Hasta La Ideas

In this three-part mini-series, Stefanie Koehler shares her experiences in bringing a sustainability focus into her work.

We all know the plight of the typical industrial designer: make (more) stuff; repeat. But with the nexus of vast technical abilities and support systems to deliver ideas, where does responsibility and “design sensitivity” come into play? How will we be able to design with an understanding that every design decision is connected in some way to everything else (either directly or indirectly) and will inevitably have a social and environmental impact (intended or not)? Is it even our responsibility as designers to think about the impact of our designs? Do we need to worry about what happens up or downstream of our products, or is that someone else’s job?

Where I Was

In 2009, armed with a traditional industrial design degree, I entered the workforce and immediately began to struggle with the paradox of wanting to use my newly-honed design skills yet feeling like I needed to make crap to get paid. At the time, I did not grasp my role as a young designer, but I did know that continuing to design harmful, and sometimes pointless, products was not going to fulfill me. I decided I did not want to participate in a cycle that turns everything into a consumable or everyone into a consumer.

Following my undergrad, I initially tried to get my foot in the door, only to question why I was trying to get in the door in the first place. I ended up not taking the prescribed path of working for a conventional design firm, taking on freelance projects instead, ranging from corporate product design and branding to gritty consulting for start-ups and training dogs on the side. I wondered if could I turn my (perceived) inability to get a “real job” into an opportunity to engage in a career path that makes me happy? Luckily, I found that the answer was “yes,” and that sustainability-focused design has filled this void for me, both personally and professionally.

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