Our Life-centered Design Principles
9 principles to guide life-centered thinking and doing
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1. Purpose over profit
We choose purpose as a driver for our decision-making, over profit, which is viewed as a means to a higher goal that serves the many.
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2. Inspired by nature
We apply Biomimicry and therefore take inspiration from natural systems and nature as a whole.
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3. Interconnected
We apply systems thinking and aim to uphold the balance of the ecosystem.
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4. Lifecycle aware
Choosing a holistic approach and regarding the whole lifecycle of a solution.
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5. Long term thinking & doing
Applying long-term thinking and aiming for sustainable and regenerative solutions.
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6. Sufficiency
Focussing on what is important and leaving out unnecessary complexity if it does not add value.
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7. Equal and thriving
Aiming for services, systems and products that are socially just and ethical throughout their whole lifecycle.
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8. De-centring and reimagining
Questioning the status quo and current solutions with the goal to change the world for the better for all life.
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9. Acknowledging of all lifeforms
Considering all peoples, species and environments while designing products, systems and services.
About the Collective
Why we exist and our purpose
The Life Centered Design Collective is a small group of designers and
educators with varying backgrounds. Our goal is to bring together
people, skills and knowledge that advance the practice and advocate
for the philosophy of life-centered design.
We imagine a world where all life and long-term effects are top of
mind while creating products, services and systems.
If you have questions or just want to get in touch, feel free to
contact anyone of our members
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Members of the collective
The founders of the Life Centered Design Collective, who are driving things forward:
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Katharina Clasen
Katharina is a freelance UX Designer, lecturer at Stuttgart Media University and co-founder of the resource hub LifeCenteredDesign.Net together with her husband Timo. She is exploring and promoting Life-centered Design principles and tools, helping designers adapt the thinking.
Follow Katharina on LinkedIn or Instagram to stay up to date on the connection of User Experience and Life-centered Design. Visit LifeCenteredDesign.Net to find a collection of Resources to get into Life-centered Design.
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Estela Duhart Benavides
Estela Duhart Benavides is a Design Strategist and Design Researcher working towards a more equitable, just and life-centered design practice.
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Damien Lutz
Damien Lutz is the Founder of the Life-centred Design Lab and author of The Life-centred Design Guide, The Non-human Persona Guide, and Future Scouting.
Follow Damien on LinkedIn and explore lifecentred.design for courses, books, tools, projects, and inspiration to design more sustainable and inclusive futures.
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Jeroen Spoelstra
Jeroen is designer and co-owner at Unbeaten Studio, a design agency from the Spanish Pyrenees, and the founder of Life-Centred Design School.
Follow Jeroen on LinkedIn or Instagram about using life-centred design in your day-to-day work. Visit LifeCenteredDesign.School if you want metamorphose into a Life-Centered Designer.
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Dr. Martin Tomitsch
Martin Tomitsch is a design academic working at the intersection of design, technology, creativity and innovation. He is currently the Head of the TD School at UTS.
Follow Martin on LinkedIn or Twitter for updates on resources, publications and events, and on Instagram for more visual updates, which includes posts about life in Sydney. For articles, you can follow Martin on Medium, his academic publications are on Google Scholar.
Coming soon...
A collection of ressources from the group
Friends of the collective
The people supporting the Life Centered Design Collective whenever possible:
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Timo Clasen
Frontend Engineer @Steuerbot with a passion for fast and sustainable web experiences.
Building LifeCenteredDesign.Net together with his wife Katharina.
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Monika Sznel
User Experience Researcher and cultural anthropologist. In the era of Anthropocene & climate change, she is an advocate for including non-human stakeholders’ needs into the design process. Her ideas are presented in a collection of articles around environment-centered design on Medium.
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Madeleine van Venetie
Senior User Experience Designer