How Do We Design Products That Last a Lifetime?
Chapters
01:04 – Conny Bakker’s introduction to circular design
03:27 – Why systemic change takes time
08:29 – What circular design means in practice
13:11 – The gap between ambition and implementation
16:10 – Common mistakes made by companies
19:00 – Design for multiple life cycles
21:02 – Ownership, repair and Product-as-a-Service
24:32 – The role of designers in complex systems
31:43 – Circular design in education
34:00 – What success for circularity might look like
37:00 – Why sufficiency is becoming important
Takeaways
Products do not disappear after use
Conny Bakker describes how, during her design education, products practically “disappeared from awareness” once they had been used. Circular design begins precisely at this point: designing products in a way that allows them to be repaired, reused and kept in circulation for as long as possible.
Circularity is more complex than many companies assume
Using recycled materials alone does not make a product circular. The conversation highlights why circularity also involves business models, supply chains, take-back systems and user behaviour – and why many companies fail when they try to change everything at once.
Why the question of “enough” is becoming more important
Towards the end of the episode, Conny Bakker raises a more radical question: is circularity alone enough? Alongside recycling and efficiency, sufficiency may become increasingly important in the future – in other words, the question of how much consumption and innovation are actually necessary.
Design Perspectives Podcast
How can design act as a lever for transformation and economic success? In Design Perspectives, we talk to leading voices from design, business, sustainability and architecture about how transformation, innovation and long-term value creation can go hand in hand. Insightful, relevant and inspiring.