This study, that is a research and product development process, is based on sustainable development and the negative impacts of the growing consumption, and wear-and-tear habits of today’s society. The way we handle our resources, from mine to landfill cause devastating effects on the climate. LAST, is a multi-functional table made from wooden waste materials, that represents product design that allows the user to build a strong, long-lasting relationship with the product. The table is versatile, allows easy dismantling and incorporates qualities that create an incentive for the user to build an attachment to it to increase its lifetime. This has been done through applying different strategies within emotional design, product attachment and design for sustainability as well as applying knowledge within timeless design, aesthetic nourishment. The Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi has acted as inspiration to help navigate the projects design proposal that could allow for the user to appreciate their product for longer and indorse product longevity. The research question for the study is as follows: How can you promote product longevity by means of product design for sustainable development?

Background Exploring the literature of ambidexterity, innovation, decision making as well as exploration and exploitation. Aim The purpose is to explore how sequential and contextual ambidexterity influences decision making within an organization. Methodology The study entails a qualitative single case study in the aeronautics and defense industry, where ten semi-structured interviews have been conducted. The findings are mainly based on the insights collected from the interviews. Findings Through the case it is found that ambidexterity influences decision making and decision making influences ambidexterity. By analyzing the different forms of ambidexterity, it is found that sequential ambidexterity has an impact on decision making. Decision making in turn then influences contextual ambidexterity. Concepts A conceptual framework has been created to explain the identified relationship between ambidexterity and decision making.

The taxonomy of sustainable design covers a multitude of strategies targeting different aspects of product design, one of which is product longevity. Efforts within this field have mainly been focusing on extending the technical lifetime of products, whereas the issue of products being discarded before technical malfunction have received less attention. This study set out to investigate how the service lifetime of products can be prolonged, i.e. the time a product stays in use. The pre-study further framed the issue to investigate how Emotionally Durable Design (EDD) could be implemented in practice. The study was done in collaboration with Electrolux, where built-in ovens as a case became the focal point of the project. This was a design research project with heavy emphasis on the user. Qualitative interviews with users regarding their relationships to products in general, their kitchens and ovens were conducted. The user insights combined with EDD-strategies from literature as well as Don Norman's theory of processing levels informed three design sprints performed by the authors. Four design concepts of built-in ovens targeting user engagement, confidence and product adaptability were developed. A framework including a methodology containing a tool and a design method was developed to ease the implementation of emotionally durable design in the appliance industry. The methodology is rooted in the learning outcomes of the process in this project. The method was based on the three levels of emotional processing: reflective, behavioral and visceral, and the tool on EDD-strategies from literature. There is potential and argument for EDD to be adopted by industry, but obstacles remain such as evaluation methods for emotional durability and financial incentives. For a successful strategy, multiple departments should work towards the same goal, as the emotional durability is influenced during the entire lifecycle, from marketing to discardment. / Taxonomin för hållbar design täcker en mängd strategier inriktade på olika aspekter av produktdesign, varav en är produktlivslängd. Insatserna inom detta område har huvudsakligen fokuserat på att förlänga den tekniska livslängden för produkter, medan problematiken kring att produkter kasseras innan de tekniskt gått sönder har fått mindre uppmärksamhet. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur produkters servicelivslängd kan förlängas, det vill säga den tid en produkt stannar i bruk. Förstudien ramade in projektet till att undersöka hur emotionellt hållbar design (EDD) skulle kunna implementeras i praktik. Studien gjordes i samarbete med Electrolux, vilket har lätt till att inbyggda ugnar har använts som fallstudie. Detta var ett designforskningsprojekt med stor tonvikt på användaren. Kvalitativa intervjuer med användare genomfördes angående deras emotionella förhållande till produkter i allmänhet, samt deras kök och ugnar. Användarinsikterna, i kombination med EDD-strategier från litteraturen samt Don Normans teori om känslomässiga bearbetningsnivåer, gav underlag till tre designsprints utförda av författarna. Fyra designkoncept av inbyggda ugnar, behandlade användarengagemang, förtroende samt produktanpassningsförmåga utvecklades. Ett ramverk bestående av en process och metodik innehållande ett verktyg och en designmetod utvecklades för att underlätta implementeringen av EDD inom design av vitvaror. Ramverket baserades på lärdomar från hela projektprocessen. Designmetoden baserades på de tre nivåerna av emotionell bearbetning: reflekterande, beteendemässigt och visceralt. Verktyget baserades på EDD-strategier från litteratur. Det finns både potential och argument för att EDD skall kunna upptas av industrin, men hinder kvarstår såsom utvärderingsmetoder för emotionell hållbarhet och ekonomiska incitament. Fören framgångsrik strategi bör flera avdelningar arbeta mot samma mål, eftersom den emotionella hållbarheten påverkas under hela livscykeln, från marknadsföring till kassering.

The rapid disposal of products has detrimental effects on environment which is increasing resource consumption for the production of new products, along with the waste production. Therefore, designing long lasting products has great importance for achieving sustainable consumption and production. The present study analyzes the implications of an approach called post-use design thinking for achieving sustainable consumption and production through product longevity. To explore that approach, two educational industrial design projects are analyzed throughout the study. The results suggest that post-use design thinking should be considered at the early stages of the design process. The idea generation exercises developed specifically for this design thinking seem to be helpful in generating design solutions for post-use phase. The results also indicate that the post-use design thinking is feasible in terms of design and production for glass packaging products, which is the specific case analyzed throughout the research.

Syftet med studien har varit att ta reda på vad det är som gör att vissa möbler och inredning finns kvar hos oss en längre tid. Hur designers kan skapa hållbara produkter som konsumenten vill behålla en längre tid. På så sätt förlängs produktens livslängd och bidrar till en hållbarare konsumtion. Teorier som användes i studienvar produktanknytning, produktlivslängd, produktutbyte, tidlös design, estetik, form och material med ett övergripande fokus på hållbar design. Genom teorierna, möbelanalyser, intervjuer, skiss och prototypande har exempel för att designa för en lång livslängd tagits fram. Resultatet av studien blev en färgglad bordslampa med de typiska karaktäristiska dragen av en lampa och samtidigt en unik och skulptural design. / The purpose of the study has been to find out what it is that makes certain furniture and furnishings remain with us for a long time. How designers can create sustainable products that the consumer wants to keep for a longer period of time. In this way, the product lifetime is extended and contributes to more sustainable consumption. Theories used in the study have been product attachment, product longevity, product replacement, timeless design, aesthetics, form and materials with an overall focus on sustainable design. Through the theories and furniture analyzes, interviews, sketches and prototyping, examples for designing for an extended product life have been found. The result of the study was a colorfull table lamp with the typical characteristic features of a lamp and at the same time with a unique and sculptural design.