How Can Sustainable Design Drive Innovation?

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

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How does sustainable design drive innovation in your own practice? A new self-paced online course may help you find answers. The course, Sustainable Design Methods for Product Innovation, is being offered as part of a UC Berkeley research project on the subject. It will introduce students to four sustainable design methods: Whole System Mapping, Biomimicry, The Natural Step, and User-Centered Design for Sustainability. In the class, students will practice each method on your own designs, in your own time, receiving personalized feedback from the instructor.

Be a Guinea Pig

You determine what drives innovation for you. As you evaluate what activities and mindsets are most useful to your practice, you will also contribute to the research on sustainable design for innovation. Normally worth $200, this course will be offered for FREE in exchange for participation in the research, between May 9 and July 31.

The course is intended for product designers, engineers, and design team managers, both in product manufacturing companies and in product design consultancies. It will be taught by Jeremy Faludi, who has taught sustainable design for eight years, including classes at Stanford University and Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s online masters in sustainable design. Those who cannot take the class but would still like to participate in the research through interviews are also welcome to, by contacting Jeremy.

Whether you believe or disbelieve that sustainability drives innovation, this class can help you test your assumptions, learn new approaches, and discover what works best for you. What’s more, you’ll contribute to science.

Image courtesy of Flickr CC Jlhopgood