Task 6: Life Pscycle-ology – The secret life of a little Mobile Phone

This short video animation reflects the life and value an object has, in this case, a mobile phone to a customer. It demonstrates the idea of built in obsolesces, meaning the process of a product becoming obsolete or not functional to a user after a certain period of time (e.g. a year) which can be planned or designed by the manufacturer or designer through its appearance, function, applications or influence by social life etc. It is seen that after a year a product can be put away and forgotten due to its in capabilities compared to newer models. It is conveying that a mobile phone needs new abilities and direction to succeed.

We are taken through the life cycle of the mobile phone from cradle to grave which is from the production of the mobile phone (materials it’s made of) to its resulting end of being eventually replaced. Through the simplicity of an animated approach of the video we are shown:

1.  The mobile phone starts from little bitsof metal supplied by, ranging from gold from South Africa, Palladium from Brazil, Platinum from Russia, Silver from Mexico, Nickel from Australia and many more.
2. There is then the transportation of it materials to factories.
3. They are then formed to mass produce the same mobile phone.
4. The mobile phones are sold and overly used by customers leading to disappointment of customers’ needs. Its functions are degrading, losing memory and durability of the battery.
5. Leading to a replacement of a new more developed phone which acts more efficiently.

 The video continues to demonstrate how the obsolescence of a phone can be caused through the disappointing functional abilities it lacks causing customers to continuously replace them. With the new application of having a camera, the phone is replaced. The video also highlights how designers should take responsibility for the end use of the previous phone to avoid the disregard to waste of a phone. It points out that a phone should be designed better through:

1. Design for Disassembly – recycle parts of the phone for re usability of materials or components e.g. shape, memory, alloy.
2. Design for Longevity – to design with high quality materials, modular design, long lasting materials, appropriate coupling of materials, , upgradeable capability, not merely FAD fashion design, to avoid discarding meaning NO PLANNED OBSOLENSCENES. This only happens to 1% of 1 billion phones that get recycled to be reused.
3. Designing for the environment – The end use of the phone is found in tips or waste yards but some are shredded to recover the most valuable pieces.  

The video ends by trying to present that we should value the mobile phones/products life as to recycle it for its valuable pieces after it’s obsolete to reduce its affects on the environment. This creates more money for companies by restoring the gold, silver Podidiam as they are rare resources to create new phones.

 

To see the video go to: http://www.thesecretlifeofthings.com/