International audienceSERENADE is a French project which aims to develop and apply the “safer by design” process to create safer nano-products. It achieves this goal by combining knowledge and scientific approaches from a range of disciplines towards this common goal. This tutorial review presents the conceptual approach to “Safer by Design” and provides several examples of case studies primarily for TiO2 (anatase) present in paints and cements to demonstrate how the approach can inform design decisions. Particular attention is paid to chronic low dose exposure scenarios