ARTS 4388

Sustainable Product Design

This course introduces students to user-centered design, carbon footprint assessment, fabrication of materials, aesthetics, sustainability methods (Planet, Person, Profit), circular design/economy principle (cradle to cradle), packaging, and marketing/entrepreneurship.

Rapid prototyping is the method used to create innovative designs that focus on prototyping and testing products, services, and 3D objects from low fidelity prototypes to high-fidelity prototypes. There will be a focus on sustainability, usability testing, green materials, business strategies as projects focus on form, function, and green solutions.

This is a collaborative course of diverse student teams creating innovative solutions for plastic recycling that contaminate in the Rio Grande Valley. Teams will research community impact to generate viable solutions and innovative products. The inclusive course design will expose students to green practices and entrepreneurial innovation.

Sustainable Product

A sustainable product is a product designed to meet real human needs today while minimizing harm and supporting well-being over its full lifecycle from raw material to end-life.

Three Pillars of Sustainability: People, Planet, Profit

Design Thinking

Approach (process) to problem solving+innovation that is centered around Human Center Design (HCD)
Human-Center Design: A problem solving approach that prioritizes understanding the needs, behaviors and experiences of the people who will use a product, service, or system
Design Thinking helps us tackle complex challenges, creating solutions that are not only innovative but also relevant, responsible and lasting.

Cradle to Grave
vs.
Cradle to Cradle Design

Sustainable design is not only about how a product looks or works. It’s about what happens before we get it and after we’re done using it.

Lifecycle: the full life of a product from materials → manufacturing → use → end-of-life
End-of-life: what happens when the product is no longer wanted or usable
Linear system: take → make → waste
Circular system: use → recover → cycle again

Refining the Future

Transforming Biomass into a Circular Bio-Based Economy

Waste biomass and agricultural residues can become renewable feedstocks for sustainable fuels, materials, packaging, and products.
Through biorefinery systems, these resources are converted into value—reducing waste, supporting sustainable agriculture, and building a more circular future.