麻豆传媒

The collaboration is being backed by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council which has awarded the university more than £60,000 over three years for a PhD student to work between Brighton and Philips’ headquarters in Eindhoven.

Philips, already one of the world’s leading producers of sustainable products, contacted the 麻豆传媒 to collaborate on new designs after media reports highlighted the university’s cutting-edge research on the subject.

Professor Jonathan Chapman, the university’s Professor of Sustainable Design, has written books and has generated media interest around the world with his ideas on designing products with built-in emotional design.

He has called for designers to work on products that encourage consumers to keep their belongings longer: “We produce 40 tonnes of waste to make a tonne of products, and 98 per cent of these products are dumped within just six months. We can enhance resource efficiency and brand loyalty by designing things that people want to keep longer – building in emotionally durable design.”

One example produced by his students are shoes which reveal a hidden pattern when they fade with age – the longer you own them the more the design is revealed. Another is tea cups which reveal a pattern when staining takes effect.

Professor Chapman is internationally recognised for his pioneering work which already has influenced brands including Puma, H&M and Sony. He said: “The new collaboration with Philips is very exciting and provides us with an opportunity to have a massive impact on the way products are designed and manufactured.

Jon Mason, Senior Scientist with Philips Research, said: “This is a great opportunity to explore the relationship and opportunities between the design and user experience of lighting with circular business models. The aim is to provide people with positive product and service experiences that are sustainable in all respects.”

He said that, like food and water, light is a basic necessity that no human being should live without. However, 1.3 billion people – 20 per cent of the world’s population – lack access to electric light.

“Solar-powered lighting could eradicate this light poverty, so Philips developed solar-powered lanterns that are not only cheaper (they can provide a single room with clean light for $10-20 per year, compared to $50 for kerosene to burn in candles or lamps) – they also result in virtually zero carbon emissions. Because of sustainable solutions like these, Philips was the fastest riser amongst technology brands in the annual ranking of the top 50 Best Global Green Brands by leading brand consultancy, Interbrand in 2014.”

Jon Mason added: “As we bring people out of light poverty their relationship to lighting will change and evolve, the emotional aspects of lighting will become increasingly important.”