ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with designing as part of an innovation process. Decisions are made in the design process that have a considerable effect on the sustainability of the product, process or system. In designing, sustainable development is often regarded as just an extra demand that can be added to the programme of requirements along with various performance and economic characteristics. The design process can be characterised by the cycle of design, which describes certain steps present in each design process. The actual designing takes place in the synthesis phase when the designer generates a possible solution to the problem described in the analysis phase. By considering all stakeholders, a design can be made that best fits their needs and wants, and the trends observed in society. A trend analysis tries to reveal changes in society that are relevant to products and markets.
