040520

International Journal of Design Engineering, 2010 Vol.3 No.4, pp.311 - 336

Published online: 01 Jun 2011 *

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