Exploring product/part longevity in open design of small kitchen appliances

Abstract

Emerged at the intersection of open-source, do-it-yourself and maker movements, and blurring of the lines among users, designers and producers, open design suggests a continuous process of co-designing open to everyone and demonstrates opportunities for repair, reuse and upgrading through transparent processes and design sharing. While such opportunities are conceptualized in literature, how they can (or should) be reflected in design is an open question worth exploring. This paper presents an exploratory study on product/part longevity, personalization and reuse to find out the implications of open design for transforming an already established product category like small kitchen appliances. For this purpose, research through co-designing methodology was developed and utilized through two design workshops on practices shaped around small kitchen appliances. The study revealed sustainable design considerations for idea-generation, open part properties that respond to them, the strategies for iterating open designs and their implications for product/part longevity, personalization and reuse.