Transitional industrial designer – The responsibility of designers and companies for a sustainable transition

In the current definition of sustainability, project cultures promote a transition involving changes in production, consumption and lifestyle, taking into account the progressive in- tegration of environmental, social, cultural and economic aspects. By analysing twelve de- sign approaches for sustainable, responsible, and circular transitions and, in particular, the disciplines of Advanced Design and Transition Design, this paper introduces the new figure of the Transitional Industrial Designer, a future-oriented designer with a critical awareness of the social and environmental implications of industrial design, able to contribute to more sustainable and adaptable models in a changing context. The article introduces the meth- ods and tools tested in an EU-funded project.