Digital product design towards sustainability and circular economy
Every product relies on physical resources to exist. Digital products are no exception; even if you can’t touch the digital world, it has a natural and fast-growing environmental impact on our planet.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=225&q=90&w=400&s=f3ef58faa436022eb139129bc5bc2c0d 400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=337&q=90&w=600&s=2fb1447a70cba42f2eb9396f51741052 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=449&q=90&w=800&s=8782c3505f4ea0d73bf3f1fbe0fe7a0a 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=561&q=90&w=1000&s=ed8b03bef515f14005f8ebecbb1e1206 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=674&q=90&w=1200&s=b2c78a5cb931951fa6eb753bff3b96cb 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=786&q=90&w=1400&s=0dff20b98da34241ed63564fa06a2037 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=898&q=90&w=1600&s=fec1c1d5b1eefce3a192f9d74e4b110a 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1010&q=90&w=1800&s=f0528fc9e960f1cf1d421eceb77360c2 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1123&q=90&w=2000&s=8e864c9e3ba0ac4fe3fa04b5f413607f 2000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1235&q=90&w=2200&s=c588183c0ba6b35b165a8f767cc82ecc 2200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Yamaha-Hero-Still-copy.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1347&q=90&w=2400&s=5ecc91ff037c0c7539b5469f06de9b75 2400w)
Contact info for Egoitz Tellitu
Digital Designer,
Madrid
Contact info for Guzmán Bermejo
Contact info for Claudia Urquijo
Contact info for Sara Morillo
There is a unique creative opportunity for product designers to boost the sustainable advantages of the dematerialisation of products. But this won’t happen by chance; it requires applying specific digital sustainability knowledge, adopting new tools, and evolving design methods. As designers, it’s in our hands to enable companies to deliver not just desirable and profitable products, but also humanity-centric and environmentally sensible ones.
The Internet's impact is physical, and so is the impact of your designs
The environment is highly affected by the infrastructure and the usage of the Internet. If it were a country, it would be the fourth most polluting. All the designed interactions, like sending a message or an email, playing a podcast or a TV show, reacting to an Instagram post or ordering food online, consume energy and create an environmental deterioration known as a digital footprint.
The Internet and all digital products are constructed with two fundamental elements: computation and data. Since the Internet was born, the generated data has grown exponentially yearly. More data was created between 2017 and 2019 than in the rest of human history. As internet connections get faster and devices have more processing capabilities, the products produced are heavier and collect more data from users than ever.
But since everything digitally displayed and consumed is data, the data is stored on land, which requires data centres. Storage, transmission, consumption, and data creation require energy, which has an environmental impact. So, in the end, digital products are incredibly physical.
Sustainability as a design enhancer
Physical products have a more visible footprint. Designers of such products are increasingly involved in the evolution towards a circular economy. But when digital product designers have to create something sustainable, they face a terrain of uncertainty and fictional intangibility that can turn into paralysis.
Design is about balancing user desirability, business viability and technical feasibility. Sustainability has often been added to the Venn diagram representing these three lenses, but is it really a must-have to ensure the success of a new product? Probably not, but when you design with sustainability in mind, you develop energy-efficient products that technically improve the performance and optimisation of the product. For example, lighter technology makes things faster while enhancing user satisfaction. So, a more sustainable design indirectly means a more efficient, desirable, and profitable outcome.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=400&s=99c97e5d4f0cc2009402c45d042ff91c 400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=62c937d8f7371b036d0ea041409bd0b5 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=7f8fe1adabff657c0177c12eb9ac18e9 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=eff5aac34ca6836239750a563bcbab13 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=d6d50ef771b969fa0d6b3b86ece9e2e3 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=4d6384610e437a3977375680444f4658 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=0304b068a4b00df49135b17d1bf752ac 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=dea84e56474c1469d8ea5eeb8493763d 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=0c6aa55cac0336635763cc9894431920 2000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2200&s=c4d03c6b65392aecaeea727ebe9bfa2c 2200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2400&s=0b6d01ffd2b5569a03d663cefb9725aa 2400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/SDPD.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2600&s=f2bae13ae111d10c1818e869d0c7ba3c 2600w)
Sustainability and the business outcomes achieved with it are especially relevant if you consider the low success rates of digital products. 77% of downloaded apps go unused after 3 days, and 90% after a month. Designing, developing, communicating, and downloading these products requires a considerable amount of effort and energy that is profoundly wasted. Creating more apps and adding more data is not a sustainable and profitable strategy. The challenge of digital products is how to achieve more using less, and this is where you need a strong digital design partner to help you grow.
Sustainable digital product design will improve your company
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=400&s=624eaa09153e03ef6f1ed668b5ee3cf3 400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=23b8154c69b2c06f5b1aa37c9fd578a2 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=6dcdd4c753e3c3c4e5df72423e1bc543 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=16e0610828e4a150970115906cf76856 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=b67faaffeab42a027f55d828e67acaac 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=b2287f8ebe2f038738ae192e44e6aba4 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=497e7f1fc4b637d62ee7a38e4b26617e 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=1e0c5cd42b52b0e0e162793b9d80af33 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=2935a56c49cf4145f37d5a532a47be3b 2000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2200&s=02dd0ab051aee49b5b0b67e5465d0e99 2200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2400&s=2df929c544093a12a26f381e77cf5552 2400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/Collage.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2600&s=c30f49e335b25e952b3037bf90ac5a1f 2600w)
We're often asked to collaborate with companies to develop new environmentally friendly products, services, and business models.
Let's look at sustainable soap for a minute. In what kind of packaging do you visualise it? Most likely, in a sustainable container of some sort. The same should happen when you create digital products and services. When a company develops a new digital product to promote the circular economy, it should align the product with its purpose.
But regardless of your level of commitment and sustainability roadmaps, we can collaborate with you and add value to your journey from a sustainable design perspective.
Sustainable digital product design happens at every stage of the design process
Sustainability can be applied in each part of the digital product design process: from research and problem understanding to testing and iterating to conceptualisation. This requires approaching any challenge with a sustainability lens and applying systems thinking to broaden your perspective and adapt design methodology accordingly. Sustainable design also requires a specific knowledge of sustainability and product development that can be obtained by working with product teams and sustainable development experts.
There's a lot of opportunity to design with sustainability in mind. Here are a few examples:
Designing information architectures and user flows that enable users to accomplish their goals quickly. Noisy content, redundant steps and extra unnecessary complexity not only slow and hinds the task achievement while deteriorating the user's experience but require more load and collection of data.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=bba4e3e4c7d843078f592ab94ceb2d3a 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=da505949125b5c932d11e24dcdb8832e 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=e902ec3934c77550c9d840670363a0a0 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=b56ec2ef90f2a4f8645702104952c47c 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=eded7221292feff0ea19e027c302ee6e 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=d36a17293942a7acec08a2c38a84aa50 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=dfaf0111923affdc2f467c48df674e6f 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=3290a6ca92b0cb8340fbda2d655273b6 2000w)
As designers, we make sure not to add dark patterns. Similarly, we should nudge users down the right path by setting the default options as the most sustainable ones. For example, when deciding the shipping address of an online purchase, you can promote the delivery to a hub station instead of a home address. Likewise, you can propose as default reusable packaging instead of new, even if it's recycled.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=5966ed5f11000e6c9e0f4766f07395f1 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=9b6a1908825a41ec8a4f5dc6aa7688ab 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=311e12e3cadd3ccad9295d9067783a4d 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=a0d52d851c42a4cf91aaca1e42f36851 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=c0fa4395e9988489656758e979d699d1 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=b80333d687cc399fb030ce4b3670e6a0 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=f42246f6d39d47c6e9c8f56e2fb51310 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=e16fd938883e694bc865b7250f0e544c 2000w)
As said, products are formed by data and data is displayed and shaped by text, audio, image, video, and colour. So, if you can achieve the same result using a less consuming resource, you should go for it. For example, you can replace videos with images and images with illustrations. You can convert your media content to the most energy-efficient format while preserving quality.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=a2b07fa24022fb7bbbc4011c0805272c 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=a39dba07256b85d1e97c55baa4e68c87 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=276c8f33d8c7221495736ceb301f7607 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=50e72aded612387fcb10be143b482b07 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=2b3466f03d5d0ebc8c1ccdc63258439d 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=fad08cbc5846c68a33589f8892636d2d 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=b9e8a5252bfc343b0752a680df7e4803 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/3.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=6a735698067f79a8a28e0aeb8ba986ff 2000w)
When choosing the interface elements like colours and typography, you're also determining the level of impact the product will have. For example, in OLED displays, black is the less polluting colour, while white is the most polluting as it requires more data to be displayed in a screen pixel. This is because each colour has its own energy consumption, which aggregates through every pixel and device. With typography, system fonts are already loaded on users' devices, so they don't need to be downloaded again, saving more energy.
![](https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=600&s=43c6594ed30206d7dbf431a0ad1b3545 600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=800&s=6449769d6814746eb15806eb287f665a 800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1000&s=6e4633bffb6309b9860cb5b3c38509f8 1000w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1200&s=ef3b29888e16c9e44cf6a14d04bc4564 1200w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1400&s=9a53ea31eb46505c7dcef4e95da4ad61 1400w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1600&s=1c73cbbc138bbcdbe511d1658e33a29b 1600w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=1800&s=dfc88f4e59214335cd7e59e3a9f0725a 1800w, https://designit-web.imgix.net/images/Point-of-view/Digital-product-design-towards-sustainability-and-circular-economy/4.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=clip&q=90&w=2000&s=446b04c99bae2478370fe5c0a703ed0f 2000w)
Digital sustainability is a creative and business opportunity to bring to life more meaningful initiatives and deliver a more significant impact through design. But methods aside, new tools are also needed to enable designers and companies to make more well-informed sustainable decisions.
We’re in the process of creating a new experimental tool to make it easier for designers to get used to sustainability roadmaps. But, until then, if you're interested in having a chat to figure out how we can help you create or evolve a more sustainable future, digital business, or product, we'd love to hear from you.