Case study: Diari Chair for SURU

Design and technical development of a chair made with innovative materials, and applying ecodesign strategies along the whole lifecycle.

Circular design

A circular context
Looking beyond the current take-make-waste model, circular economy promotes to decouple economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, designing waste out of the system. It’s at the center of the action plan of most of the administrations and organizations in the world, and it is based on three principles:

  • Design out waste and pollution

  • Keep products and materials in use

  • Regenerate natural systems

From design to circular design
In this new context of circular economy, most of the products, systems and services will have to evolve radically from their actual model to be adapted to this new paradigm. Design is the discipline that will lead this transformation in a way that will be accepted by users and customers, applicable by the suppliers and profitable for companies.

At Nutcreatives, we use a step-by-step design process divided in six stages in order to achieve the goals desired by our clients.

Case Study: Trencadís for Francisco Cumellas

Design of a modular rug collection made from pre-consumer waste, giving new life to materials that would otherwise be landilled. We also designed an online configurator to improve user experience and ensure an optimal use of the available stock of leftover materials.

  1. Understand the context
    We study where the environmental impacts are along the life cycle of the products or services and quantify them. We analyze the user, the aesthetics, the colors and the textures that can work properly, the production requirements, and the desired market positioning compared with competitors. 

  2. Ecodesign strategies
    We propose sustainable design strategies that will alleviate or compensate the impacts studied in the stage before, and think about how these strategies will impact the way the product is manufactured, sold, used and managed when at end of life. 

  3. Conceptualization
    It’s the most creative stage of the process. We develop concepts and apply the sustainable design strategies considered previously, giving the product an attractive shape that solves each of these requirements. 

  4. Design
    We determine the main formal properties of the products using 3D technical software. We do renders, choose materials and finishes, develop prototypes ─ some quick and handmade, and others 3D printed for precision─ and reach a design that is ready for the next stage.

  5. Technical development
    In collaboration with ours, or our client’s suppliers, we technically solve the design for an easy production. We develop joints, pieces and assemblings, inquire prototyping and production quotes and, if necessary, assist you during the pre-series testing.

  6. Environmental analysis and KPI’s
    At the end of the design process, we measure environmental impacts and determine indicators to understand the improvements achieved. This is a really strong tool to communicate the environmental benefits to final customers.

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