In the video above Tim Brown talks about the design & the circular economy. A set of resources for circular designers are avalible here: https://www.circulardesignguide.com/resources on the Circular Design guide website.

Circular Design is a design movement of recent interest because of it’s links to sustainability. Up to now the xj600e has looked at reusing as much material as possible (i.e.batteries, frames calipers, forks, even steels). However, when it comes to making new and interesting forms for the faring designs there should be more consideration towards use of sustainable materials rather than than just upcycling old materials. In turn this could help pull focus from other parties interested in sustainability and those who sympathise with the ideas of ‘saving the earth’.

Demographic research has indicated that Z-Generation users are the most likely to engage with campaigns and positive brand associations (McCrindle, 2019) such as sustainability and climate change. With this in mind, it is probably a good time to gain a better understanding of processes and aesthetics that would match their modern expectations.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Design is a critical part of The circular economy. Energy storage companies describe design as the ‘first real step in the circular economy’ (Energy, 2019). Raw Materials, Design Process, Production, Distribution, Consumption, Collection, Recycling, and Residual Waste are all critical factors in the circular economy . A typical model for the circular economy is illustrated in the diagram below.

RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
While the move from the linear economy to a circular economy required reuse it is important to acknowledge that the the real move to circularity occurs when the re-use of recyclable materials is integrated in to the design process. Consequently this would ‘prevent waste by making products and materials more efficiently and reusing them’ (Government.nl, 2019).

CIRCULARITY IN XJ600e
In the case of the XJ600e, if the design and production process could focused not only on the the direct reuse of energy cells, and the refurbished of metal frames and components, but also the reconstitution of materials that would be typically be produced in a motorcycle a loop could be started. 3Devo (2019) a rapid prototyping company serve as a good example of a process that could be deployed to help close the loop on the design and production of custom farings. Their process takes old plastics shreds them, then turns them back into usable filament that can be used in prototyping and rapid production of custom panels.

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REFERENCES
– Energy, C. (2019). The Circular Economy. [online] Connected Energy. Available at: https://www.c-e-int.com/technology/the-circular-economy [Accessed 25 Sep. 2019].
– Government.nl (2019). From a linear to a circular economy. [online] Government NL. Available at: https://www.government.nl/topics/circular-economy
– 3Devo (2019). Our Process: a new twist on the 3D printing process. [online] 3devo. Available at: https://3devo.com/our-process [Accessed 25 Sep. 2019].
– McCrindle, M. (2019). Generations defined: 50 years of change over 5 generations. [online] McCrindle. Available at: https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blog/generations-defined-50-years-change-5-generations-resource [Accessed 26 Sep. 2019].
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