Improvements in water intervention projects through product design methods
Improvements in water intervention projects through product design methods
At a 2018 community discussion workshop for the EU Horizon 2020 funded WATERSPOUTT project in Chikwawa, Malawi, village representatives discussed water collection from the Shire river. WATERSPOUTT aims to provide safe drinking water to sub-Saharan African communities who rely on unsafe sources. A consortium of EU and African researchers is carrying out a technological development programme to advance applications based on Solar Disinfection (SoDis), providing clean potable water. The water in Chikwawa is polluted by sewage from upstream, bodies that have fallen in due to accidents and dirt and bacteria stirred up by rain, increasing the incidence of illness. Where products have been successful in previous projects, the user is limited to a specific process and when their situations change the technologies are no longer suitable. The constraints of these projects raise issues vital for consideration by design students such as localised production, sustainability, co-design and cultural appropriation. Design is a tool for producing products to solve a user’s daily problems with the potential to develop long lasting solutions for those not in a position to create them for themselves. This paper reviews past interventions where design methods have been implemented, their effects, and primary research from this project. Discussing the importance of user engagement and the involvement of cultural factors in the advancement of new product development, the paper provides new considerations in user centred design for students and educators while discussing how design methods could be used to improve long term sustainability of intervention product design.
Harlow, Richard
ee90ab41-e7f2-4341-9e60-021d5fc4c163
Buck, Lyndon
49b03b09-a98b-4edb-9b14-f5a8f6363971
2019
Harlow, Richard
ee90ab41-e7f2-4341-9e60-021d5fc4c163
Buck, Lyndon
49b03b09-a98b-4edb-9b14-f5a8f6363971
Harlow, Richard and Buck, Lyndon
(2019)
Improvements in water intervention projects through product design methods.
Bohemia, Erik, Kovacevic, Ahmed, Buck, Lyndon, Brisco, Ross, Evans, Dorothy, Grierson, Hilary, Ion, William and Whitfield, Robert Ian
(eds.)
In Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2019), University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. 12th -13th September 2019: Towards a New Innovation Landscape.
The Design Society.
6 pp
.
(doi:10.35199/epde2019.58).
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
At a 2018 community discussion workshop for the EU Horizon 2020 funded WATERSPOUTT project in Chikwawa, Malawi, village representatives discussed water collection from the Shire river. WATERSPOUTT aims to provide safe drinking water to sub-Saharan African communities who rely on unsafe sources. A consortium of EU and African researchers is carrying out a technological development programme to advance applications based on Solar Disinfection (SoDis), providing clean potable water. The water in Chikwawa is polluted by sewage from upstream, bodies that have fallen in due to accidents and dirt and bacteria stirred up by rain, increasing the incidence of illness. Where products have been successful in previous projects, the user is limited to a specific process and when their situations change the technologies are no longer suitable. The constraints of these projects raise issues vital for consideration by design students such as localised production, sustainability, co-design and cultural appropriation. Design is a tool for producing products to solve a user’s daily problems with the potential to develop long lasting solutions for those not in a position to create them for themselves. This paper reviews past interventions where design methods have been implemented, their effects, and primary research from this project. Discussing the importance of user engagement and the involvement of cultural factors in the advancement of new product development, the paper provides new considerations in user centred design for students and educators while discussing how design methods could be used to improve long term sustainability of intervention product design.
Text
1230
- Version of Record
More information
Published date: 2019
Venue - Dates:
21st International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2019-09-12 - 2019-09-13
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 490106
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/490106
PURE UUID: 2bef0c2b-1c70-4fed-a77a-f271b66297a2
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 14 May 2024 16:53
Last modified: 21 Aug 2025 02:49
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Richard Harlow
Author:
Lyndon Buck
Editor:
Erik Bohemia
Editor:
Ahmed Kovacevic
Editor:
Lyndon Buck
Editor:
Ross Brisco
Editor:
Dorothy Evans
Editor:
Hilary Grierson
Editor:
William Ion
Editor:
Robert Ian Whitfield
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics