Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
2.10
Circular Re-Design: Applying Design Principles
For this weekly assignment we’ve put together a creative task building upon the many inspiring examples and design concepts we’ve discussed. The purpose of this assignment is to see how different design principles can be used to re-design an object, place or system.
The assignment is structured into three sections.
1. Decide on one built object, space, place or system
Pick a consumer product, built object, structure, space, place, system that you find interesting, and/or care about and/or have studied, worked with before. You can select basically anything constructed or shaped by humans that can be re-designed.
It’s a good idea to pick an object, place, system that you have in or close to your everyday life. Try not to think too much about how hard or easy the re-design process will be at this stage.
2. Visual analysis and assessment of the object, space, place or system
Do a visual map (mind map, systems map or similar) that shows the upstream flows, specifically what kind of resources and processes that were needed to produce the object, place, system.
Then visualize and map out the downstream flow, what happens to the product, place, system, once it has reached its end-of-life. The visual analysis, assessment can be more artistic or technical, or both.
See step 2.3 Systems Thinking and Problem Solving and other steps during week 3 for examples of how this could be done.
3. Circularity Re-design of the object, space, place or system
Apply one or several frameworks’ design principles in trying to re-design the object, space, place or system to make it more circular and sustainable. You can do this in any format you like, but remember that it should be clear and concise, and be easily understood by someone who’s not an expert in the field.
© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote