Disposable consumer culture blurs the full story of products. When fewer, "nicer" items are owned, the owner is incentivized to take greater care of these possessions, creating a positive feedback loop that not only saves the owner time and money, but Earth it's limited resources and energy. We take care of our friends and family, and I believe that care should extend to our possessions.

It is imperative to understand and control the complete life-cycle of products to adopt the circular economy we need, and it starts with the product's design. We must condemn planned obsolescence, adopting a cradle-to-cradle approach. To maximize product longevity, consumers should be incentivized and educated to repair first, resell second, donate third, compost fourth, recycle fifth, and trash last.

Earth has had billions of years to perfect producing materials of all properties, colors of all shades, and behaviors and systems of all conditions, while the Industrial Revolution began roughly two to three hundred years ago; We have a lot to learn from nature!

Products designed explicitly for its user's health are exceptions to the 3 "rules" above through my eyes. Single-use syringes, bandages, sterilization equipment, easily-cleanable plastic surfaces, medication, etc. We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of the planet.

No product is more valuable than the hands that make it. The easiest way for corporations to save money is to outsource production to countries with unethical working conditions; I support the fundamentals of corporate social responsibility.

Design with, not for. I believe all designers are inherently empathetic, but nobody fully understands the experiences of everyone. Maintaining frequent, open-minded dialogue with the target audience is paramount to a successful outcome.