Bronze Meta, Strategic and Service Design · 2024
Leakage Awareness Consulting Workshop
- A' Design Award 2024 Bronze Winner in Meta, Strategic and Service Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Leafer Circular Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 277,900
- Verification code 47AEAEFB42 · Verify this award
About Leakage Awareness Consulting Workshop
The Leakage Awareness workshop makes it possible for designers to work on bigger, deeper cases with clients. It provides a way to build internal stakeholder support, gather reluctantly disclosed situation info, receive pay for typically unpaid early design research, and ultimately visualize production flows for discussion. The workshop features a modular design for portability and easy extension. It also integrates with the C-BAT app to generate a material analysis report.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Leakage Awareness workshop is a tool that makes it possible for designers to work on bigger, deeper cases with clients. It provides a way to build internal stakeholder support, gather reluctantly disclosed situation info, receive pay for typically unpaid early design research, and ultimately visualize production flows for discussion. The workshop features a modular design for portability and easy extension. It also integrates with the C-BAT app to generate a material analysis report.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The workshop is formatted into a series of modular A4 PDFs for easy printing and flexibility. Sheets can be stacked for as many production steps as needed. The workshop suggests facilitators to judge from participant interactions whether a single larger A2 or multiple A4 sheets works better.
The companion C-BAT app provides training content, and can generate a material analysis report from gathered workshop info. A planned upgrade to C-BAT would allow quick upload via OCR capture. - Tags
- workshop, consulting, stakeholder, consensus, design service, service design, manufacturer, leakage, resources, circular economy
- Production Technology
- Major personas involved during project communication were first mapped, and a topical survey of 50 SME manufacturers was conducted to understand their design expectations and willingness. The designs were iteratively adjusted through internal testing and 2 major rounds with target facilitator designers. The workshop was also run by a few long-term clients for feedback. This confirmed overall direction and design decisions were finetuned in line with real feedback.
- Design Challenge
- Compared to usual design, circular design requires deeper involvement into business and strategy, in order to resolve material and market issues. As such, a big challenge circular designers face is getting reluctant clients to share the resource info needed. The Leakage workshop addresses this by first suggesting NDAs and using feeling-based scales for sensitive details like material cost and waste disposal. During a trial run, the client said they felt comfortable sharing in that context.
- Project Duration
- The project started in March 2023, and the alpha version launched in November 2023. The project was selected for showcase in 2024 by the Taiwan Design Research Institute.
- Operation Flow
- In the Leakage Awareness workshop, the designer is like a coach guiding the client’s team discussion. Once a main focal product is chosen, production steps are mapped out, with all resource input and output noted. Lastly, the team together identifies inefficiencies and opportunities. This step-by-step team huddle builds internal agreement on what can sustainably improve business, and provides clear targets for following design cases.
- Inspiration
- After nearly a decade of working with long-term clients, two major hurdles were identified in their transition to circular business: finding resource leak and convincing stakeholders. A comprehensive method for visually exploring resource flows was needed, along with a means to gather stakeholders to create consensus. The Leakage workshop not only builds internal solidarity but also helps the designer deeply understand the clients’ situations and paves the way for more impactful design cases.
- Image Credits
- Image #1, Creator Victor Wu, Leakage Awareness Workshop with Stakeholders, 2024.
Image #2: Creator Victor Wu, Companion App for Situation Analysis, 2024.
Image #3: Creator Victor Wu, Presenting Workshop Overview, 2024.
Image #4: Creator Victor Wu, AI-Assisted Analysis Clarification, 2024.
Image #5: Creator Victor Wu, Prep with Leakage Report, 2024.
Video Credits: Creator Craig Bossley, Workshop Tutorial, 2023. - Patents
- Copyrights belong to Leafer Circular Design, 2023.
Patent pending.
Colors of Leakage Awareness Consulting Workshop
Design Interview about Leakage Awareness Consulting Workshop
The main principle behind the design is to facilitate the transition of businesses to circular models by identifying resource leaks and fostering stakeholder consensus. The inspiration came from nearly a decade of collaboration with long-term clients, revealing the need for a comprehensive method to visualize resource flows and engage stakeholders effectively.
The primary focus was to create a workshop that not only helps designers work on larger projects with clients but also builds internal solidarity and gathers vital resource information. The goal was to achieve a method that supports sustainable business improvements and enhances design impact.
Future plans include refining the workshop based on user feedback, expanding its reach, and integrating further technological advancements into the C-BAT app for enhanced material analysis capabilities.
The project started in March 2023, with the alpha version launching in November 2023, indicating that the design process took approximately eight months.
This design was pursued to address challenges faced by clients in sharing resource information and to provide a structured approach to visualizing production flows. It was not formally commissioned but arose from identified needs from working in the industry.
The workshop is intended to be used by ourselves and other designers, and plans may include offering it as a service or licensing it to other consulting firms interested in providing circular design methodologies.
The design was created to tackle the pressing issues of resource inefficiencies in businesses, to facilitate stakeholder engagement in sustainability discussions, and to help designers efficiently work with businesses to start circular transition projects.
The design was influenced by extensive research, including a survey of 50 SME manufacturers, as well as iterative testing with long-term clients, which helped refine the approach.
The target customers are small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to transition to circular business practices and needing support in stakeholder alignment and resource management.
This design is unique due to its modularity, allowing for flexibility in workshops, and its integration with the C-BAT app, providing a comprehensive material analysis tool that enhances participant engagement.
The name "Leakage Awareness" reflects the workshop's focus on identifying resource leaks within production processes and raising awareness among stakeholders about inefficiencies.
One of the tools we used was Figma, for strategic planning and the design of the workshop sheets and C-BAT app.
The workshop’s ability to build internal consensus and provide a structured approach to addressing sensitive resource issues is its most unique aspect.
The design involved collaboration with team members Victor Wu and Craig Bossley, as well as feedback from long-term clients and other stakeholders who provided insights and testing opportunities.
Technology plays a crucial role through the integration of the C-BAT app, which aids in training and generates material analysis reports based on workshop data.
The design was heavily influenced by data gathered from a survey of SME manufacturers and iterative testing, which informed adjustments to meet client expectations better.
A significant challenge was encouraging clients to share sensitive resource information. The workshop addresses this through NDAs and feeling-based scales to create a comfortable sharing environment.
We decided to submit the design to gain recognition of the workshop's innovative approach and its potential to contribute to the field of circular design.
During the design process, the team learned the importance of stakeholder engagement and iterative feedback, which helped refine the workshop’s effectiveness.
The workshop not only helps in identifying resource leaks but also creates a platform for ongoing dialogue among stakeholders, paving the way for more impactful and sustainable design solutions in the future.