The 21-Day LCD Thinking Challenge
A daily creative journaling and sketching practice to reconnect ourselves with nature and learn to design as part of living systems.
Wow, those three weeks flew by! To everyone who followed along with our 21-Day Life-Centered Design Thinking Challenge: Thank You!
Whether you participated quietly in your own sketchbook, reflected on the prompts during your day, read the posts with curiosity, or shared thoughts and observations with us, we truly appreciate you spending this time with us. One thing we learned is that many of you chose to work on existing projects and personal ideas, which naturally made the challenge a more private experience than a public one, and that’s completely okay. Even when reflections weren’t shared online, we know meaningful thinking and conversations were still happening behind the scenes.
As we wrap up the challenge, we would genuinely love to hear from you. What stayed with you? What surprised you? What felt useful, challenging, inspiring, or even unclear? We welcome both encouraging and constructive feedback as we reflect on what worked, what could improve, and where this project could grow next. If you’d like to share your thoughts with us, please send us a note at hello@inter-twined.com.
We are also taking some time to reflect on the past few weeks ourselves, and we’ll be sharing our own insights and takeaways from the challenge in the coming days. We’re hoping to make this an annual Earth Day tradition, so hopefully this is just the beginning.
Thank you again for being here, for following along, and for being part of this little experiment in learning from life.
The 21-Day Life-Centered Design Thinking Challenge
Day 21 = Tues. 12.May 2026 = Ask Nature Tuesday!
Where Do We Go From Here?
Thank you for coming along on this journey with us. Today is the final day of the challenge, and we wanted to leave you with something special: a resource that has inspired designers, educators, scientists, and curious minds around the world.
It’s called AskNature.org. Have you heard of it?
AskNature describes itself as “a field guide to the natural world, designed to draw your eye to what we can learn from nature (not just what we can learn about it).” It is the world’s largest database of nature’s strategies organized by function.
Your Challenge Today
Go to AskNature.org. Use the search button in the upper-right corner and explore a function your design addresses: adhesion, filtration, structural support, thermal regulation, water collection, and more. How does nature solve similar challenges? Save three strategies that intrigue you, surprise you, or shift the way you think about the project you are working on.
This is not the end of the journey. Think of it as the beginning of a new way of observing. Bookmark the site, return to it often, and let Nature continue teaching you.
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Thank you.
Day 20 = Mon. 11.May 2026 = Cooperation Monday!
What If Success Came From Our Collaborations?
To survive, life relies on partnerships and cooperative groups rather than direct competition. Ecosystems thrive through mutual benefit and resource sharing. Relationships are built on interdependence. Pollinators and flowers, cleaner fish and larger species, mycorrhizal fungi and tree roots; many species succeed because they develop specialized roles and become part of larger networks.
Your Challenge Today
Look at your project through a cooperation lens. How could you create systems where participants benefit one another, share resources, and build relationships before transactions? This isn’t just about supply chain partnerships; it’s about designing relationships into the system itself.
Who has what you need, and what do you have in abundance that could be shared? Who thrives when your product succeeds? How can you expand that circle?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 19 = Sun. 10.May 2026 = Weekend Refresh!
Happy Mother’s Day; take today off and go outside for a lovely walk. Review your journal; what’s the most surprising thing that came up for you during these past few weeks? As always, we would love to hear from you! Please use this hashtag when sharing your journal entry: #LCDChallenge
Day 18 = Sat. 09.May 2026 = Relaxed Weekend!
It’s our challenge’s last Saturday and time to take a day off! If you can, go outside and take a (nature) walk. Catch up on any challenges you missed and let the ideas settle. As always, we would love to hear from you! Please use this hashtag when sharing your journal entry:: #LCDChallenge
Day 17 = Fri. 08.May 2026 = Fabricating Friday!
What If Our Designs Belonged Right Here?
Life makes its materials locally. Birds build nests with nearby twigs, not materials transported across long distances. Termites use local soil, and beavers use available trees. Using what is nearby and abundant can reduce energy demand, minimize transportation, and create designs that fit their context.
Your Challenge Today
Observe spiders in their webs, bird nests, burrows, or other shelters built from materials gathered or produced locally. Review your production plan. Are you relying on resources shipped from far away rather than those available locally? What is available within 100 miles of where this product will be made and used? What changes if you prioritize local abundance?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 16 = Thurs. 07.May 2026 = Enduring Thursday!
What If We Designed for 7 Generations?
There’s a bristlecone pine in California that has been alive for more than 4,800 years, and there are coral reefs that have survived for millennia. Mycelial networks can persist for extremely long periods of time. Longevity in nature often comes from deep roots, adaptive growth, self-repair, and beneficial relationships.
Your Challenge Today
Find something in your environment that has endured: a mature tree, a lichen colony, or persistent moss. What strategies enable its longevity?
What would change if you designed for 7 generations instead of 7 years? Not just through more durable materials, but through systemic shifts. Would your design become more modular, repairable, or adaptable? Would the business model change? Would the relationship with users evolve over time?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 15 = Wed. 06.May 2026 = (bio)Diversity Wednesday!
What If We Had A Back-Up Strategy?
Ecosystems survive because they maintain variety. Multiple species often perform similar roles in different ways; if one is lost, others can help sustain the function. Monocultures can be efficient, but they are more vulnerable to disruption; a single pest, disease, or drought can have a widespread impact. Biodiversity helps build resilience.
Your Challenge Today
Walk outside and observe: what is thriving through diversity? Mixed plant species, multiple pollinators, varied terrain, or overlapping root systems?
Then ask: Does my design assume only one “right way” to be used? What happens if that approach fails? How could it serve multiple users, contexts, or use cases without adding complexity? Not multiple SKUs, but one design, multiple strategies.
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 14 = Tues. 05.May 2026 = Cyclic Tuesday!
What If Natural Cycles Could Benefit Our Designs?
Our planet is defined by cycles: day and night, the seasons, the water cycle, circadian rhythms, and the carbon cycle. These rhythms aren’t obstacles to work around; they are sources of free energy and information that life evolved to tap into. Species don't just endure these cycles; they align with them to thrive.
Your Challenge Today
Observe natural cycles in your environment: the timing of sunrise and sunset, the shift in leaf color through the seasons, tidal patterns, temperature fluctuations, or changes in humidity throughout the day.
Ask yourself: What naturally occurring patterns or rhythms could your product take advantage of? How might your design perform differently in winter vs. summer, or wet vs. dry seasons? How does the user experience change from morning to evening?
What if you designed with these cycles instead of against them?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 13 = Mon. 04.May 2026 = Efficiency Monday!
What If Nothing Went To Waste?
Nature is extraordinarily efficient. A cherry tree produces thousands of blossoms, yet it’s not being wasteful. The fallen petals become food for soil organisms, which in turn feed the tree’s roots. In the ocean, waste from fish and whales releases nutrients that nourish plankton and support entire marine food webs. True efficiency is designing so that no material is wasted because everything circulates.
Your Challenge Today
Find an example of nature’s efficiency: birds flying in formation, a squirrel gliding between trees, or decomposition in a compost system.
Look at your project through a circular design lens. Where does energy or material currently "leak" out of the system as waste? How could your design reduce waste, not by using less, but by ensuring outputs become inputs elsewhere?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag: #LCDChallenge
Day 12 = Sun. 03.May 2026 = Weekend Refresh!
Happy Sunday; we hope you are taking today off and manage to go outside for a lovely walk.
Review your journal if you can. What’s the most surprising thing that came up for you during these first couple of days of the challenge?
As always, we would love to hear from you! Please use this hashtag when sharing your journal entry: #LCDChallenge
Day 11 = Sat. 02.May 2026 = Relaxed Weekend!
It’s Saturday and it’s time to take a day off! If you can, go outside and take a (nature) walk.
Catch up on any challenges you missed and let the ideas settle.
As always, we would love to hear from you! Please use this hashtag when sharing your journal entry: #LCDChallenge
Day 10 = Fri. 01.May 2026 = Feedback Friday!
What If Our Designs Responded To Signals?
In nature, feedback is how life stays balanced and responsive. Your body senses temperature and adjusts. Many plants track the sun. Ecosystems self-regulate through constant sensing and response. Sensing and responding allow systems to adjust in real time, helping them stay balanced and resilient.
Your challenge today
Observe signals and sensing in nature: a plant responding to sunlight, your own body regulating temperature, a pinecone opening in warm, dry air.
How could you embed sensing and response into your design system? Not just collecting data, but actually enabling self-adjustment like a Nest thermostat. What other feedback could your product incorporate?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 9 = Thurs. 30.April 2026 = Multi-Functional Thursday!
What If Our Designs Were More Functional?
Nature rarely creates something that serves only one purpose. Leaves photosynthesize, regulate temperature, collect water, provide habitat, protect the plant, and release chemical signals. Our skin protects, detects touch and sensation, regulates temperature, and can even heal itself. One structure, many functions.
Your challenge today
Find an example in nature where one element serves multiple functions. Study it: how many jobs is it doing simultaneously? Look at your project. Choose one component and brainstorm: What other functions could this also provide? List as many as possible.
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Day 8 = Wed. 29.April 2026 = Material Wednesday!
What If Our Material Choices Supported Life?
Life tends to use materials that support life. Nature typically creates materials using water-based chemistry, room-temperature processes, and common, abundant elements from the periodic table. Many natural materials, like shells, wood, or spider silk are all created using simple ingredients under gentle conditions. Rather than relying on rare or persistent substances, these materials are generally compatible with living systems and able to re-enter the cycles of life.
Your challenge today
Review your project's materials list. Research where each material comes from and where it goes at the end of its use. How compatible with life are these materials? Are there options that are more supportive of life, highly recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag:#LCDChallenge
Anyone can still jump in at any point.
Day 7 = Tues. 28.April 2026 = Modular Tuesday!
What If We Designed For Modularity?
The spines of a hedgehog and the leaves of ferns are great examples of modular units in nature. Nature excels at designing one small unit and repeating it across a surface or along a structure.
Your Challenge Today
Observe something modular in nature: tree branches, segmented insects, a flower, or a caterpillar. How could your project incorporate modular design at a component or system level?
Since modularity often makes systems more adaptable, repairable, and resilient, consider what becomes possible when parts can be added, removed, or replaced independently. What if users could customize, expand, or repair the design themselves?
Remember that anyone can start at any time. And if you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag: #LCDChallenge
Day 6 = Mon. 27.April 2026 = Cross-Pollinating Monday!
Who’s Already Solving Our Problems?
Life learns from proven patterns and lets ideas cross-pollinate like bees transfer pollen between flowers. Mycelial networks transfer information across species. Evolution works by modifying existing structures or re-purposing existing adaptations for new functions.
Your Challenge Today
Research how other users, industries, or contexts are already accomplishing the same task your design addresses. What makes their strategy successful? Example: If designing a water filter, look at how kidneys filter, how wetlands purify water. Also, clay pots have long been used by Indigenous communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to store and purify water.
Can you use others' proven patterns as an inspiration for your work? What key elements would you adapt, instead of copying a design?
If you feel like sharing today’s journal entry, please use this hashtag: #LCDChallenge
Day 5 = Sun. 26.April 2026 = Happy Sunday!
We hope you are taking today off and manage to go outside for a lovely walk.
Review your journal if you can. What’s the most surprising thing that came up for you during these first couple of days of the challenge?
As always, we would love to hear from you! Please use this hashtag when sharing your journal entry: #LCDChallenge
Day 4 = Sat. 25.April 2026 = Relaxing Weekend!
It’s Saturday and it’s time to take a day off! If you can, go outside and take a (nature) walk.
Catch up on any challenges you missed and let the ideas settle.
As always, we would love to hear from you! Please use this hashtag when sharing your journal entry: #LCDChallenge
Day 3 = Fri. 24.April 2026 = Fail Friday!
What If Failure Was Part Of The Plan?
Evolution is built on experimentation. Most mutations fail. Most seeds don't sprout. Nature embraces exploration with humility; trying many small experiments and keeping what survives. There's no shame in the attempts that don't work. They are information..
Your Challenge Today
Intentionally break your design to learn from it. Turn your sketch upside down. Swap sketches with a non-designer and ask what they see. Give your sketch to a 4-year-old. Explain your concept to a 12-year-old and listen to their questions.
What happy accident surprised you? What assumptions did this challenge reveal? What "failure" actually gave you new information?
If you feel like sharing today’s work, please use this hashtag: #LCDChallenge
Day 2 = Thurs. 23.April 2026 = Networking Thursday!
What’s Already Available That We’re Not Using?
In nature, form is almost always shaped by function. A bird's beak isn't decorative; it's precisely evolved for how that bird feeds. A leaf's shape optimizes light capture, water runoff, and structural integrity simultaneously. In nature, form follows function. It isn't just a design principle, it's reality.
Your Challenge Today
Map your nearby eco-system offerings. What resources, networks, materials, or capabilities exist within your immediate context (geographic, professional, community)?
Look at your project, and before sourcing from far away or creating something new, ask: What's already here that could solve this? In my network, who has done something similar? What local material could work?
If you feel like sharing today’s work, please use this hashtag: #LCDChallenge
Day 1 = Wed. 22.April 2026 = Happy Earth Day!
What if Function Actually Guided Form?
In nature, form is almost always shaped by function. A bird's beak isn't decorative; it's precisely evolved for how that bird feeds. A leaf's shape optimizes light capture, water runoff, and structural integrity simultaneously. In nature, form follows function. It isn't just a design principle, it's reality.
Your Challenge Today
Starting with your design's core function, find an example in nature that solves a similar function. Need to filter? Look at kidneys, wetlands, or baleen. Need to distribute load? Look at tree branches, bone structure, or spider webs.
What can you learn from how nature shaped this form to serve this function? Sketch the natural form next to your current design. What shifts when you compare them?
If you feel like sharing today’s work, please use this hashtag: #LCDChallenge