Garrath T Wilson

Loughborough University, Design School, Faculty Member

University of Central Lancashire, Product Design, Alumnus

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Dr. Garrath T. Wilson is a Lecturer in Industrial Design and a member of the Sustainable Design Research Group at Loughborough Design School, UK.

Garrath has been involved with several major EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) funded projects. Positions held include Research Associate on the CLEVER project (Closed Loop Emotionally Valuable E-waste Recovery) and the award-winning LEEDR project (Low Effort Energy Demand Reduction); and Research Assistant on the CCC project (Carbon, Control and Comfort), alongside the completion of his doctoral studies that focussed on how user centred design can influence sustainable behaviour. Garrath has since written and talked internationally on the topic of Design for Sustainable Behaviour. Garrath is currently co-investor of CORE (Creative Outreach for Resource Efficiency).

Garrath’s approach to research builds upon his design consultancy background, having worked with clients such as MK Electric, Scalextric (Hornby Hobbies Limited), Airfix and Cambridge Biostability Limited (work on the single use medical disposable ‘HydRIS’ has featured in TIME magazine and BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory). Presently, Garrath is keen to engage and forge closer partnerships with industry, currently working with organisations such as Forum for the Future, Behaviour Change, and E.ON, as well as local communities as a trained STEM Ambassador.

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Marcus Hanratty

Loughborough University

University of Leeds

Chalmers University of Technology

Anneli Selvefors

RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE)

Helena Strömberg

Chalmers University of Technology

Daniel Shin

Nottingham Trent University

Val Mitchell

Loughborough University

David Harrison

Brunel University

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Papers by Garrath T Wilson

Design for sustainable behaviour

Routledge eBooks, May 8, 2017

The global impact of designed goods and the role designer's play in accelerating rapid, conspicuo... more The global impact of designed goods and the role designer's play in accelerating rapid, conspicuous consumption has long been recognised within the profession. As such, considerable effort has been directed towards reducing or mitigating negative environmental impacts caused by mass-manufacture and disposal through so called 'end of pipe' solutions. Less attention, however, has been placed on reducing the impact of use despite tacit acknowledgement amongst the design community that sustainable designs cannot reach their full potential without targeting user behaviour. Through increased focus on behaviour, and the implementation of suitably informative or persuasive strategies, designers can purposefully alter the way users interact with products to leverage more sustainable use patterns. This chapter provides design practitioners with an introduction to Design for Sustainable Behaviour (DfSB). This is an emergent field of design practice which seeks to understand user behaviour in order to drive the development of products which encourage more sustainable use. Integrating inspirational case study examples drawn from their own and others' practice, the authors chart the origins of DfSB and describe its theories, strategies and design processes. Tools to aid strategy selection are introduced and key ethical considerations reflected on in relation to specific design phases. The authors offer practical advice on designing, installing and evaluating design interventions based on experience and conclude with a discussion of the current limitations and potential future developments in DfSB.

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UXD beyond the screen. A UX approach to industrial design teaching

Loughborough University, Feb 1, 2020

Home Life Insight Cards

This set of Home Life Insight Cards is based on insights from the LEEDR (Low Effort Energy Demand... more This set of Home Life Insight Cards is based on insights from the LEEDR (Low Effort Energy Demand Reduction) project and has been further developed within the Hothouse project. Both are joint ventures between designers, engineers, and social scientists at Loughborough University, UK. The initial cards are organised around 5 key themes: CORE, PATTERNS OF LIFE, DIGITAL FAMILY, ENERGY HOTSPOTS and GUIDING PRINCIPLES. As our research develops, we will add additional themes. The HOT WATER theme is the first of these. We are happy for you to use, share and adapt these cards in any way that you see fit, as long as appropriate credit is given and that you provide us with some feedback on how you have used them! This file is provided ready for print (please order full-colour, double-sided A5). We recommend Silk 350gsm laminated card with rounded corners. If you would like to request a physical pack of the cards, please get in contact. Any feedback on the cards?:[email protected] Questions on the LEEDR + Hothouse project?:[email protected]

A remote ethnography methodology to gain packaging behaviour insights

Packaging Technology and Science

Remote ethnography requires the observation of human interaction in the natural world without the... more Remote ethnography requires the observation of human interaction in the natural world without the researcher being present. Well‐established in industrial and user experience design remote ethnography provides insight into the user's behaviour whilst completing a specific task in a defined environment. Designers in established fields such as Design for Sustainable Behaviour have applied this behavioural understanding to develop interventions to positively adapt unsustainable behaviours. Existing research techniques have evidenced limitations in fully understanding consumer packaging disposal behaviour, with a clear gap in behavioural insights with packaging used out of the home. A novel mixed‐methods approach was developed using remote ethnography to explore consumer food‐to‐go packaging disposal behaviour out of the home, providing insights which could be evaluated for their application within the packaging development process. In explaining the new methodological approach, thi...

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Towards Making Polymer Food Packaging Suitable for the Circular Economy: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Lecture notes in mechanical engineering, 2023

Single use plastic packaging and its environmental impacts have received much attention over the ... more Single use plastic packaging and its environmental impacts have received much attention over the last few years from governments, businesses and consumers. One option to reduce plastic packaging waste and its associated environmental impacts is to shift towards circular business models, supplying reusable packaging options that are used many times before being recycled. One technical barrier to the implementation of plastic food packaging reuse is the need to effectively clean the packs and provide cleaning assurance to prevent the possibility of product crossover. This research investigated the feasibility of using Ultraviolet Fluorescence imaging to optically detect residual food fouling and thus assuring cleanliness in the case example of margarine spread tubs. Processing of obtained images was carried out using MATLAB® applying Otsu's thresholding method. It was established that for the current setup the minimum detectable quantity of fouling was of the order 10-4 g/mm 2. The assessment process was correlated against that of Adenosine Triphosphate assay, an industry-standard process for assessing the cleanliness of food contact surfaces. The implications of the investigated technique overcome one barrier to plastic food packaging reuse on an industrial scale. Fast and reliable fouling evaluation of every pack will underpin business and consumer trust in such a circular material flow. The established technique has the potential to form part of the wider reuse system for polymer packaging. Implications on optical detection optimization, packaging design, and suitability for automation are discussed alongside wider food supply chain considerations.

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Supporting novice designers design of digital touch

International Journal of Technology and Design Education

Digitally mediated touch is an emerging and significant area for technology and therefore for des... more Digitally mediated touch is an emerging and significant area for technology and therefore for design and design education. However, the design of digital touch is a challenge, especially for novice designers, compounded by low awareness and understanding of the sociality of touch and the complexity of communicating felt sensations. This paper presents a qualitative study of a two-part educational intervention on the design of digital touch using a design-based research methodology. Findings are presented and discussed on the design challenges faced by novice designers in relation to touch and digital touch (the focus of part one of the intervention) and the development and piloting of the Designing Digital Touch (DDT) toolkit (the outcome of part two). The paper discusses how the toolkit can be used to foster and support novice designers to respond to the future facing complexity of digital touch design.

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The Hibernating Mobile Phone DATA

This data set forms the basis of the paper 'The Hibernating Mobile Phone: Dead Storage as a B... more This data set forms the basis of the paper 'The Hibernating Mobile Phone: Dead Storage as a Barrier to Efficient Electronic Waste Recovery'. These results are from an online, self-completion questionnaire with mobile phone owners; distributed to a non-probability, purposive sample (i.e. aged between 18-25 years old, living and studying at a UK University, and owning a mobile phones. The survey was conducted during July 2015. For a full description of the data collection techniques and our analysis of the data, please refer to the above paper.

Understanding consumer disposal behaviour with food to go packaging in a move to circular, zero waste packaging solutions

It is clear that a shift from the current make-use-dispose mentality of product consumption is re... more It is clear that a shift from the current make-use-dispose mentality of product consumption is required to move to the ideal of a Circular Economy (CE), where the world’s resources are kept in use for as long as possible and their value retained. The idea of waste as a resource within a CE is not new, but the pressure to apply it to the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) packaging industry has been growing in momentum since 2016. Many research studies have focussed on recycling behaviours in the home, but few have looked at consumers behaviour with food to go (FTG) packaging disposed out of the home. This research set out to assess the habit strengths of millennial consumers disposing of FTG packaging out of the home within the UK. The outcome of this research showed that millennial consumers have strong habits (upper quartile) in relation to their FTG packaging disposal routine. However, a significant percentage of participants were placing FTG packaging into incorrect recycling bin...

Design for sustainable behaviour

Design for Sustainability, 2019

Perpetual plastic for food to go: a design‐led approach to polymer research

Polymer International

Design for Sustainability: The Need for a New Agenda

Sustainability, 2020

Design for Sustainability is not the panacea we hoped it would be when it was first introduced in... more Design for Sustainability is not the panacea we hoped it would be when it was first introduced in the latter part of the 20th century. Today, the health of both our environment and our societies is at a critical state, a breaking point, with piecemeal solutions offered as social-media-friendly rallying points, such as the European Parliament approved ban on single-use plastics, whilst fundamental, and arguably less ‘exciting’, issues such as loss of biodiversity, overpopulation, and climate change are shuffled to the back. It can be argued, however, that the awareness of the concept of sustainability and the need to reduce the negative human impact upon the environment and society has grown significantly and, consequently, has moved up the global agenda; this is evidenced by the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. However, it is also clear that the role of Design for Sustainability within this agenda is not providing the solutions necessary to manifest the level of change...

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Towards a Circular Economy: exploring factors to repair broken electrical and electronics products by users with pro-environmental inclination

DRS2018: Catalyst, 2018

User repair can prolong product lifespan and support in turn the transformative Circular Economy ... more User repair can prolong product lifespan and support in turn the transformative Circular Economy agenda. Current research concerning user motivations and propensity to repair differs as to the extent at which users' environmental concerns influence repair propensity. Because of this, the focus of this study is on potential individuals with pro-environmental inclination, as a mean to identify the factors supporting and hindering repair. To this end, an in-depth survey exploring factors influencing repair propensity for electrical and electronic goods was executed. Findings from 208 respondents affiliated with pro-environmental communities identify innovativeness and frugality traits as significant factors influencing repair propensity. Qualitative analysis has shown the significance of financial considerations in deciding to repair or replace, and how access to helping relationships alleviate most of the barriers to repair, including lack of access to repair shops and lack of knowledge and skills. The findings of this study provide much needed insight into repair behaviour. Furthermore, the insights provided will aid researchers and policy makers to develop appropriate interventions to support repair. Circular economy, Consumer Behaviour, Repair, Product lifespan ''I was not happy about someone I didn't know repairing it as it had sensitive data on it (research data, stored passwords etc.)'' Although negligible in number, it is important to consider the rise in items with embedded data and electronics which may deter users from repairing items.

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[Ad]dressing mamma: Identifying design strategies for meaningful and appropriate product life in maternity and nursing fashion [Poster]

[Ad]dressing mamma: Identifying design strategies for meaningful and appropriate product life in ... more

LEEDR: what are the results? Participant feedback for H99

The LEEDR project was a four-year study that explored energy consumption in family homes. 20 hous... more The LEEDR project was a four-year study that explored energy consumption in family homes. 20 households took part, being involved for about three years. Insights were fed back to the participants at the end of the project in the form of a unique, tailored book for each family. This book represents the style, formatting and information content of those books. This version has been called ‘H99’ and it is an amalgam of chapters from multiple homes, and therefore should not be used as a source of data or analysis: please refer to publications. The information contained here has been released generally in the hope that it might inspire and inform the development of feedback from other similar projects.

新しいおよび人工的に劣化した材料の化粧品陳腐化利用者の認識【Powered by NICT】

Materials & Design, 2016

Evaluating feedback interventions: a design for sustainable behaviour case study

Design for Sustainable Behaviour is an emerging research area concerned with the application of d... more Design for Sustainable Behaviour is an emerging research area concerned with the application of design interventions to influence consumer behaviour during the use phase towards more sustainable action. However, current research is focussed on strategy definition and selection with little research into understanding the actual impact of the interventions debated. Here, the author’s present three themes as different entry points to the evaluation of a feedback intervention designed to change behaviour towards a sustainable goal: an evaluation of the behaviour changed by the intervention; an evaluation of the interventions functionality; and an evaluation of the interventions sustainable consequences. This paper explores these themes through a case study of a physical feedback intervention prototype designed with the intention of reducing domestic energy consumption through behaviour change whilst maintaining occupant comfort. In this paper, the authors suggest that questions for eval...

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Future technology in the ‘Star Trek’ reboots. Part II: complex future(s)

Home Life Insight Cards: TEDDINET Poster

In today’s competitive world the quality of the user experience offered to customers is increasin... more In today’s competitive world the quality of the user experience offered to customers is increasingly a key differentiator in the marketplace. People are complicated, and yet business propositions are built upon stereotypes of ordinary people and their everyday lives and ambitions. A limited understanding of the complexity of experience that customers have when interacting with existing products or services can lead to market failure or poor growth. On the LEEDR (Low Effort Energy Demand Reduction) project, we – a multidisciplinary team of designers, engineers, and social scientists at Loughborough University, UK - explored energy demand reduction opportunities in family homes and, in the process, gained a deep understanding of how energy use, everyday activities and digital technologies become entangled in the making and experience of home. HOTHOUSE expanded this research to include hot water use in the home. From this research we developed a series of Home Life Insight Cards, creat...

Future technology in the ‘Star Trek’ reboots. Part I: tethered and performative technology

Crafting a Sustainable UX Vision Toolkit

In today’s competitive world the quality of the user experience offered to customers is increasin... more In today’s competitive world the quality of the user experience offered to customers is increasingly a key differentiator in the marketplace. Customers are complicated and businesses are built upon stereotypes of ordinary people and their everyday lives and ambitions. A limited understanding of the experience that customers desire when interacting with products or services can lead to market failure or poor growth through lack of cohesion and direction at a strategic level. The aim of this toolkit is to help entrepreneurs and businesses to understand how to create a sustainable User Experience Vision that captures the desired experience of end users and enables the formation of a User Experience Roadmap towards future business development.This toolkit is based on design tools developed within the LEEDR (Low Effort Energy Demand Reduction) project and has been further developed within the Hothouse project. Both are joint ventures between designers, engineers, and social scientists at...

Design for sustainable behaviour

Routledge eBooks, May 8, 2017

Download

UXD beyond the screen. A UX approach to industrial design teaching

Loughborough University, Feb 1, 2020

Home Life Insight Cards

A remote ethnography methodology to gain packaging behaviour insights

Packaging Technology and Science

Download

Towards Making Polymer Food Packaging Suitable for the Circular Economy: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Lecture notes in mechanical engineering, 2023

Download

Supporting novice designers design of digital touch

International Journal of Technology and Design Education

Download

The Hibernating Mobile Phone DATA

Understanding consumer disposal behaviour with food to go packaging in a move to circular, zero waste packaging solutions

Design for sustainable behaviour

Design for Sustainability, 2019

Perpetual plastic for food to go: a design‐led approach to polymer research

Polymer International

Design for Sustainability: The Need for a New Agenda

Sustainability, 2020

Download

Towards a Circular Economy: exploring factors to repair broken electrical and electronics products by users with pro-environmental inclination

DRS2018: Catalyst, 2018

Download

[Ad]dressing mamma: Identifying design strategies for meaningful and appropriate product life in maternity and nursing fashion [Poster]

[Ad]dressing mamma: Identifying design strategies for meaningful and appropriate product life in ... more

LEEDR: what are the results? Participant feedback for H99

新しいおよび人工的に劣化した材料の化粧品陳腐化利用者の認識【Powered by NICT】

Materials & Design, 2016

Evaluating feedback interventions: a design for sustainable behaviour case study

Download

Future technology in the ‘Star Trek’ reboots. Part II: complex future(s)

Home Life Insight Cards: TEDDINET Poster

Future technology in the ‘Star Trek’ reboots. Part I: tethered and performative technology

Crafting a Sustainable UX Vision Toolkit

In today’s competitive world the quality of the user experience offered to customers is increasin... more In today’s competitive world the quality of the user experience offered to customers is increasingly a key differentiator in the marketplace. Customers are complicated and businesses are built upon stereotypes of ordinary people and their everyday lives and ambitions. A limited understanding of the experience that customers desire when interacting with products or services can lead to market failure or poor growth through lack of cohesion and direction at a strategic level. The aim of this toolkit is to help entrepreneurs and businesses to understand how to create a sustainable User Experience Vision that captures the desired experience of end users and enables the formation of a User Experience Roadmap towards future business development.This toolkit is based on design tools developed within the LEEDR (Low Effort Energy Demand Reduction) project and has been further developed within the Hothouse project. Both are joint ventures between designers, engineers, and social scientists at...

Garrath T Wilson

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