This was a very useful lecture as my dashboard is removing AI from the home, which is one of the main contributors to carbon emissions, and with the rise of AI usage and the levels of information processes, this will increase in the coming years. I decided to take a further look into how I can create a greener service. I looked at the government's principles of design and delivery of greener services

Understanding Designing for Greener Services

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  1. Research - understand user behaviour and environmental footprint online and offline. ensure that the project research data is accessible to all of the stakeholders across relevant projects to prevent being lost.
  2. Design to help users succeed the first time - designs ensure that users need very few different interactions across the different platforms to achieve their goals. design with international patterns that are familiar and aid quick navigation. Design the content so that it is easy to understand and has a clear structure, also that contains organised well for a user to achieve their goal quicker.
  3. Design for lower user and agent impacts - avoid using software or technical requirements that will encourage users to purchase more devices. design services so that the consumption of paper and electricity is kept to a minimum.
  4. Design for a low-page document - only use photos, videos, and custom fonts; these add clear value for users. uses colours and contrasts that are accessible and reduce energy consumption. Use lightweight publishing formats.
  5. develop green applications, software and systems - choose technology and language that are energy efficient. Keep the code clean and simple. Build websites using static rather than dynamic loading where possible.
  6. Optimise processing, transmission and storage - reduce how much cloud storage and data processing the project uses. maximise the lifespan of the equipment and switch off the possible environmental when not being use. Use public clouds to reduce emissions.
  7. be smart with data - avoid collecting information you do not need or has been collected elsewhere, reducing the amount of server space. Review data regularly, ensuring that there is no duplicate data. Identify new opportunities for making better use of data sharing and processing
  8. Set up teams to follow the green practices - ensure that the team understands the principles. Choose software that allows teams to do work but also efficiently, especially with data. share platform on Dropbox, etc, rather than email. Share good design practices between digital teams.

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This lecture helped me explore how to design greener digital services, which links directly to my dashboard project on my eco home and reducing AI usage. I looked into government principles like minimising energy use, simplifying user journeys, and reducing unnecessary data storage.

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Week 11 - Narrative Design & Storytelling