Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Róisín Jordan 

BA [Hons] Visual Communication Design

Hey, I’m Róisín, a designer from Galway. I am currently finishing my Viscom degree in IADT and working freelance with clients based in both Dublin and London. I have been fortunate enough to intern with Dynamo Design as a junior designer and Boys and Girls as an Art Director. I have a strong interest in art-direction and I’m passionate about using provocative, bold design methods to translate sometimes difficult social issues to the public sphere. I was awarded second prize in 2020 for my redesign of IAMECO, an eco-friendly laptop company. My ethical and environmental interests are also reflected in my thesis title: Built In Obsolescence: A Designer’s Moral Dilemma.

Intelligent Intimacy– Because Getting It On Is More Than Just Getting It In

Education around sex and relationships has always been heavily stigmatised in Ireland, due to the Catholic history of the country and typically conservative family values. Young people are not set up with the skills needed to have healthy relationships around intimacy and sex, especially in the age of the internet, because even now this is not something we are willing to talk about in Irish society.

Fact-based, holistic, and inclusive sex education that addresses this is one tangible way that we have the power to build a better society in Ireland. A society that actively works against shaming young people for their decisions around sex, and instead, supports them in the challenges they encounter as they navigate their intimate lives.

Intelligent Intimacy advocates for church-free, shame-free, and stigma-free sex education. Along with stimulating dialogue and encouraging advocacy on this important subject, Intelligent Intimacy provides modern sex-ed resources for young people in Ireland.


Built In Obsolescence: A Designer’s Moral Dilemma

My thesis explores the way in which designers have, by default in our market society come to be designing for profit instead of people and the perception of distance between citizen and consumer that allow for lies and manipulation to seem ethical. In the technology industry especially, there remains a large gap between the brand messaging and the reality of the consequences of the design decisions of the product.

Built in obsolescence is a strategic design feature built-into our iPhones and MacBooks that creates e-waste, unsafe environmental implications for vulnerable communities, and poses serious health risks but despite these implications, it is still included to simply generate profits. In my thesis, I argue that designers are morally and ethically responsible for considering the full lifecycle of their product and should be required to take responsibility for the societal implications of built-in obsolescence.