Mobile communications are an interesting focus for sustainable design because they are a convergence of product, user, interaction, experience, UI, service and systems design. I have been interested in the sustainability activity of Nokia for some time now, mainly since they started with the European IPP project. They have now allocated a great deal of R&D resources to future communications. Their approach is more interesting than most R&D programmes because they have moved front-line designers to research.

Some of the related activities include the “Homegrown” project, recycling surveys and the “conversations” blog. Here is a short interview, by Rachel Hinman, with Raphael Grignani of Nokia Design about “Homegrown”.

A short excerpt:

“With Remade, Andrew Gartrell (Homegrown project lead and Remade father) pushed design beyond skin deep aesthetics. He considered covers, key mats, and displays but also engine, connectors, and other components. We discovered that a typical mobile phone contains around 44 of the 117 elements currently known to science. Andrew’s approach was to de-construct everything and rebuild it from scratch using recycled materials and sustainable technologies — from the inside out.