Rebound Archetypes Cards

The Rebound Archetypes Cards are a tool developed by Laetitia Bornes and Marcia Tavares Smith to help designers and decision-makers in considering rebound effects within a design or decision process. The concept of rebound effect is defined in multiple ways. Here, we will refer to any unintended consequence resulting from an intervention that goes against the initial intention or has social or environmental impacts that are perceived as negative. Our tool, in the form of cards, aims to facilitate workshops, allowing participants to: imagine possible rebound effects that could result from an intervention (introduction of a new product, service, technology, strategic decision, or policy), understand associated risks, and collectively decide on actions to take, such as (a) cancelling the intervention or redefining it, (b) attempting to mitigate potential rebound effects, or (c) accepting the risk and monitoring it. The cards aim to address these elements without inducing paralysis and can be used in various ways to adapt to the design process and the participants’ level of expertise. Primarily, they were created to embody reflection steps around rebound effects, but they aim to become less necessary as the ‘players’ gain autonomy. 

Click here to download the Rebound Archetypes Cards. 

Access to the Miro board for online workshops: Rebound Archetypes