Implementing Circular Design Principles

How do you design circular systems, not just circular products?

In this episode, Anne Farken from Designworks, a BMW Group Company, talks about why circular design is not only about the product itself, but about the ecosystem around it. The conversation looks at the gap between saying design should be integrated from the beginning and actually thinking product and business model together from day one.

What you'll hear in this episode: • How to design the product ecosystem and integrate product development, business model, and value creation from day one • The role of designers in translating business model insights into product requirements and facilitating integration across teams • Why the more you rethink a product, the more you need tolerance for ambiguity and alignment across teams

The episode also touches on why constraints and tradeoffs should be seen as creative opportunities.

This is the final episode in the series Implementing Circular Design Principles, produced in collaboration with the German Design Council.

The series explored how design decisions shape circular outcomes at the material, product, and system level, following the principles of Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

People Anne Farken, Associate Director Sustainability & Creative Consulting at Designworks, a BMW Group Company https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-farken-30bb823/

Patrick Hypscher, Circular Business Strategist, PaaS Expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypscher/

Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:15 Personal Insights on Circular Products 04:59 Ecosystem Interaction in Circular Design 08:34 Examples of Circular Products 11:56 The Role of Designers in Circular Economy 16:34 Integrating Knowledge and Expertise 20:16 Tools and Mindset for Circular Thinking

About BMW Group Designworks is the innovation studio of the BMW Group. Around half of its projects are delivered for clients beyond the automotive industry through its design and creative consulting services, operating from studios in Munich, Shanghai, and Los Angeles.

Working across diverse industries allows Designworks to generate valuable outside-in impulses that fuel collaborative projects with the BMW Group’s brands.

In parallel, third-party clients leverage the studio’s automotive know-how by working with Designworks.

Further Links Find more information about: Circular Design Summit: https://www.german-design-council.de/en/circular-design-summit

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