Bringing a circular design program to life
Circularity is a circular design and innovation partner, that focuses on working with businesses to solve the environmental challenges of 'business as usual'. By applying Circular methodologies on top of existing resources, products and processes they help shape a future that works with nature, instead of against it.
In 2020, Circularity was putting on New Zealand’s first Circular Economy Program XLabs together with Auckland Unlimited which saw 12 Circular ideas spring to life for companies such as Goodstuff, Fletcher Building, The Warehouse Group and Auckland Transport. We helped Circularity to rapidly shape and test their Circular Sprint concepts with real customers to draw valuable insights into shaping the final XLabs product.
- Research & Strategy
- UX Design
- Design Sprint Facilitation
- Prototyping
- User Testing

Xlabs were faced with challenges such as:
- Creating an "NZ First" Circularity programme to support businesses on their journey toward a circular process and mindset
- Understanding how digital and physical could blend together to support participants in the best way
- Create a validated product that would deliver a game-changing experience from day one.
By identifying running a Design Sprint, we were able to tackle their most critical questions to help shape a successful XLabs programme:





“We can also train you and your team to run Innovation and UX Sprints on your own to further enable change within your business.”




“Osynlig led our first design sprint where we prototyped the XLabs program and adapted it directly via feedback from businesses. With this prototype and the resulting feedback, we were able to understand how best to deliver our program. Osynlig’s Design Sprint expertise guided us seamlessly from concept to ideation and prototyping which informed the final XLabs program.”
Our key project outcomes were:
Confidence & insights
Giving XLabs the confidence and insights needed to progress the concepts into a full scale programCredibility
Interacting with Stakeholders during the process of designing a “NZ first” gave credibility to the programExtensive testing
Testing one of the main physical exercises was key to shaping the final program deliveryAmbassadors
Interacting with participants during the Design Sprint created ambassadors for the program