Strategies for Intentional Product Design

After its glory days, does your product become a landfill monster? Sadly, most of them do. It’s a HUGE waste and a burden on our planet. ️ But there's a better way → Design for Disassembly (DfD)! These are products designed to be easily broken down and have parts reused in new creations! DfD isn't just a feel-good concept––it's a big leap for sustainability! Here's why: ✂️ Cuts Costs: Faster disassembly = faster reassembly on the production line. ❤️ Happy Customers: Easy repairs, extended lifespans, and upgrade options lead to more loyal fans 🌎 Saves the Planet: By using fewer resources, these products are inherently more environmentally friendly. ♻️ Second Life for Parts: New life to old components in different markets. But how do you implement designing for disassembly? → Know your end-of-life (EOL) destinations. Think about where will each component go when the product reaches its end of life. → Design for the long-term. Is it a single-use disposable item, or are you aiming for a product that can be repaired and upgraded over time? → Planning your product's entire lifecycle from the get-go: product architecture, component design, type of fasteners used, and even the materials themselves. → Even disassembly is an economic equation. Consider the cost of labor for disassembly, disposal of any waste generated during the process, and potential revenue from selling EOL components. Tips for designing for disassembly: → Use high-quality components: Durable parts minimize collateral damage during repair. → Standardize components: Opt for readily available components to make replacements a breeze for both you and your customers! → Offer repair documentation: Share repair guides and manuals publicly to help your users extend the life of your product themselves! → Consider including repair tools: This shows your commitment to user empowerment and product longevity. → Think about the incentive to repair: Motivate users to replace a part, because the easiest thing to do is often to just throw it away ☂️ A great example is the @Ginkgo umbrella, which is 100% recyclable! ✅ Made from 20 pieces, instead of the traditional 120+ piece umbrella designs. ✅ Designed with no screws or pivots necessary for assembly–– reducing the number of parts and materials needed. ✅ Can be put apart quickly and easily, and every single element can be recycled or repurposed. Fairphone and Framework are other great modular electronics that follow Design for disassembly 🌍 Designing for disassembly is about creating products that are good for business, good for your customers, and good for the planet. What are products that you’ve seen that are have been designed for disassembly? #climatesolutions #sustainability #circulareconomy

INTENTIONAL BUSINESS DESIGN -- In a world of mass consumption where scale and frequency are often prioritized over quality and good design, the Houdini philosophy, of both product and business, becomes something radically different. The Houdini Designers Checklist: • Is it versatile enough? • Will it age with beauty? • Nothing added that isn’t needed, right? • Will it be easy to repair? • Is it durable enough for our rental program? • Do we have an ”end-of-life” solution? The term “sustainability” gets bandied about abusively, with many companies trying to retro-fit it as a core part of their brand story. Arriving late and inauthenticly to the conversation, with nothing new or productive to add to the movement. Houdini Sportswear however, is a strong example of a brand that truly incorporates sustainability concepts -- and more importantly -- sustainability practices into its business model and product creation lifecycle. And it has been doing so since day one. The apparel and outerwear brand got its start in 1993 in Stockholm, Sweden and is a women-led company formed from a shared idea among friends to create clothing that wouldn't harm the planet. >> Living Large With Less << At the end of 2016 Houdini leadership finalized a roadmap for their journey ahead. The final details to the plan, including some big, hairy and audacious goals, were co-created by the Houdini team and a selected few inspiring dreamers, thought-leaders and change-makers in the beautiful nature reserve Nordmarka, just outside Oslo. This roadmap sets its goals against the background of 2066, thinking multi-decade, and multi-generationally. Honorable. Beautiful. Humanistic. You can dive into it here: https://lnkd.in/d-XwdQDV Hats off to Houdini and eva karlsson for matching ambition with action, vision with art and science, business with nature. 🚀

We've all been catfished By figma designs... Looking perfect on figma, yet turns out to be just a pile of "codes" Here's a checklist for the best product design and development communication: 1) Global Component Library: - Shared design components (buttons, inputs, cards) - Common layout constructs (grids, spacing units) - Modal, tooltip, and popover templates 2) Design Tokens: - Color palettes (primary, secondary, alert colors) - Typography styles (font families, sizes, weights) - Border radius, shadows, and other visual effects 3) Icon Sets: - Unified icon library with different sizes and variations - Guidelines for icon usage and spacing 4) Responsive Design Framework: - Breakpoints for various screen sizes (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile) - Fluid grids and flexible images - Visibility classes to show/hide elements at different sizes 5) UI Framework Alignment: - Components that match with a UI framework like Chakra UI, Material-UI, or Bootstrap - Custom styles or overrides that are needed to maintain design consistency 6) Accessibility Guidelines: - Color contrast ratios for text and background - Keyboard navigation for components - ARIA labels and roles for screen reader support 7) Motion and Interactivity: - Transition styles for hover, active, and focus states - Animation libraries or frameworks for complex interactions - Guidelines for consistent motion design (easing curves, duration) 8) Content and Data Templates: - Placeholder data formats for lists, tables, and other data-driven components - Text style guides for dynamic content 9) Documentation and Specifications: - Detailed interaction specs for dynamic components - Technical constraints and recommendations for developers - Version control and change logs for ongoing updates 10) Developer Handoff Tools: - Tools for converting design to code (like Zeplin, Figma code panel, Storybook) - Plugins for versioning and design linting (to check for inconsistencies) Most importantly make sure both design and development teams understand the higher level business objective and users. #saas #productdesign #productdevelopment #founder #digital #productowner _______ Moon Yiu here, an entrepreneur igniting product ideas into reality 🦄 From DigitSense and beyond, I've crafted, built, and launched UX-driven software products that empower millions.