Making Better Things: A Sustainable Material Showcase with Daniel Liden and CCS Students
About the Event
Reception Date: Friday, September 18, 2026
Reception Time: 7-9 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: Friday, September 18 – Saturday, October 3, 2026
Rather than waiting for the circular economy to be defined for us, designers are in a unique position to proactively shape it. This pop-up exhibition of CCS student work created under the instruction of Daniel Liden, a Copenhagen-based designer and author of “Better Things: Materials for Sustainable Design,” takes alternative materials as the starting point and explores the many opportunities that they present in terms of replacing conventional virgin and non-renewable materials in contemporary industrial design.
Bio: Daniel is a designer with a passion for materials and processes. Over the course of his career, Daniel’s work has become increasingly focused on sustainability, and 2024 saw the publication of his first book Better Things: Materials for Sustainable Design. In a market flooded with vague eco-claims and surface-level material swaps, Daniel takes a structured, data-driven approach to sustainable product development, as evidenced in his work for leading international brands like Nespresso, Logitech, and BIC.
Workshop Description: Students at CCS will need to develop the skills necessary to navigate a growing range of alternative materials and processes that are emerging in response to new sustainability legislation and changing consumer expectations. Designing with these new materials and processes often involves a steep learning curve, not least in terms of being able to make decisions on where to focus efforts to maximize positive impact, but also being able to communicate those decisions clearly and transparently. This workshop defines a wide range of creative approaches to circular design, preparing CCS students for a career where decisions about material selection will face greater scrutiny than ever before.
