Abstract
Collective efforts to encourage the climate transition raises essential questions regarding industrial design practices. On that matter, the design process, based on the creation of goods using new resources, is questioned. Design needs to adapt and question its practices with the global desire to reduce the use of new energy, material, and resources. This paper explores the integration of upcycling and circular design in a workshop as part of the training of industrial designers. Based on the principle of “form follows availability”, the initiative stands out as complementary to traditional design workshop projects. The workshop is presented in detail with its learning objectives, partners and daily activities. Upon the completion of the workshop, reflexions are raised regarding the benefits of this experience for the formation of designers. First, we raise crucial differences that occurred during the design process, which was influenced by the resources available. Second, we discuss specific theoretical notions that were introduced and discussed as part of the workshop. In particular, the new concept of “discoverability” introduces the importance to let the exploration of already available material resources guide the design process to stimulate new ideas. Finally, we underline the importance of partners and other social contributors to the quality of the projects and workshop.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.017
Citation
Tessier, V.(2025) Discoverability, availability, circularity: an upcycling design workshop, in Clemente, V., Gomes, G., Reis, M., Félix, S., Ala, S., Jones, D. (eds.), Learn X Design 2025, 22-24 September 2025, Aveiro, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.21606/drslxd.2025.017
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Case Study
Discoverability, availability, circularity: an upcycling design workshop
Collective efforts to encourage the climate transition raises essential questions regarding industrial design practices. On that matter, the design process, based on the creation of goods using new resources, is questioned. Design needs to adapt and question its practices with the global desire to reduce the use of new energy, material, and resources. This paper explores the integration of upcycling and circular design in a workshop as part of the training of industrial designers. Based on the principle of “form follows availability”, the initiative stands out as complementary to traditional design workshop projects. The workshop is presented in detail with its learning objectives, partners and daily activities. Upon the completion of the workshop, reflexions are raised regarding the benefits of this experience for the formation of designers. First, we raise crucial differences that occurred during the design process, which was influenced by the resources available. Second, we discuss specific theoretical notions that were introduced and discussed as part of the workshop. In particular, the new concept of “discoverability” introduces the importance to let the exploration of already available material resources guide the design process to stimulate new ideas. Finally, we underline the importance of partners and other social contributors to the quality of the projects and workshop.