Chris Bangle, the former BMW Chief of Design who served from 1992 to 2009, is proposing a revolutionary approach to product design that could address both unemployment challenges and environmental concerns. The American automotive designer, who now runs Chris Bangle Associates in Northern Italy, argues that designers must think beyond a product's initial purpose and plan for what he calls its "Second Existence" - a concept that involves upcycling products by reusing their parts rather than breaking them down into raw materials.

Bangle's theory emerged from his participation in a German government event in Potsdam focused on the coexistence between technology and humanity. Concerned about mass unemployment as automation replaces factory jobs, Bangle identified disassembly for upcycling as work that is both imprecise and unpredictable - characteristics that make it less likely to be automated. "It's taking stuff apart," Bangle explained during a recent interview. "The trick would be: How do you get these guys paid well enough to do this?"

The designer's approach involves creating an economic framework similar to the zero emission credits that kept Tesla alive in its early years. Just as traditional automakers like BMW and Mercedes paid Tesla for credits to avoid government fines, Bangle suggests that companies producing items like cell phones should be required to buy credits from operations that employ people to disassemble products and reassemble them into new items. This system would provide economic incentives without requiring direct government spending.

Central to Bangle's vision is the use of artificial intelligence to identify compatible parts and design connecting components, while rapid manufacturing creates the interstitial pieces needed to combine different elements. "This type of design philosophy could never exist 50 years ago, because we didn't have a means to put these things together," he noted. The concept requires designers to think beyond the immediate product to consider what it might become next - a fundamental shift in design philosophy.

The aesthetic implications of this approach are significant. Products created through Second Existence design won't have the clean, machine-made appearance that has dominated modern design. Instead, they'll embody what Bangle calls "character" - imperfections and deviations from norms that make products memorable and emotionally engaging. "We have been convinced by Modernism to like what machines like to make," Bangle observed. "We've got to reverse this trend if we want to keep people viable."

Bangle believes luxury brands will be the first to adopt this approach because they already have "one foot in art" and can create the cultural pull necessary for widespread acceptance. Once it becomes established that refusing to embrace this new aesthetic aligns you with "the bad guys," people will accept products that prioritize sustainability and employment over traditional beauty standards.

Currently working on animation projects alongside his design consultancy, Bangle sees parallels between storytelling and his Second Existence concept. Both require building narratives that connect with people emotionally. "Creativity will take a whole new vision," he explained. "Instead of creativity being about what is the slickest, prettiest shape I can make, it's got to be: how do I build a story into it?"

The designer's childhood connection to materials - growing up surrounded by wood through his father's industrial sales work - informs his belief that materials carry emotional weight and meaning beyond their functional properties. This understanding drives his conviction that Second Existence design can create products that resonate with users despite their unconventional appearance.

Bangle's vision represents a comprehensive reimagining of design education, manufacturing processes, and consumer culture. By extending product lifecycles through strategic reuse rather than recycling, the approach could reduce raw material consumption while creating meaningful employment for displaced workers. As he continues developing these concepts through workshops and research at his Italian consultancy, Bangle sees Second Existence design as essential for maintaining human relevance in an increasingly automated world.