After Life: Lessons on Product Longevity from the Informal Economy

Abstract

India is a playground of resourcefulness which is a part of everyday life. In the informal setting, every vendor from the fruit seller to the furniture cobbler constructs necessary products and facilities from scavenged materials found nearby. The vendors create pride and build resistance to discarding these objects. There is more to it than the emotional bond between maker and object. To examine these and other traits of the people of informal markets and as an attempt to rethink design processes by incorporating materials from the informal economy, I conducted a student workshop in India. In the workshop, students observed street vendors and upcycled some street furniture, addressing the questions including “What can we learn from the informal markets and translate that on a larger scale?” and “How can designers make products that enable users value the old and worn out?”