Hi friends,
This week, I want to share how writing a blog over the past four weeks has made me more mindful of documenting and sharing my work. I also came across an article about reducing single-use plastics, which inspired me to think about how to incorporate sustainable design into my future work.
Work-Related:
After writing my blog for the past four weeks, I’ve started to feel a bit different. In the first week, when I was asked to take the initiative, I wasn’t sure what to do. But while using the app, I noticed two user problems, so I recorded a video and followed the hack week format: each user problem was made into one slide, with the target audience, user problems, business opportunities, level of effort to deliver, and projected ROI summarized into a two-page slide deck. I shared it with my colleagues first, and to my surprise, they had done similar research and offered some ideas. Then, I showed it to my manager, who praised the simple two-page deck, saying it was an easy and fast way to showcase how our design team always has ideas ready to push forward. She even encouraged me to share it at our design team meeting. During the meeting, my proposal sparked a lot of discussion. It made me realize the value of documenting these processes. Even though I used to keep records, publicly sharing them makes me constantly revisit, reflect, and improve.
As October approaches, quarterly planning is underway. I recently chatted with a designer friend who shared how their team operates: projects get approved by strategy and business leaders, and product managers before being handed over to design operations for allocation. Every two weeks, they run sprint planning sessions to break down tasks. My previous company had a similar setup, but with complex products requiring specialized knowledge and limited authority in design ops, project distribution often felt off, and support was lacking when issues arose. In contrast, my current team is smaller, with project assignments directly handled by the design manager, who also steps in to resolve problems. This year, our projects are centered around our vision and goals, making each one feel more focused and aligned. It’s been a smoother experience for me, and with ongoing adjustments in our planning process, I look forward to sharing more insights down the road.
Other Thoughts:
https://www.wired.com/story/the-cure-for-disposable-plastic-crap-is-here-and-its-loony/
I recently read an article on new solutions to reduce single-use plastics, a topic that’s been debated for years. It talked about a startup that uses technology to turn seaweed into packaging materials and another company that runs a business model where users pay $5 a month to use as many containers as they want, with restaurants paying a fee too. The company then hires a service to pick up the dirty dishes from restaurants and clean them. This really took me back to my days as an industrial designer when I visited factories and saw countless samples piling up just to get one perfect phone case. That’s when I started to question if our pursuit of aesthetics and innovation was just creating waste. As a designer, I knew many products were still usable, but for business reasons, we kept churning out new versions. Gradually, I felt stuck and uninspired. These reflections eventually led me to pivot to digital product design, where at least I’m not directly dealing with physical waste—my little way of passive resistance.
Even though I try to be eco-friendly, I don’t always get it right. Most of the time, I cook at home, but even then, food packaging is still mostly plastic. And on those days when I’m too tired or busy to cook, I end up ordering takeout, which means even more single-use plastics. The article pointed out that there’s no single solution; we need multiple strategies working together, like policy support, technological innovation, and changing consumer behavior. Lately, I’ve been wondering how digital product design can contribute—maybe through service design, helping these startups with product planning and branding, or even joining a company that shares these values. I’m still figuring it out, but the journey continues!
Long
嗨，讀者朋友們，
這週我想分享寫網誌的這四週讓我更重視記錄與分享，我也讀到一篇關於減少一次性塑膠的文章，也激發了我思考如何在未來的工作中融入可持續設計。
工作相關：
過去四週寫網誌後，感覺有些不同。第一週寫到被要求提出新專案時，原本有些茫然，但在使用軟體的過程中發現了兩個問題，錄下影片，按照駭客週的格式整理目標族群、問題、商業機會，以及實現所需時間和預期改善數據，做成兩頁簡報。先跟同事分享後，他們竟然也有類似的研究，還提出了一些想法。接著把簡報給主管看，他大大稱讚兩頁簡報，覺得這很好地展示了設計組隨時都有創意推動的能力，還鼓勵我在設計組會議上分享。會議上，我的提案引發了討論。突然體會到紀錄這些過程的價值。之前雖然也有做紀錄，但公開分享後，真的會會不自覺地一直重看、反思、改進。
十月將近，季度規劃正在進行。最近和設計師朋友聊天，他分享了他們設計組的運作模式，案子由策略、商業主管和產品經理通過後交給設計營運分配，每兩週進行sprint planning。我前一間公司也有類似運作，但產品複雜且需專業知識，加上設計營運權限不高，導致案子分配不合理，遇到問題也缺乏支持。相比之下，我現在的組別規模較小，由設計主管直接分配案子並隨時排除困難，今年專案更是圍繞著願景與目標，讓每個案子更有方向性，對我來說也更順暢。隨著公司不停調整規劃方式，期待之後能分享更多經驗。
其他相關：
https://www.wired.com/story/the-cure-for-disposable-plastic-crap-is-here-and-its-loony
最近讀到一篇討論減少一次性塑膠的新方案，這是個已經被討論多年的議題。文章中介紹了一間新創公司如何用科技把海帶變成包裝材料，還探討了一些減少一次性塑膠的服務，例如為某個區域的餐廳提供餐盒回收系統。這讓我回想起當工業設計師時，進工廠看到為了做一個手機殼而生產出許多樣品堆滿箱子的情景。那時我開始反思：追求美感和創新是否造成了浪費？作為設計師，明知很多產品其實還堪用，卻為了商業需求而不停推出新版本，漸漸的，我發現自己什麼也設計不出來。這些思考讓我轉向數位產品設計，至少這樣不會直接面對實物浪費，也算是消極抵抗。
雖然我盡量做個環保小尖兵，但也不太盡責。大部分時間我都自己煮飯，但食材包裝大多還是塑膠，沒有時間或精力做飯時叫外送，產生的一次性塑膠還是很多。幸好，文章中提到，目前沒有單一解決方案，而是需要多種策略共同推動，包括政策支持、技術創新和行為改變等等。最近也在想數位產品設計能怎麼做，或許是服務設計，或是幫助這些新創做產品規劃和品牌形象，加入支持這些理念的公司工作等等。下次見！
Long