Circ-2-Zero Design Thinking Camps
How can user stories help create tools that truly support SMEs in their daily work? | Design Thinking Camps at CoHub
What does it really take to accelerate the transformation to a circular economy? And how can we reflect this in software that is used in hectic everyday working life? These are key questions in the CIRC-2-ZERO Project, and initial answers were provided by the Design Thinking Camps organized by K8 Institut für strategische Ästhetik and Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar.
From Insights to Action: The Design Thinking Camps
In December, we reported on how our first co-creation workshop was a complete success. Twenty-three experts from 13 organizations in seven Baltic Sea countries worked together on the Digital Twin Demo Platform – always with the real needs of SMEs in mind. The insights gained were incorporated into the next phase of the project—a powerful example of user-centered, circular innovation in action: From January 27 to 29, 2026, the project partners met for two parallel design thinking camps at K8 in Saarbrücken.
Three days, One goal: From defining a shared vision to creating paper prototypes
Three days. Big brains. Walls full of sticky notes… At the Design Thinking Camps, participants dove head-first into circularity, design thinking, and agile collaboration — turning fuzzy challenges into clear concepts (and paper prototypes that actually make sense).
It started with a re-assessment of prior results: We started by checking: Do we still share the same vision? And do our personas truly represent our target group? (Spoiler alert: They were not)? After these were updated, it came to writing user stories and to debating energy, economic, and circularity indicators (recycled content, product lifespan, carbon footprint etc.).
On day three, teams sketched, tested, and pitched platform ideas that connect data, value chains, and real business benefits. The finale: prototype presentations to guests from research, industry, public administration, and media, bringing sharp feedback and fresh perspectives.
Yes, it was intense. Yes, it was exhausting.
But absolutely worth it.
Circular thinking got sharper, collaboration got stronger, and the groundwork for what comes next is officially laid.
Huge thanks to everyone involved — now let’s keep the loop going. Many thanks to Florian Luxenburger for the photographic documentation!
We’re looking forward to the next Design Thinking Camps in Tallinn!
