
Marcel den Hollander
Industrial designer
What I do
I train, advise and coach companies to initiate the necessary transition to a more circular way of doing business. Professor Circular Design & Manufacturing and author of the book "Products that last"
About me
As the world’s first industrial designer with a PhD in Circular Product Design (Delft University of Technology, 2018), I work as a researcher and design consultant for the industry in circular product design and business models for the circular economy.
I am also a certified trainer for the Innomat LCA and EVC course, a European programme for teaching fast-track Life Cycle Assessment and Eco-Cost Value Ratio based design interventions (https://eitrawmaterials.eu/course/innomat/).
My academic work is anchored in thirty years of hands-on experience in commercial industrial design for (inter)nationally renowned design studios and clients, designing fast moving consumer goods, such as (food) packaging, durable consumer goods, such as electronics, (office) furniture, and professional products, such as retail interiors and exteriors, museum displays, means of transportation, industrial equipment and logistics systems.
I am co-author of the book "Products That Last - Product design for circular business models", which is currently used in Circular Product Design courses worldwide (e.g. TU Delft, MIT Design India, University of Austin, Texas, Raffles Design School, Singapore) and is the core of the Dutch government's CIRCO program to promote Circular Product Design in companies in the Netherlands.
To disseminate the results of my research and teach my circular design methodology, I conduct corporate workshops, guest lecture at design and business schools, and publish and present my research in scientific journals and at international conferences.
How I help customers
I support companies that need help analyzing their existing products/services and help them develop circular solutions for the product/service they make, with research, an optimization plan, and support during optimization with workshops and as a sparring partner.
Number of deliverables
- Solid understanding of the concept and complexity of the circular economy
- Concrete tools to become more circular
- Insight into which business processes have the greatest eco-impact or destroy the most value
Sample customers
Delft University, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Hogeschool Rotterdam