15 Principles of Circular Industrial Design
Circular Industrial Design (CID) embodies a holistic vision encompassing three fundamental pillars: people, planet, and prosperity. By designing products and services with these principles at its core, CID empowers individuals to make informed choices. Additionally, we help protect the planet’s resources for future generations and foster economic growth that benefits all.
For People
- Circular Industrial Design (CID) empowers users to extend the life- and use- cycles of products and services. It is done by providing products with physical and emotional durability and Design for circular principles (2) at their core.
- CID helps users overcome emotional bias or reservations about refurbished and remanufactured products (often perceived as „used,“ „not new,“ „defective,“ etc.). Design also has an educational role here, especially at the beginning of the transition to a circular economy. It is important to empower users to know what is the better choice for them and the environment.
- CID provides a clearly defined scenario & UX to the end and (new) beginning of any product‘s use cycle. It includes a circular option for the end of any product lifecycle. This helps clear up the usually fuzzy and often messy end of a product/user journey.
- CID creates excitement and promotes involvement in circular solutions. This way, it acts as an amplifier for scaling circularity.
- CID should provide an inclusive user experience allowing everyone to join the circular economy. No one should have to resort to linear solutions because there is no working circular alternative for them. This is due to a complicated UX, hard-to-access services and/or components, excluding certain user groups, etc.). This is important to create maximum impact, reach, and value. (2) e.g. Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Recycle
For the Planet
- CID creates products that do not rely on resource extraction from non-renewable sources. Instead, it helps keep resources in the loop for as long as possible by making sure that materials in a product are easily accessible for urban mining and/or recycling (no mixed materials, no glue, easy and quick disassembly, easily identifiable materials, etc.).
- CID enables, empowers, and inspires users and businesses to behave in a way that is beneficial to the environment (ideally restorative, regenerative and not just non-destructive). It is, therefore, crucial for bringing about the necessary change of values in society.
- CID leverages the form factor, as well as ergonomics and (basic) functionality of a product, to achieve an improved (=lower) CO2e and environmental impact.
- CID makes decisions not only based on „soft“ criteria, such as user needs, aesthetics, and appeal, but also in particular based on data, e.g. from sLCAs that are run parallel to the design process, establishing a back and forth between design alterations and an evaluation of their impact on the data.
For Prosperity
- CID allows businesses to bring products that work within a circular business model to the market. Circular products are key for the implementation of any circular strategy.
- The CID process connects to all other design processes at work in the making of a circular ecosystem. Therefore, products created through CID are specifically designed for integration into circular supply chains, processes and services, etc.
- CID helps keep the resources in the circular economy flowing back to manufacturers by supporting strategies and UX that aim to get products and materials back from users at the end of the product lifecycle.
- CID creates products that offer resilience, e.g., by creating products with alternative materials and components in mind in case the originally intended materials or components are no longer available in the future.
- CID allows businesses to get more value (1) out of each product they manufacture by enabling Circular Principles (2). This creates new revenue streams and reduces material and resource investment.
- When selecting colors, materials, and finishes (CMF), CID prioritizes options that are conducive to the circularity of the product and the circular strategy of the company.
(1) Sourcing value, environmental value, customer value, informational value (Erwin van der Laan) | (2) e.g. Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Recycle.
By adopting the principles of CID, businesses can create products and services that are sustainable, profitable, and beneficial to society. Circular Industrial Design is an essential tool for building a more sustainable future.
Florian Hättich
Product Development
Packaging Design
Futurecasting
Florian’s roots lie in Industrial, Automotive and Experience Design. Sketching - better: Story telling with pen and paper is his secret super power.
