Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Gita Vaysburg
Fall ‘06
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Water Filtration
in Leifeng, China.
Abstract
1
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Introduction
2
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
History of Leifeng, China
3
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Day in the Life Market Assessment
While researching, our team came across an article Leifeng is located in the Jilin Province of China and
that describes the daily life of a small boy named Zhang is a relatively small village to which there are no
Guanghui that lives in Leifeng. He is 11 years old, and lives specific statistics regarding the villagers. Statistics
with his cousin. Both their parent’s died from diseases represented are those from the Jilin Province itself.
they contracted from the water. They live in a four-room
concrete home, and have to take care of everything from In 2004, there was a population total of 27 million.
washing their face and hands to preparing food. At their The 2000 census recorded five different nationalities
young age they already have jobs in the village and the populating the area: Han Chinese, Koreans, Manchu,
responsibilities that come with them. Because money Mongol, and Hui. The Han Chinese had a population
and time are tight both of the boys drink dirty water that of 24,348,815 which made up about 90.85%
they pump from a well beneath the home. The untreated of the population, the Koreans had a population
water was never purged of the toxins that severely has of 1,145,688 which made up about 4.27%, the
stunted their growth. Still, they drink the water, which Manchu’s had a population of 993,122 which made
develops an oily film just seconds after it is pumped to up 3.71%, the Mongols had 172,026 which made
be used. up 0.642%, and the Hui’s had 125,620 people which
made up 0.469% of the population.
The Jing Quan rice-wine factory down the road is where
Zhang’s mother worked for three months in 2002, etching The education system in Jilin is very modernized for
bottles by dipping them into hydrofluoric acid with only it is made up of 4 different school systems, those of
rubber gloves for protection. This same factory dumped which include 35 universities and institutes of higher
ton upon ton of used acid into an unlined pit according learning, 2,034 vocational schools, 1,951 middle
to court and government documents. The acid seeped schools, and 9,435 primary schools. About 4.8%
into the village’s groundwater, poisoning the wells of of university graduates comprise Jilin’s population
hundreds of families. Subsequent tests showed fluoride which makes it seem as though there are not that
levels in the water thousands of times higher than is many high level jobs for educated people in Jilin.
considered safe. Neither the factory nor
government has done any cleanup; water tests done In 2004, the GDP reached USD 36.69 billion, the
a year ago show pollution remains. There is no other GDP per capita reached USD 1,130 and in 2003,
water source leaving the villagers no choice but to drink foreign trade was 6.17 billion. These statistics were
this water everyday. due to the main industries that comprise Jilin which
are automobile production, petrochemicals, and
agriculture.
4
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Problem Existing Solutions Research
The people of Leifeng, China have no choice but The issue of clean water is not unique to Leifeng.
to consume unfiltered water that is full of fluoride, Many other countries including other parts of China,
arsenic, and bacteria. The industries around the Africa, India, and even the United States suffer from
village pollute the water source with waste. The unsanitary water. There have been many products
government has done little to establish pollution produced to try and help this issue. From research
guidelines for the industries, or providing some sort it was concluded that there were three categories
of help to the villagers. Unable to afford any type of of water filtration products on the market today (left
filtration, the villagers are left with no choice but to bottom images). The first, depicted by the blue water
consume the deadly water supply that has killed storage tank, deals with natural disasters. In these
many older villagers and has left an entire youth situations families need to be able to store water
generation in great medical distress. The problem in case help does not arrive for many days. These
is clear: empower the people of Leifeng, China by storage containers are made out of plastic and are
providing a means for them to filter their water supply sold in stores such as REI and can be ordered off of
so that they can live a better life. the Red Cross website. Although this solution would
help out the villagers of Leifeng, the containers are
expensive and manufactured with expensive plastics
and processes. The second type of product is the
personal water filtration system, depicted below by
the water bottle. These products focus on providing
campers with a way to filter water in small amounts
for personal use. This type of solution is too small
for a family and is not cost effective. The third type
of solution deals with expensive technology such as
carbon nanotube technology. These expensive filters
are state of the art and cannot be afforded by the
villagers. Through this research we began to see a
need for a water filtration device that is affordable,
long lasting, good for family use, and appropriate to
the region.
5
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Initial Ideas Final Solution Development
After the initial research we began to brainstorm all The strongest concept was a water container that
of the possible ways to resolve Leifeng’s problem. collects, filters, and stores water. Although there
The solutions depicted below were the strongest. are products out on the market that do all of these
The first solution dealt with attaching a filter to their things, these products are not appropriate for Leifeng
existing faucets. These type of filters are available because they are costly and not intended for everyday
for relatively high costs to those more fortunate. use, are made out of rotational molded plastic in
However, there is not a less-expensive alternative. square shapes that are difficult to transport and do
This concept would solve the problem of cleaning not fit the aesthetics of Leifeng. The solution must
the water but it does not have a way of storing water not only be functional and fit into it’s surroundings but
for times when water is scarce. The second concept also create more value to the villagers by turning the
dealt with a water storage container that would be product into a small business that the villagers could
multi-functional by providing water storage, water maintain for income.
filtration, water collection, and water distribution.
Filtration
A multi-functional water storage container. It not only can be used to collect rainwater, but Clay pot filter and activated charcoal bits.
also filters inside the container and stores enough water for the daily needs of a small family. Top image source: www.potpaz.org/pfpfilters.htm
Bottom image source: www.activated-charcoal-carbon.com
6
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Inspiration Form
One of the key factors to any successful product is Our goal was to assimilate Chinese pottery aesthetics
aesthetics. The existing plastic, box-shaped storage into a modern, functional product. Some factors,
containers would not fit in to the environment of such as the necks of the pots, needed to be changed
Leifeng. Existing art in the region is in the form of fired in order to make the product more functional. The
pottery and porcelain. We looked to this for inspiration necks needed to be much wider in order to fit the
to come up with the form language. Chinese pottery filtration pot which sits inside the storage pitcher.
is very intricate in its detailing. The paintings found Other factors such as move-ability also changed the
on each piece are unique and make the pottery more form. This product needs to be easily movable by
special and more relevant to the culture it resides in. young children and the elderly. Therefore, the neck of
More stout, fat shapes in colors such as white, black the pot became a place where hands could possibly
and green seemed to be preferred by the people in fit around to lift. Other considerations included
the region. The use of color was introduced through size. The taller a vessel the easier it is to tip over.
the intricate paintings done on the pottery. Furthermore, there needed to be enough volume
to fit enough water for three people. Each of these
functional requirements needed to be seamlessly
blended into the overall form creating a beautiful
product that is also very functional.
7
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Final Solution
8
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Final Solution: Technology
9
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Business Model
10
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Conclusion
11
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006
Reference List
2. American City&Country. Beth Wade. 1. Jun. 2000 Prism Business Media Inc. 4. Nov. 2006
www. aemericancityandcountry.com/mag/governement_tapping_water-shortage/index.htm.
6. Environmental Science and Technology. Prachi Patel-Predd. 21. Jun. 2006 Idaho National Laboratory.
3. Nov. 2006 http//pubs.acs.org.
10. How-it-works.net. Unknown. 2004 Net Guides Publishing, Inc. 4. Nov. 2006 www.howitworks.net/how-
water-filters-work.html.
12. NCECA. Unknown. 14. Jan. 2006 Potter’s for Peace. 3. Nov. 2006 www.potpaz.org/pfpfilters.htm.
14. Pacific Asian Travel Association. Unknown. 26. Nov. 2006. 8. Nov. 2006 www.travelchinaguide.com.
15. The Science Center. Unknown. 2003 Chlorine Chemistry Council. 2. Nov. 2006 www.science-
education.org.
16. The Tech. Ashok Gadgil. 2006 Applied Materials, Inc. 3. Nov. 2006 www.techawards.org/laureates/
feature/ashokgadgil/.
12
San Jose State University / Industrial Design Program DSID124: Design for the Majority Professor: Leslie Speer Fall 2006