What does a user perspective entail for design?

Today, many products are designed for linear consumption, which often make people consider circular consumption processes more cumbersome and less preferable than linear ones. If linear instead of circular consumption processes are preferred, products will not be circulated and the transition to a circular economy will not gain momentum. To make circular consumption preferable it […]

Curious about SDG 12?

It is time for the annual International Science Festival Gothenburg! One of the well visited events each year is the Science Roulette, where scientists discuss various issues with the visitors in the gondolas of the Liseberg Ferris wheel. One of the many topics is the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Gothenburg Centre for […]

Exploring circular consumption
journeys

In our latest research study, Cirkulera Mera!, we challenged pupils at Peder Skrivares skola to explore what circular consumption may entail for them. They were asked to borrow, sell, trade and lend things they need in everyday life and also document and reflect on their activities and experiences. Today, we start our analysis of their […]

Prototyping and testing design tools

This year we will be very busy prototyping and iterating our Use2Use design tools. Yesterday, we tested a new tool for charting circular consumption journeys together with master thesis students involved in projects aimed to facilitate and strengthen sharing initiatives and the peer-to-peer market. Today, we will continue to develop this tool to make it […]

Student ideation session

Today, students in the course Design and Product Development for Sustainability were challenged to re-design products with the aim of making them more fit for circular consumption processes. By thinking through which activities and practicalities people are faced with when for instance renting a suitcase instead of buying one, the students identified important needs and […]

Master thesis projects during 2019

Three new master thesis projects on the topic of circularity will be conducted at the Industrial Design Engineering programme at Chalmers University of Technology during the spring semester 2019. The projects will explore opportunities for new design solutions that facilitate circularity by addressing different challenges and practicalities associated to the three stages of the circular […]

Happy holidays

Every day, from the 1st of December until the 17th of December, you can open a new slot in the SDG Christmas Calender and learn more about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The calender is produced by the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development, which has invited 17 researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and the […]

Cirkulera Mera!

We finally got to start our new research study Cirkulera Mera (Circulate)! Through a collaboration with Peder Skrivares skola, an upper secondary school in Varberg, Sweden, we challenge circa 100 pupils to make their everyday life more circular. By gaining insight into the activities the pupils carry out and the challenges they experience we can […]

Supporting Jordanian Handicraft and Design

To celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, the Embassy of Sweden in Amman arranged a one-day event to engage Jordanian producers and handicraft artisans in discussions around sustainability and circularity. Today, Jordan’s handicraft producers are comprised mostly of small businesses and artisans that are struggling to compete with cheap imported souvenirs. There is […]

Opportunities to Design for Exchange

In their master’s thesis project, Elin Hagman and Lisa Wendt explored how products can be designed for exchange. Initially they identified product characteristics that make products suitable for exchange and later developed a set of design guidelines that can be used to design products and services that make it easy for people to circulate products. […]