circulσσp

About

The Circulσσp project aims to address the slow transition to a circular economy by providing a toolbox for circular product and service design. The approach involves 'zooming in and out' from product to system levels. The toolbox includes a digital platform that offers training materials, resources, and a Circular Idea Form. This form guides designers through ten thematic categories critical for circular product development. The training materials cover the circular design mindset, knowledge, technical skills, and implementation skills, offering exercises and case studies for practical learning.

Additionally, the project features a Circular Design Journey program, also known as a pre-accelerator, which includes workshops, mentoring, and consultancy. This program follows a Triple Diamond process based on design thinking. Cycle 1 focuses on generating solutions, while Cycle 2 emphasizes product development, circular business models, and brand development.

Identity principles

Application to logo and typefaces

When considering the visual manifestation of the identity, it was clear that it should embody sustainability. Therefore, the goal was set to shape the identity itself with principles of sustainability and circularity. Throughout the entire process, questions were raised about how much and what should be created, what can be reused, whether authentic components are needed to be incorporated into the artifacts, or if existing components in the artifacts are sufficient. The decisions regarding the identity aimed to save all resources: server space, rendering speed, designer time, and viewer time. The objective was to individually reconsider all identity elements: logo, typeface, layout principle, use of graphic elements or pictograms, and materials used for tools.

Sustainability principles were first applied by choosing systemic typefaces, i.e., typefaces already present in the artifacts. This makes the identity less demanding in terms of preparation, maintenance, more compatible, durable, and universally communicative.

These typefaces were used not only on the website or other tools but also in the logo. To add uniqueness, Glyph symbols were introduced, replacing the letters OO with circuloop symbols. In this context, a logo constructed with such symbols is superior to a graphic one because it is more efficiently displayed in digital tools and quickly reproduced in various application scenarios.

In situations involving the use of typefaces, we recommend applying a simplified hierarchy organizing principle, which will help save time for those implementing identity principles in tools.

Images, graphic elements and, tools

The uniqueness of the identity is created by combining the systemic Arial font headlines with associative, visually random images, icons. These images are not subject to criteria of similarity or a unified style. The most important aspect is that the image aids in quickly scanning content, requiring minimal time for searches. Images are not specially created; they are sourced from publicly available, free internet platforms (www.seekpng.com / https://pngtree.com / https://icons8.com/icons/doodle).

The same principle is applied to the formation of schemes, using standard settings of the programs in all cases.

For physical tools in the identity, the principle is proposed that creators think creatively and apply sustainability principles, using, reusing tools that have already been used for another purpose.

Workshops

One of the places that has extensively experienced identity solutions is the template used in pre-accelerator creative workshops.

Project participants engaged in activities by participating in eight creative workshops, each with dedicated tasks for the participants, provided through templates specifically created for these cases. The templates adhered to high standards of clarity and intuitiveness, ensuring that participants could smoothly and quickly navigate the process to achieve the goal through interaction with them.