Designing better futures: Magnetic Circle

Last month we launched Magnetic Circle, our very own crowd sourced blog. We know that designing better futures can’t be done alone. This is why December’s edition is devoted to those who push boundaries and reimagine our collective tomorrows.

Whether that be tackling challenges of social welfare, inequality, or planetary wellbeing, there are brilliant examples of design work that puts purpose on the pedestal and leaves those purely chasing short-term profit in the dust. In the face of modern-day challenges, the major quest is that of resilience. Key to that is recognising ties to the communities we serve and sharing learnings through collaboration.

Here you’ll find our curated insights, learnings from our design and innovation work, or observations from research. Each day our consultants and designers work alongside folks who are creating world changing ideas.

Here are our learnings. Join the circle.

• Sport: Cyclon™ running shoes are designed to be reincarnated into new products. The Producer behind it, ON running, recycles 100% of each product to close the circularity loop. The model for that is based on a regular subscription that allows new shoes being delivered and the old ones — recycled into new pair. AND they are made out of beans. [link] Credit: Dean
• Banking: UK’s No Fixed Address programme — In partnership with Shelter, HSBC developed a service that offered people without a fixed home address to open a bank account. This gives them a safe place to keep and spend money received from work or benefits. [link] Credit: Jon
• Pet: Dog Buttons are a growth industry: dogs can learn to communicate by pushing different coloured buttons to ask for things. [link via Tom’s 52 Things]
• Health & nutrition: Haakaa silicone breast pump — the pump collects milk from the breast of the mother that the baby is not feeding on so no milk is lost. It is also toxin free and BPA free. [link] Credit: Murray
• Sustainability: Reusable packaging grocery firm Dizzie has launched a B2B “packaging as a service” offering to brands and retailers.The model involves Dizzie handling the cleaning and repackaging of goods, as well as delivery and collection if required. The company is also offering its products and packaging as a white label service to other businesses. [link] Credit: Maria
• More sustainability: China is building 450 gigawatts of solar and wind power generation in the Gobi desert. That’s six times the total power generation capacity of the UK. [link via Tom’s 52 Things]
• Women’s health: Reusable menstrual cups and period wear from Saalt are simple, sustainable, and can last a decade. A sustainable alternative to pads and tampons, you can even wear them for up to 12 hours (no more changing every few hours). Saalt also work with period poverty charities, helping make sure people get basic access to period care. [link] Credit: Miki
• Skincare: Haeckels was founded by a volunteer beach warden in 2012. The company takes an active part in the Margate local community by organising beach cleans and marine conservation surveys. They use local seaweed as a base for all of their products. All packaging is fully recyclable or compostable. + they offer loyalty schemes for returning empty packaging online. [link] Credit: Emma
• Tourism: Stirling AR tourism app allows to explore the Scottish city from a completely new angle. The app offers AR based navigation, history trails, points of interests, collectables as well as virtual souvenirs for users to take home with them. [link] Credit: David
• Health: Australian startup Who gives a crap develops forest friendly toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues. It also donates 50% of profits to help build toilets and water/sanitation projects in the developing world. [link] Credit: Emma

Join the circle and access the latest on design and innovation at work.

Author: Maria Zielinski

Magnetic is a design and innovation company that helps design better futures. We’ve worked with global businesses to build capabilities, products, services and transform organisations. To find out more, get in touch: hello@wearemagnetic.com.