Sustainable design for users: a literature review and bibliometric analysis

Due to the environmental impact associated with the products’ use, sustainable design has extended consideration of products’ production to consumption. This study puts forward the concept of sustainable design for users (SDfUs). Using related keywords of sustainable design and user-centered design, we identify a total of 447 usable articles published during 1992–2019 from Scopus. Results of bibliometric analysis show that the number of SDfUs articles has generally continuously increased since 2007. The most productive scholars are from the USA, the UK, and China, while the top three organizations are Loughborough University, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Delft University of Technology. Different focuses of SDfUs appear among developed and developing countries. Green building design has emerged as one key area that uses the concept of SDfUs in developed countries such as the USA and the UK. SDfUs studies in developing countries such as China focus on design for end-of-life products’ treatment and disposal. Most SDfUs studies examine how design can contribute to environmental performance through emission reduction and energy saving during products’ use, and articles in one of five clusters from co-word analysis explore users’ behaviors for sustainable design in the textile industry. This paper is the first study that systematically reviews the literature on SDfUs. It provides valuable insights for scholars in the SDfUs-related fields to identify their research directions and partners. Results on clusters from network analysis also offer practical implications for enterprises to learn from the construction and textile industries.