Core77’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition

With all the discussion being generated about gadgets and the impact they have ecologically, it might be worth checking out the competition that Core77 are running for the Greener Gadget show. Core77’s editor, Allan Chochinov, is hoping that designers and non-designers will consider the impact of the production, use and discard of electronics, think laterally and come up with an eco-approach for gadgets. The winners share $4,500 and get to help the old planet along the way.

Of course, we asked Allan if there really could ever be a green gadget. He responded:

It’s a good question, and perhaps the notion of a “green gadget” is particularly challenging, with planned obsolescence, as you say, basically built in to the dna of the idea of a “gadget”. But we’re also looking for designers to propose systems solutions and paradigm-breaking designs that will help to redefine the term, and hopefully to make us think differently about consumer electronics. The competition should create a lot of debate and dialog, and we’re anxious for design firms to throw their hats into the ring - even blogs like PSFK!

The gauntlet has been well and truly plopped down.

The competition brief invites designers to explore the concept of ‘Greener Gadgets’ and asks:

Designs should seek to minimize the environmental impact of consumer electronic devices at any stage in the product lifecycle. Areas of sustainability to consider include: 1. Energy   2. Materials / Lifecycle / Recycling   3. Social & educational development.

Participants are encouraged to consider their designs as part of the entire product ecosystem, and should think as holistically as possible. Designers may choose to focus their entries on a particular area of human enterprise (learning, playing, communicating, etc.), or a particular context (work, home, school, etc.), a particular material, or a specific device. Entries may also seek to create new paradigms for products and services.

Greener Gadgets Design Competition