In the Anthropocene, evidence points to humans depleting Earth's resources at an unsustainable rate. Designers unwittingly contribute to resource depletion through traditional design approaches. As a lifelong designer-researcher, like many of my peers, our collective aim is to effect positive societal, environmental, and stakeholder impact through design. While global design frameworks often rely on purpose-driven foundations, their applicability within the South African visual communication design context is underexplored.

This paper reports on my Master of Arts and Design study, specialising in communication design. The research presented in this paper discusses how global frameworks and their embedded teleologies could be adapted to enhance local design through introducing relevant circular design methodologies. This paper reports on qualitative, practice-based research that investigated design practice as a method of inquiry and knowledge generation. Purposive sampling was used for its appropriateness in meeting epistemological objectives. These methods align with accepted practice-based inquiry, where knowledge transfer validity is crucial.

The research framework used for the study includes circular design processes, material value retention, and the analysis of design artefacts and systems by employing deductive thematic content analysis. Data from the Institute of Media, Strategy and Design (iMSD) process, the Use2Use toolkit, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) adaptive strategy for circular design were thematically coded in Atlas.ti.

The results of this teleological study using these three design methodologies were achieved by creating design artefacts and their embodied purposive value in alignment with pedagogical principles and documented circular design outcomes. Conclusions identify the potential for unifying relevant components of these design processes to enhance designer capacity through iterative, user-centric, circular, and systems design thinking. Future research to validate the multi-modal circular design framework as a result of the study is recommended. Potential considerations include industry pilot studies, exploring innovations in materials, emerging technologies, AI tools, and comparative studies across various geographic and economic contexts. Additionally, investigating user engagement strategies, human-centred approaches, co-design, and design as strategy beyond form-giving can strengthen the adoption and impact of circular design practice.