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(Archive) CANCELLED - Circularity in design

How to design products and services from a circular approach

This project was part of DDW 2021

Ideaology organizes a seminar for students and professionals on circular design. We will discuss the meaning of circular design and explain how you can design services and products in a more circular manner. We illustrate with practical examples which can be applied directly in your projects.

What is circular design and why is it important?

Circularity is keeping the value of a product as high as possible for as long as possible and to prevent value destruction. This promotes sustainability. Products are made by extracting raw materials and adding energy and labor. A raw material, like cotton, has little value. When it is used to produce yarn, fabric and jeans, more value is added. When the user stops using the jeans, value destruction may take place. Value destruction is the destruction of user value, useful value of parts and materials, and economic value. Circularity is the prevention of this value destruction by closing circles in the value chain. This can be done through for example reuse by using Vinted or Marktplaats. The lower in the pyramid, the more energy and money it takes to get higher in the pyramid. By considering value retention and circularity at an early stage in the design and development process, you are better to respond to business opportunities and possibilities that circular design offers. More value is therefore created for user, organization and society through the same investment amount resulting in a larger return on investment (ROI).

Content seminar

The seminar will be given in Dutch. During the seminar, the meaning of circular design and why it is important will be discussed. In addition, we will discuss practical examples and you will receive practical tips that can be directly applied to your own projects. We will conclude with a case study, in which we walk through the steps of the circular design process together.

Ideaology's vision

Designing from a circular mindset allows you to guide consumers to more sustainable products. By doing it right and designing a greater number of sustainable and circular products, we can strive for a change in consumerism.

As a design studio, our vision is to make a positive impact on society with our designs. Therefore our mission states that we design from a sustainable point of view and already include a circular mindset in the conceptualization phase of the design process. We believe it is both important for other businesses as well as students to gain more insights into circular design.