It is important not to underestimate the value of questions. Questions beg responses—they expand the parameters of knowledge expectation which in sustainable design is critical. Each stage in this guide comprises of a set of design directives and/or questions that you should follow and answer as best as you can. You will need to do research in order to answer some of these questions, but you will also find that as you work through the stages assembling a detailed 'picture' of your product, you will be able to respond to previous questions more fully. You will find interesting links throughout the text on a variety of topics that will assist you with your research. You will encounter some repetition—this is to help you keep certain issues in mind, or to help you look at the same problem from another angle. There are also some terms used that you might not recognise—these are left undefined to encourage you to discover what they mean. The Resources section at the end will help you.

Each stage in this Guide is in sequential order, but as you move through the stages, you will be referring back to earlier stages, slowly building up a relational picture of your product: what it could or should be, what it could or should do, who it is for, its lifespan and subsequent lives, its environmental impacts across its life cycle, its contributions to sustainability.

Note: It is envisaged that all the following tasks be done in a (hardcopy or electronic) scrap book, that can be kept as a design archive for future reference. After completing each stage, it is worth reflecting on what you have learnt and how it might specifically modify your design. One way of doing this might be to create a running schematic of your product and notate modifications as you go. In Stage 10 you are also asked summarise an audit of your design process. This is a self-diagnostic exercise, designed to help you recognise the material and energy impacts associated with your work process. At this point, it simply entails keeping a log of the material and energy 'inputs' and 'outputs' your work process generates, ie in your use of room, computer, transport, paper, pens, over-head or task lighting and heating over a particular time frame (for example, the length of time it takes you to do a Stage of this guide). See Stage 10 for further on the process audit.

Go to the Guide to begin the design stages.

Look at the Examples on the left to get an idea of how the Guide can be applied to specific projects.