How do you use circular design in your product design?

1 What is circular design?

Circular design is a way of thinking and creating that considers the whole life cycle of a product, from the sourcing of materials, to the design, production, distribution, use, and end-of-life stages. It is not just about recycling or reusing, but about designing products that are durable, repairable, adaptable, and compatible with natural systems. Circular design also involves engaging with users, stakeholders, and communities to understand their needs, preferences, and behaviors, and to co-create solutions that benefit them and the environment.

2 Why is circular design important?

Circular design is important because it can help you create products that are more sustainable, innovative, and competitive. By reducing waste and emissions, circular design can help you save costs, comply with regulations, and meet customer demands. By extending the lifespan and functionality of your products, circular design can help you generate more value, loyalty, and differentiation. By creating positive impacts for society and nature, circular design can help you enhance your reputation, brand, and purpose.

3 How to apply circular design principles?

Circular design principles can help guide the product design process and decisions according to the circular economy logic. They are not fixed rules, but rather inspirations that can be adapted to different contexts and challenges. For instance, one principle is to design out waste and pollution by choosing renewable, biodegradable, or recyclable materials and products that are easy to disassemble and separate. Another is to keep products and materials in use by designing them to be durable, repairable, upgradable, and modular, as well as offering services that enable maintenance, sharing, leasing, or refurbishing. Lastly, a principle is to regenerate natural systems by designing products that are compatible with biological cycles and using materials sourced from organic or regenerative sources.

4 How to use circular design tools?

Circular design tools can be used to apply circular design principles during product design. These tools can assist in analyzing, ideating, prototyping, and testing circular solutions. The most useful of these tools include the Circular Design Canvas, which helps map out key aspects of the product design challenge; Circular Design Strategies, which offers ideas for circular solutions based on 10 strategies; and the Circular Design Guide, which provides steps and questions to guide through the process of designing a circular solution. Ultimately, these tools can help you develop a product that is both sustainable and profitable.

5 How to communicate circular design value?

Circular design value is the benefit that your circular solution brings to your business, your users, and the environment. It is essential to communicate this value effectively in order to gain support, feedback, and adoption from stakeholders. To do so, you should use storytelling to tell a compelling story that shows how your circular solution solves a problem or meets a need. You should also measure and quantify the impact of your circular solution with metrics and data. Additionally, involve users, partners, and customers in the design and development of your circular solution through participatory methods and feedback loops. Doing so will build trust, collaboration, and ownership of your circular solution.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?