Catalina Cortés
Universidad del Desarrollo
Santiago, Chile
Today, the world faces constant challenges due to growing globalization, the dynamism of markets, the incessant development of technology, a major environmental crisis, and high levels of complexity in various systems. The traditional Linear Economy model of consumption (“take-make-dispose”) benefited some aspects of productive systems in the past-oriented mainly to consumption–but deeply damaged the environment and the reserves of the natural resource (Andrews, 2015). Currently, this model is unviable due to constraints in the availability of resources, scarcity, and damage to the environment (Stegall, 2006). The Circular Economy model has been proposed as a system that is “regenerative by intention and design” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015), shifting the disposal ‘end of life’ of products and systems, for a restoration concept to ‘design out’ waste that implies reusing materials, using renewable energies and reducing waste by rethinking productive systems to favor disassembly, reuse, and produce cleaner energy.
But the environmental and sanitary problems we face today are not only influenced by the physical attributes of products. There is a need to transform the values by which we live in the world, which Stegall (2006), points out as a ‘complex sociological dilemma.’ In this scenario, Andrews (2006) suggests that designers can play a relevant role in facilitating or even lead the development of a Circular Economy. Stegall (2006) proposes the concept of ‘intentional design’, based on designing products that support positive and constructive ways of living in the world. If design is focused on the well-being of people and the planet, it can actually improve people’s lives (LUTNÆS, 2019), and even likely be able to influence the way people live in the future.
Educating for sustainability is described in the literature as a fundamental aspect of design curricula (Andrews, 2015; Stegall, 2006; Orr, 1992). At the same time, the concept of ‘circularity’ is proposed as a powerful ‘rethinking device’ to produce creative solutions and stimulate innovation (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). Professionals educated in sustainability, will be able to incorporate sustainable thinking in their projects (Andrews, 2015), and understand local needs, cultures, and ecosystems to produce adequate solutions to diverse challenges. Future decision-makers will only design for sustainability if they develop their own ecological literacy first. This way, they will also spread ecological literacy to all members of society through intentional design (Stegall, 2006).
Some diverse models and methodologies have been developed to support designers in their evolution to a more sustainable design practice. The “Cradle-to-cradle” approach (Braungart, M., McDonough, 2002) proposes that products should be designed so that after their useful life, the materials they are made from become nutrients for new products or for living organisms. Eco-design (Brezet, H. Van Hemel, 1997), defines a series of strategies to manage and assess the ecological aspects of a design and its productive process based on the Eco-design wheel. The Circular Design Guide developed by the Ellen Mc Arthur foundation (EMF) and IDEO was created to support circular principles in organizations and has proven to be effective as a hands-on guide (Reigado, Fernandes, Saavedra, Ometto, & Da Costa, 2017). The Compass® methodology developed by The Index Project® is a model proposed to structure the design process, which can be combined and complemented with the methods mentioned above to create sustainable solutions to improve people’s lives.
All of these methods support the movement towards more sustainable modes of production and the development of critical innovation. As described by Lutnæs (2019), critical innovation “calls for everyone first to consider what situations to change, then the socio-ecological consequences of the intended change, and who would benefit from a specific situation changing”. Andrews (2015) complements the previous by pointing out the need for designers to approach problem-solving holistically, orienting their thinking and practice of design towards the Circular Economy to create sustainable products and services.
Confronted with the rapidly changing reality and the world’s complex challenges, professionals of various disciplines (not only those trained as professional designers), have the opportunity and duty of leading innovation by considering the long-term implications of their actions and activities. Thus, design-based educational programs should be available to diverse professionals in order to respond to the responsibility of designing a sustainable world. In 2017, the Design School at UDD signed an agreement of collaboration with the Danish NPO: The Index Project® to develop together a Design and Sustainable Innovation Master’s program (MADIS). One of the main purposes was to acknowledge the responsibility of design in preserving the environment, and its possibilities to transmit ecological literacy to the global population.
The course: Innovation through Design is dictated as a foundational class in the Master of Design and Sustainable Innovation at UDD in Chile. The program was designed to prepare professionals to innovate by ideating sustainable solutions to a wide range of problems. The main content of the course is to transfer the Compass Methodology through certified instructors of the Design to Improve Life Education Academy from Chile and Denmark. The Compass was created on the basis that societies need critical, innovative and responsible citizens who can ideate solutions for complex challenge,s using cross-disciplinary, user-centered and sustainable processes, methods and techniques applicable, by everyone (not only by designers). Although Index agrees on the relevance of Design Thinking and the creative methodologies connected to it as a means to provide future generations with the skills needed in the 21st century, they insist that mere design thinking is not enough. The Compass as a teaching model incorporates pedagogical and creative approaches that enhance the students’ and instructors’ learning and mindset-building process to empower students with the concept of design as a way of living, thinking, and thriving. Consequently, students who develop a resilient mentality can transform problems into innovative and sustainable solutions for social welfare, improving people’s lives.
Twelve students participated in the 2022 version of the course, coming from diverse disciplinary and professional backgrounds (business, education, art, engineering, industrial and graphic design). The training program consisted of 25 class hours conducted by two certified instructors of The Index Project®, during 5 weeks. During the first week, participants were introduced to The Compass methodology going through its four phases and concluding with the delivery of a fast one-day team assignment. During the second week, the training focused on deepening the acquired knowledge and exercising various techniques defined for each of the phases. From the third to the fifth week, students grouped in transdisciplinary teams to explore a chosen challenge and apply a whole Compass cycle to propose possible solutions. Each group delivered a report detailing their design process using the Compass methodology. Each group’s process will be analyzed and compared using a matrix to determine common and individual discoveries. Data analysis will enable us to identify recurrent successful aspects of the design of the transfer program and the methodology itself by comparing the four cases. It will also highlight areas of improvement for the future development of the Compass.
References
Andrews, D. (2015). The circular economy, design thinking and education for sustainability. Local Economy, 30(3), 305–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094215578226
Braungart, M., McDonough, W. (2002). Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (first; North Point Press, ed.).
Brezet, H. Van Hemel, C. (1997). Ecodesign. A Promising Approach. Paris.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2015). Towards a Circular Economy: Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition. In Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF). Retrieved from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/TCE_Ellen-MacArthur-Foundation_9-Dec-2015.pdf
LUTNÆS, E. (2019). Framing the concept design literacy for a general public. Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management, 2(1), 1295–1305. https://doi.org/10.33114/adim.2019.01.224
Orr, D. W. (1992). Ecological literacy: Education and the transition to a postmodern world. Suny Press.
Reigado, C. R., Fernandes, S. D. C., Saavedra, Y. M. B., Ometto, A. R., & Da Costa, J. M. H. (2017). A Circular Economy Toolkit as an Alternative to Improve the Application of PSS Methodologies. Procedia CIRP, 64, 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2017.03.034
Stegall, N. (2006). Designing for Sustainability: A Philosophy for Ecologically Intentional Design. Design Issues, 22(2), 56–63. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1162/desi.2006.22.2.56
The Index Project. (2012). INDEX Design to Improve Life Teacher´s Guide. Retrieved from https://theindexproject.org/
Catalina Cortés, is an academic of the Design School at UDD, a Certified Member of the Design to Improve Life Education Academy, The Index Project, and a member of the IAC of the Design Research Society. Catalina has been awarded national and international funds and acknowledgments focused on: strengthening the knowledge about design literacies for the general public; transferring design methods to school teachers, exploring emergent teachers’ spatial design thinking processes; conducting design-based courses for eco-packaging design in businesses, and developing tangible interfaces to teach/ learn abstract concepts. Current research interests: behavior change to promote, teach, and support sustainable lifestyles, awareness, and ecological literacy.
back to the Symposium Programme
