Sustainable Water Innovation Game
Created an innovative card game teaching wastewater innovation through collaborative play.
- Client and partners
- Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
SWIG is a social card game with a sustainable wastewater processing theme, developed in collaboration with DNV. Players discover the opportunities in wastewater management while getting to know each other's knowledge and perspectives. The game consists of 57 colorfully illustrated cards across categories including solutions, requirements, innovations, and actors.
Under the supervision of a workshop host, 2 to 8 players act as innovators and investors, advertising their creations with enthusiasm and conviction. The more innovations you put on the market, the more investment assets you gain. The game creates a foundation for genuine discussion and collaboration in wastewater management workshops.
The Problem
Wastewater management innovation suffers from siloed knowledge: engineers, policymakers, operators, and investors rarely interact in ways that surface collaborative opportunities. Traditional workshops and presentations fail to create the engagement and cross-pollination needed for systemic innovation.
The challenge was to design a physical product that makes complex wastewater sustainability concepts accessible and engaging, while creating authentic social dynamics that reveal hidden knowledge and build partnerships among diverse professionals.
Process
Iterative game design
We designed the game's rules together with DNV through quick iterations of sketching, design, creation, and evaluation. Each round of playtesting refined the mechanics to better surface collaborative opportunities and knowledge exchange.Visual communication design
Yulia Ink captured the essence of each innovation in simple but expressive drawings and artwork. The 57 illustrated cards make complex wastewater technologies approachable and memorable, lowering the barrier to participation.Workshop integration testing
The game was tested in real workshops and results were integrated to fine-tune the flow and quality. Random developments thrown into the game create authentic reactions and ideas that serve as springboards for post-game discussion.Outcomes
- Cards
- 57
- Illustrated cards across solutions, requirements, innovations, and actors
- Players
- 2-8
- Flexible group size for diverse workshop settings
- Partner
- DNV
- Co-developed with global quality assurance and risk management firm
- Format
- Workshop game
- Designed for professional wastewater management workshops
Gallery
Because Except understands both content and communication, they are an ideal partner to work with. Ideas are quickly processed and critically reviewed, the process is fast, and delivers quality.
Credits
Except team: Tom Bosschaert (Director).
With: Yulia Kryazheva (Graphics Designer, Yulia Ink).
Except team: Tom Bosschaert (Director).
With: Yulia Kryazheva (Graphics Designer, Yulia Ink).
More product & service design
Working on something with this shape?
We take commissions where systemic complexity is the central design challenge. Tell us about the place, the constraint, or the problem.