Seite - 131 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

2017). Social changes include e.g. open source or sharing economy, which are important movements to get circular economy off the ground. Relevant for the work of designers are shared production machines like 3D printer and design templates in the internet, which means that design and production is continuously moved into the hands of the general public. The broader systemic view is especially emphasized, that means to open the focus from the product to material flows, production processes and conditions with an emphasize on consideration of distant effects and impact on the ecosystems, as well as aspects of reuse and recycling. With circular design, one does not only design a product but a whole system with circles, and has to think about where each material comes from and how it can be reused later in the same quality (Feldbacher 2016, 69). It is necessary to think wider than only the product and to integrate topics like business models, marketing, transport or take back systems already into the concept phase. Feldbacher interviewed in her master thesis various designers for changes in design process to fulfill the C2C and circular design requirements. As result she described a complex extended design process, and among other things a system analysis needs to be included (Feldbacher 2016). The positive footprint as mental model for circular design It is important to develop a circular, integrated thinking to develop new innovative approaches. This means that a change in mindset is needed first to come up with circular design product innovations. The positive footprint is discussed here as the important different mental model that inspires creativity in student projects. The idea of improving product design in a way that positive sustainability-related effects arise of the product or interlinked business activities, for both human society and the environment, was first formulated in the Cradle to Cradle design concept: to start with the positive in mind, so to “leave a beneficial footprint for human society and the environment” (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry 2016). In the Cradle to Cradle design process this is part of the vision statement or intension statement. The idea is to have an additional benefit, that does not only address the value a product has to its user – as the primary purpose of a product – but as de Pauw specified, it means that the impact of that product has additional benefits for its environment, especially “contributes to regeneration of that environment towards a sustainable state” (De Pauw 2015, 45). One main goal of the circular economy – to be restorative and regenerative – can be addressed with this concept of the positive footprint. Additional benefits could be that products improve life quality, extend the utilization period of other products, increase sustainability awareness and biodiversity or bring people together. This concept of being positive was also addressed by Janine Benyus in formulating her biomimicry concept, another design concept inspired by nature. She stresses that one of lives basic rules is to create conditions that are conducive to life (Benyus 2013), and the principles of biomimicry consistently aim at improving conditions for life with design. Nature-inspired design strategies include biomimicry, natural capitalism and Cradle to Cradle. These strategies “offer opportunities to design in a radically different, goal-driven manner”, help designers to focus more on the product context and therefore to improve overall sustainability (De Pauw et al. 2010). 131