Design for Change: Transforming Your Business Through Strategic Design

We live in a time where businesses are under pressure to do more than just maximise profits, whether that means addressing sustainability, improving customer relationships and experiences, or fostering meaningful social impact. Design for Change provides a strategic way forward to help all organisations and businesses find their way to put people, purpose and progress at the heart of design and digital innovation.

Disrupt feels like the word of the moment. Reimagine markets, flip audience segments, launch daring campaigns…and the pace of change just keeps accelerating. Once it was enough to spot the trend and latch onto it; adopt the latest technology, join the new platform, copy the playbooks of the biggest brands. This is no longer enough. Now we have to grapple with concepts like authenticity, choose the right platforms to reach the right audience, and even question if we want human or AI generated content. Above all, we have to ensure that when (not if) it all changes tomorrow, we’re not left standing in everyone else’s dust.

This is where Design for Change makes the difference. With over 25 years’ experience helping some of the world’s leading brands and change-makers to spread their messages and support their communities, we know what it takes to reach your goals. But Design for Change is more than just a company, it’s an entire mindset that can help your organisation make a lasting impact and become the change you want to see in the world.
So, now for the real question: is your business ready to lead the change, or will it be forced to follow?

What is Design for Change?

Unlike traditional design, which often prioritises aesthetics or functionality, Design for Change is about using design as a force for transformation, whether in business, society, or the environment. It’s a mindset and a movement. It’s not about flashy rebrands or superficial tweaks but rather designing solutions that are scalable, sustainable, and genuinely meaningful. Through Design for Change, we make real things work better for real people, in real-world contexts, with lasting impact.

Understanding why Design for Change matters is one thing. Putting it into action is where the real opportunities are found. Above all else, Design for Change is strategic. It focuses on futures. Yes, futures. We consider the impacts and consequences of a myriad of decisions to ensure the transformation and changes you aim to make are impactful, commercially viable, and scalable. 

In practice that includes considerations that are:

• Purpose-driven – solving real problems with long-term impact.
• Human-centred – designing with people, not just for them.
• Bottom-up, not just top-down – engaging the individuals and communities at the heart of your organisation to drive transformation.
• Action-oriented – small and big wins that build momentum and inspire change.
• Built for scale – solutions that can evolve over time in changing landscapes.
• Cross-disciplinary and adaptable – applicable across industries, sectors, and systems.

Design for Change isn’t a finish line – it’s a commitment to always be learning, improving, and reimagining what’s possible. We know this because we’ve lived it.

Our own journey to change

As a business we’ve existed since 1999, but Design for Change as a brand itself has only recently come to fruition. Why? Simply put, because we decided it was finally time to put a proper name to something we’ve been doing from the beginning. 

Our sister-brand Burnthebook came from one very simple idea: burn the rule book. Disruption and change have been part of our DNA from day one, so it’s no surprise we quickly attracted clients in other businesses and organisations who shared this mindset. From raising awareness of increasingly important issues surrounding global warming and environmental collapse, to helping vulnerable and marginalised communities find empowerment and recognition, our clients and projects have been varied. However, they all have one thing in common: the importance of meaningful and lasting change. 

Through choosing to partner with us, brands under our care have grown and evolved in a multitude of ways. Commercial success and key business goals have been achieved through new platforms and diversified audiences. Adaptability and scalability have been thoughtfully and methodically built into every solution, allowing room for growth and manoeuvrability in ever-changing commercial, social and political environments. We have helped make all sorts of positive change not just possible but accessible, and throughout it all, we have never compromised on what we see as our duty to people and planet.  

Just over 25 years later, we’ve finally put a name to this specialism of ours. While Burnthebook still thrives in its own space, Design for Change has been created to help potential clients understand more directly the purpose and value we can bring to their next project. Our portfolio is a testament to our success, but we firmly practice what we preach too. Sustainability is embedded into the systems we use, from green hosting to printing practices designed to renew and not strip our planet. We annually pledge to match a percentage of our turnover in CSR. Our current step on our continuing journey is to become fully B-Corp certified – watch this space. 

We believe that every organisation has the capability for change and delivering lasting social & environmental impact. You don’t have to be a charity or a not-for-profit. Your mission doesn’t have to be to change the entire world. Every organisation has the capability to deliver a product or service that brings change for the better, to your own clients, to your own communities and partners, or to your own ecosystem. How? It all starts with a purpose. 

Finding your purpose

We know from our own journey and from plenty of experience supporting our clients that the root of creating genuine, sustainable and meaningful change is purpose. Your purpose is what drives you, what gives you (and the rest of your team) the momentum to keeping pushing on towards your goals. It is the seed of your growth, whatever that word means and represents to you and your organisation. 

Purpose defines a brand, but it also lies beneath every layer of every project, product or service. The more solid and well-defined the purpose, typically the more successful the endeavour. If you don’t know why you’re doing something, your strategy will be directionless. You will waste time and money, and it’s more than likely your staff and partners will lose all motivation and enthusiasm in the process. The project will fail. Worst-case, the whole business will fold alongside it. 

Sadly, there are many agencies out there who will gladly let things flounder while the money comes rolling in. Or they will keep saying yes and catering to your every whim without properly considering the consequences. This is not what we do. This is not who we are. Instead, helping you find your purpose and deliver on a thought-out, concrete strategy is where Design for Change excels. 

No matter the client or the brief, every project we undertake begins with the same thing: scoping. Scoping is a pretty broad term for everything included here; you can expect meetings, maybe a survey or questionnaire or two, plenty of emails containing questions and probably a few moments of radio silence while we mull everything over and use our expertise to determine what’s next. Finally, we’ll provide detailed documentation that confirms every aspect of the project in writing, ready for sign-off with all stakeholders.

Most organisations don’t lack ideas. Instead, they lack alignment, structure, and momentum. We’ll dive into the very core of your organisation, not just the project brief, and ask the right questions you need to identify your driving purpose. Most importantly, we ensure this purpose is felt and agreed by everyone, giving you full alignment on a project from day one. This allows us to define a solid and aligned core strategy, which ultimately the entire scope of the project can then be designed around. If you ask us to do or include something in the project, we might not automatically say yes. We will question and challenge you. Our aim is to make sure even the smallest decision is bullet-proof. It’s the key to your success and ours.

Even the clients we’ve partnered with from the beginning still receive this treatment. We never take for granted that we know what you want or assume your goals and purpose will remain the same. Take the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). We’ve worked with AMAP almost since the beginning. In that time their overall mission has been pretty constant – to monitor, document and assess the status of the Arctic region – but as the world around them has changed, their priorities and ways of working have all shifted too. Data, and how that is presented and shared with increasingly diverse audiences, becomes more and more important each year. The external impacts of geopolitics, war, global warming and even Covid-19 have almost quite literally shaken foundations. In many of these cases, change has been forced upon us, but the agility that comes hand-in-hand with Design for Change thinking has allowed us to weather these storms together. Today we are more flexible and more ready for action than ever.  

Design for Change is the bridge between creativity and commercial success. We integrate purposeful business strategy with design-led thinking to drive profitability, visibility and accessibility. Yet even in the most successful projects, there are more than just tangible benefits.  

The benefits

Design for Change is about delivering digital and design experiences that change our world for the better. It’s a nice sounding statement, but what does it actually mean?

In all honesty, the concept is intentionally vague. We believe small changes lead to big change. If you are helping make something better for someone, then you’re helping us all collectively head in the right direction. This can stretch from adopting green and sustainable platforms and practices, to developing initiatives that support communities inside or outside of your own organisation to develop and flourish.  

We know that when you’re deep in the day-to-day, it’s easy to lose sight of this bigger picture. External facilitation can provide the clarity, structure, and fresh perspective needed to move forward with confidence. The ripple effect this has is underestimated. The way people interact with products, services, and systems isn’t random, but shaped by design. When done well, design has the power to influence behaviour, drive engagement, and create meaningful change for businesses and society alike.

Take feedback loops, persuasive technology, and gamification. They may sound like industry jargon, but they’re far more than that. These are genuine tools that shape decision-making, influence brand interactions, and build lasting habits.

Think about how Duolingo uses daily streaks and instant feedback to keep users learning consistently. Or how Apple’s screen time notifications gently nudge users toward more mindful tech use. Even Patagonia’s worn wear program uses subtle behavioural nudges and storytelling to encourage more sustainable consumer habits. 

Ultimately any organisation that adopts Design for Change can expect to experience real value in any of the following areas:

• Enhanced innovation: design helps reframe problems and drive creative solutions.
• A future-proofed business: we help companies stay ahead of tech, culture, and market shifts.
• Improved customer experience: seamless, intuitive, and human experiences boost loyalty.
• Business growth: design-led companies innovate faster and grow stronger.
• Agility and adaptability: Design for Change supports rapid adaptation across business functions.
• Contribution to the bigger picture: design-led strategy brings fresh insight to climate, ethics, and equity challenges.
• Stronger organisational culture: a Design for Change mindset builds purpose, collaboration, and resilience with all involved.

How we can help you embrace change

The Design for Change approach isn’t just about processes or methodologies; it’s about mindset. And let’s be honest, that’s where most organisations struggle.

If you’re smaller and more agile with fewer stakeholders, making the shift is easier. Decisions happen quickly, there’s less red tape, and cultural change can take root faster. For larger, more established organisations the challenge is real. The bigger you are, the harder it is to move beyond the “design by committee” approach and get everyone aligned. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but it does require a somewhat enhanced level of commitment.

Our clients sit across the whole spectrum of size and type. While it’s true that one size does not fit all when it comes to solutions, our processes and methodologies have been designed and refined through decades of experience to allow any client or partner the opportunity to make impactful changes. By working together, we can design, implement and establish the changes needed to help you:

• Shift from short-term thinking to long-term impact.
• Align design efforts with real business and societal needs.
• Overcome resistance by giving stakeholders a shared vision.
• Make decisions that balance profitability with sustainability and ethics.

The reality is that organisations that don’t evolve won’t just struggle, they’ll become irrelevant. Today, customers, employees and investors are all demanding more. Those that fail to shift their mindset will find themselves playing catch-up to others that have already embraced Design for Change.

Some change can be instantaneous. Other change, and often some of the most impactful, can take valuable time to plan, embed and flourish. Whatever the size or shape of your next project, let us partner with you to see it through. Embrace the principles of Design for Change and transform challenges into opportunities that will drive you towards a sustainable and successful future.