Design for the Other 90%

Great website, great book.

http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/

Notes:

The Design for the other 90% exhibition and book are intended to draw attention to a kind of design that is not attractive, often limited in function, and extremely inexpensive.

This is another definition of design as intentional problem-solving, which best describes the methodology by which the many designers in this book work. " social entrpreneurs."who use design to help alleviate suffering of those lacking even the basic necessities.

Its OK to fail when designing in this method, we learn more from failure at times then from complete success.

The exhibition was intended to introduce the subject of designers actively designing for the other 90% of the world

Paul Polak
How complicated is it to design for the poor?

It is relatively easy to come up with new income-generating products that they are happy to pay for. but they have to be affordable.

What I got overall from this section was that it is no longer good enough when designing for this population to make something to just sell, even if its cheap, even if its free. After meeting with the people that live there you must then help them to build their own economy around the object. Paul sites a drip irrigation system that was given to the people of a certain country, the people would use it and then not be able to repair it and had no interest in repairing it because they had no ownership of the product. To give someone ownership and the pride in building their own future is to truly give someone the building tools to climb out of poverty.

Paul is most noted for his work with the bamboo treadle pump in use in India.

If what you design won't pay for itself in the first year don't bother. If you don't think that you can sell at least a million unsubsidized units to poor customers after the design process is over. don't bother.

" Don't get me wrong. I really have no problem with people who make money by designing products for the rich. Entrepreneurial brilliance deserves to be rewarded. What astonishes me is that a huge, unexploited market, which includes billions of poor custoomers, continues to be ignored by designers and the companies they work for. "

Design for the other 90%, Copyright 2007, Smithsonian Institution, Published by Cooper-Hewit, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institutuion NY, NY 10128 USA