The Circular Design Guide: A practical shortcut to Circular Design
Circular design sounds great on paper. But what does it look like in practice?
We’ve seen far too many well-meaning teams stuck in circular theory land – paralyzed by ambition, unsure where to begin. Everyone wants to “design out waste” and “keep materials in the loop,” but when you’re faced with your actual product, your actual supply chain, and your actual constraints, the circular economy starts to feel like a beautifully vague LinkedIn post.
Motivating? Yes. Actionable? Not really.
Circular Design is more than a method. It is a mindset. It addresses the root causes of today’s environmental and resource challenges and helps build a more sustainable, resilient economy.
That’s where the Circular Design Guide from INDEED Innovation comes in.
It doesn’t promise a silver bullet, and it doesn’t try to be an encyclopedia. It’s refreshingly honest about what it is: a shortcut. A curated set of tools and methods designed not to impress, but to help teams — real ones — get started with circular thinking and actually do something.
Where most teams get stuck
The ideas are strong. The action? Not always.
Why? Because the jump from principle to implementation is still too wide. Too many teams are asked to “design more sustainably” with little more than a moodboard. They’re not given methods. They’re not given frameworks. Often, they’re not even permitted to slow down and think systemically.
Most circular conversations happen either way too high (at the strategy level) or way too deep (in academic level). What’s missing is a middle ground — a guide that speaks to practitioners, not just policy or theory.
What this guide actually does
INDEED Innovation’s Circular Design Guide fills that missing space. It’s deliberately hands-on. It’s modular. It’s free to use. And it’s built for teams who are trying to figure out what circularity could mean inside their business to add value, not just in theory.
The guide is structured around a journey: Understand. Explore. Map. Develop. Augment. Measure. Implement. Each step offers tools, from ecosystem mapping templates to product repairability checklists, that help teams zoom out, then zoom in again with focus.
There’s no demand to master every term or framework before starting. In fact, one of the guide’s best qualities is how it gets you moving before you think you’re ready.
Circular doesn’t mean complex
Let’s be clear: complexity is often the enemy of circular progress. The more complicated the framework, the less likely teams are to use it.
This guide acknowledges that. The tools range from low to medium complexity and they’re all focused on helping teams spot waste, rethink flow, and prototype smarter. Some are as simple as a canvas to map out your product’s life cycle. Others help you visualize partnerships, policy risks, or behavioral nudges. But every one of them comes with clear instructions, no jargon, and a bias toward doing.
Eunji Park, Executive Director
What I love about this guide is that it doesn’t pretend circularity is easy, it simply makes it easier to begin. It’s hand-curated by our team of experts who’ve been working in this field for the past five years.
It’s not trying to teach you everything. It’s built for real work.
It’s also cross-industry. Whether you’re designing packaging, tech, apparel, or services, the tools are flexible enough to meet you where you are. In fact, several of the tools were developed or tested by companies like H&M Group, IBM, and the Danish Design Center, organizations navigating very different challenges, yet finding value in the same toolkit.
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to circular design. What this guide does, though, is lower the barrier to action. It makes the intimidating feel doable. It gives teams something they can actually work with, not just talk about.
Circular design will never be a checkbox. But with the right tools, it can become part of your team’s default behavior. And this guide? It’s a pretty solid step in that direction.
Looking to integrate eco design into your development process?
We help teams move from intent to implementation, embedding circular and eco design methods directly into R&D, product strategy, and business operations
Further reading
