The design life of a component or product is the period of time during which the item is expected by its designers to work within its specified parameters; in other words, the life expectancy of the item. It is not always the actual length of time between placement into service of a single item and that item's onset of wearout. Another use of the term design life deals with consumer products. Many products employ design life as one factor of their differentiation from competing products and components. A disposable camera is designed to withstand a short life, whilst an expensive

single-lens reflex camera A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin l ...

may be expected to have a design life measured in years or decades.

Long design lives

Some products designed for heavy or demanding use are so well-made that they are retained and used well beyond their design life. Some

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

vehicles A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

come into this category, as do a number of

artificial satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

and

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, ...

. In general, entry-level products—those at the lowest end of the price range fulfilling a certain specification—will tend to have shorter design lives than more expensive products fulfilling the same function, since there are savings to be made in using designs that are cheaper to implement, or, conversely, costs to be passed onto the customer in engineering to provide a safe margin leading to an increased working life. This

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

truism leads to the phenomenon of products designed (or appearing to be designed) to last only so long as their warranty period.

Obsolescence

Design life is related to but distinct from the concept of

planned obsolescence In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, useful life o ...

. The latter is the somewhat more nebulous notion that products are designed so as to become

obsolete Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...

—at least in the eyes of the user—before the end of their design life. Two classic examples here are

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...

s, which become genuinely obsolete as a result of the very rapid rate of technological advances, although still in perfect working order; and non-digital

cameras A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

, which are perceived as obsolete after a year or so as they are no longer "the latest design" although actually capable of years of useful service.

References

* *''Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change'', Victor Papanek, Academy Chicago Publishers; 2nd Rev edition (December 1985), {{DEFAULTSORT:Design Life Industrial design Product design Sustainable design

Long design lives

Obsolescence

See also

References