Incomplete by design: Exploring incompleteness as a design approach to product design and its potential sustainability implications

Abstract

In our current times, as consumers are incentivised to continually spend money and fuel the desire of wanting the next best thing, emotionally durable design aims to shift the thinking towards long term ownership and emotionally deep, meaningful relationships with our objects.

Incompleteness tries to approach this by involving users in the final stages of the design process shifting their involvement from consumer to collaborator. The act of designing and finishing the last parts of the design aims to build a deeper emotional connection with the users thereby extending the longevity of these objects.

This thesis aimed to understand the notion of incompleteness and contextualise it within design literature. The core question of the thesis is whether incomplete design as an approach could foster the emotional connection through the act of completion, with the users.