Day 7-9 Circular Design

After wrapping up our week in Taipei, our study abroad group took a bullet train to the southern part of the Taiwan island to the city of Tainan. Professor Meichun had mentioned that she had a great time studying as an undergraduate student at the National Cheng Kung University and wanted to bring a piece of this experience to us. The Banyan trees on the campus were one of the first things I noticed with their intricate growth patterns. We were given a wonderful introduction from the NCKU students who had prepared many recommendations for sights to see and food and drink spots to visit. I was particularly excited for the  mango shaved ice since mango is my favorite fruit and the mangos in Taiwan are exceptional.

Circular Design

We jumped into lectures to spark inspiration for our design processes. I personally really enjoyed the lectures from Professor Meichun on sustainable design, diving into product life cycles and cradle to cradle methods. Professor Wan-Ling Chang's lecture on cross-cultural design was also extremely interesting. She started with some examples of Taiwanese cultural norms that may not be normal in the United States, such as taking your shoes off before entering someone's home or hanging laundry outside to dry. Interestingly, as an individual of two cultures, I feel like I exhibit half Chinese culture and half American culture, sometimes with the struggle of not feeling like I quite belong to either. After Professor Wan-Ling's lecture on circular design, I feel motivated to dive into how we can disrupt the root cause of consumerism and waste generation. Her lecture included innovative ways that some companies are trying to close the loop towards a more circular economic system. She also included videos showcasing the impact of overconsumption such as ocean plastic pollution, overflowing landfills in Taiwan, and illegally dumped clothing waste from around the world in Chile. When watching the video from the Youtube content creator who brought a group to tour the Taiwanese landfill, I was surprised but also not surprised to learn that the landfill was growing so intensely that they could not put the usual tarp over the trash and that the sheer volume was causing it to spill down into nearby areas. I have previously visited a landfill during my undergraduate studies at UC Davis during a field trip for a sustainable food systems class and remember this feeling - awe, overwhelm, sadness. Sometimes it feels hopeless being stuck in a system of profit driven capitalism with overconsumption, overproduction, and excessive waste being pumped into the world. Recycling can be a wishful facade to the true impact of excessive waste and the root cause of excessive production, which is evident in the overflowing landfills around the world.

During my group work brainstorm session, one theme that we gravitated towards was food waste and food packaging. This particular theme was very reminiscent to my past life - as an undergraduate student, I was very passionate about becoming a food scientist who helps create products aimed to disrupt harmful environmental impacts. This was my original avenue into product design but through niche food products. I made the decision to pursue a master's focused in design and systems because I recognized that sustainability related problems are complex and I wanted to make an impact on a higher level and expand my knowledge beyond food.

Indigo Dyeing

On a lighter note besides reflecting on the wicked problems that make me feel quite existential, we participated in a workshop where we learned about the indigo harvesting and dye making process and were able to try dyeing our own fabric. Each student's design came out very unique and beautiful. It was really interesting learning about how indigo was originally introduced by the Dutch and became a Taiwanese craft. Indigo also has anti-microbial properties therefore it has historically been used to treat illnesses and can also be used to mitigate body odors.