What people say

"She pushed participants to think deeper about the work they were aiming to deliver, and ultimately created a more meaningful process. This, in turn, led to longer-lasting outcomes."

— Emily Whyman, Senior Programme Manager, Design Council

"Rigorously creative, in that she combines systems thinking and critical thinking with the spontaneity needed for new ideas. Not many people can do this."

— Darren Evans, Strategic Designer and Design Council Expert

"She approaches complex challenges with care and intellectual rigor, always seeking to understand the deeper dynamics at play. At the same time, she brings real joy and warmth to a team."

— Dr Hebe Gouda, Project Officer, World Health Organization

"You have a lovely ability to take people with you. It's a rare talent."

— Simon Clark, Co-Founder, Lumsden Design

Uncovering a new learning opportunity in global health messaging
World Health Organization · Global · Public Health

Problem
Feedback on WHO's graphic health warnings on cigarette packets suggested audiences were becoming desensitised to the framing, which focused heavily on the adverse health effects of smoking. The organisation wanted to explore what else might be possible.Gap
The challenge wasn't simply to identify which messages worked or didn't work. It was to understand what might be missing from existing messaging - particularly whether other human motivations were being overlooked.Intervention: A new analytical lens and capacity-building framework
I analysed 574 graphic health warnings from 37+ countries using Schwartz's Theory of Universal Human Values, revealing underused motivational themes. I then translated the findings into visual analysis, narrative insight and practical tools for WHO programme leaders and country-level practitioners.Outcome
The findings contributed to the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, and gave the WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative an additional evidence-based way to explore health communication and potential capacity-building across countries.

Finding sustainability's place inside a luxury interiors curriculum
The Interior Design School · UK · Education

Problem
The school was receiving growing questions from students about sustainability, but leadership wanted to understand how it genuinely connected to the market expectation of luxury interiors before deciding how to bring it into the curriculum.Gap
The question wasn't whether sustainability should be taught, but how it naturally connected with the school's existing strengths, identity and expertise.Intervention: Curriculum and opportunity mapping
I mapped the school's strengths against changing industry expectations and the wider sustainability landscape, identifying opportunities across circular sourcing and craft, wellbeing and responsible enterprise, alongside possible delivery formats including masterclasses, accreditation, short courses and online learning.Outcome
Sustainability emerged as much closer to the school's existing interests and expertise than leadership had expected - something that could strengthen its identity rather than become an add-on agenda - with clear directions for future curriculum and business development.

From a parklet to a more connected community response
Design Council / Hounslow Borough Council · UK · Climate

Problem
Hounslow Borough Council's Net Zero team wanted to strengthen community cohesion and tackle climate change in one of the borough's most deprived areas. An early in-house idea was a parklet, focused on air quality, transport and public space, but there were questions about whether or not it would be used.Gap
The project was approaching the problem primarily through a climate and public space lens, while different council teams were working in silos. There was a need to understand the wider context - including what was preventing residents from participating in community life in the first place - before deciding what intervention would actually be useful.Intervention: Design research plan and implementation support
Working with Design Council colleagues, I guided the team through field research, a ward walk and collaborative workshops. We mapped resident needs across safety, shelter, health, education and belonging, then investigated what we were seeing. This revealed deeper issues around safety, crime, financial insecurity, limited access to green space and distrust of the council. The original parklet idea was dropped in favour of exploring a community hub and trusted council presence.Outcome
The project shifted from designing a parklet to reframing the problem itself. The team developed a more evidence-based direction rooted in equity, care and co-benefits, with stronger alignment across council departments. Most importantly, the process helped prevent further investment in an intervention based on assumptions, and created a stronger brief for a response that could address social and environmental needs together.

From sustainability-as-limitation to sustainability-as-opportunity
Lumsden Design · UK · Creative Enterprise

Problem
Lumsden Design was facing growing expectations from its public sector clients and team to engage more confidently with social and environmental impact, but had only ever learned about sustainability through a reductive 'eco' lens.Gap
The practice had strengths across design, materials, communication, place and social value, but hadn't yet connected these to a broader understanding of sustainable development or what it could mean for the business.Intervention: Shared learning and strategic exploration
I mapped the team's existing knowledge and experience, then built a shared foundation around the broader principles of sustainable development. We used this broader lens to explore what was already present in the practice, what was missing, and where new opportunities might lie.Outcome
The team recognised that sustainability was much closer to their existing strengths and interests than they'd expected. What had initially felt like a constraint became an untapped creative opportunity, with specific areas to research and develop for positive impact and a stronger basis for communicating their value.

Establishing a shared starting-point for academics new to sustainable development
Atlantic Technological University · Ireland · Education

Problem
Business, finance and technology academics wanted to integrate sustainability into their teaching in response to student enquiries, but were starting from very different levels of knowledge of an unfamiliar field.Gap
Before introducing more specialist business and finance material, they needed a common foundation and shared language from which to understand how sustainable development connected to their own disciplines.Intervention: A four-part CPD programme
I adapted and delivered The Basics of Sustainable Futures, progressively moving from making sense of the field, through systems thinking and greenwashing, to identifying connections with participants' own disciplines and areas of influence.Outcome
The group developed a shared grounding in sustainable development and a clearer understanding of how the subject connected to their own fields, providing a stronger foundation for the more specialist curriculum development.

Building shared foundations for Doughnut Economics-inspired local policy
University of Bath · UK · Economic Development

Problem
Interest in Doughnut Economics was growing across research, policy and civil society in Bath, but engagement remained largely siloed, limiting opportunities for the participatory policy development required.Gap
Cross-city stakeholders needed ways to encounter, interpret and apply the framework together, despite very different levels of prior knowledge, professional interests and stakes in the outcome.Intervention: A varied local learning ecosystem
I designed and led a nine-week readalong, 24 workshops, a public lecture, an urban photo walk and an online community - creating multiple, low-pressure entry points through which people could build confidence and test the framework against their experience of Bath and each other.Outcome
The programme created a stronger shared foundation across sectors and enabled participants to develop their own locally grounded understanding of the relationship between social and environmental priorities - including around a long-standing local tension that participants independently reframed through the Doughnut lens.

Coaching six UK council and community teams through climate complexity
Design Council · UK · Climate

Problem
Six council, community and social enterprise teams were exploring local responses to climate change through design thinking, but faced uncertainty about how to apply the methods within complex social, environmental and economic systems.Gap
The design thinking methodology alone wasn't enough. They needed additional support applying what they were learning to their particular context - making sense of stakeholder insight, testing assumptions and knowing what needed further investigation before moving towards solutions.Intervention: Contextual coaching alongside programme enhancements
Over six months, I co-delivered workshops and expert site visits alongside structured one-to-one coaching, giving teams a space to test ideas, explore tensions, identify systemic barriers and deepen their discovery work. I supplemented the programme with systems thinking, futures thinking and behavioural frameworks where needed.Outcome
The six teams progressed through Discovery with greater clarity and confidence, strengthening their ability to anticipate obstacles, make decisions and collaborate across organisational boundaries. For Design Council, the work demonstrated how interdisciplinary coaching helps participants move from learning to applying it within their own context.

Supporting Essex County Council to understand what engages young people in climate action
Design Council / Essex County Council · UK · Climate

Problem
Essex County Council was developing a Youth Climate Ambassador Network, but early research suggested that most students had low interest in climate action.Gap
The council needed to understand what young people actually cared about, rather than assuming that climate itself was the starting point for engagement.Intervention: A participatory futures and systems-thinking workshop
I co-designed and facilitated a session bringing 15-18 year olds and their teachers together to explore what a positive future for Essex might look like, then identify how those priorities connected to climate.Outcome
The workshop surfaced ten distinct, student-led themes - from Circular Communities to Future of Work - giving Essex County Council and the Climate Action Commission evidence-based priorities for youth engagement, alongside a workshop model that could be used more widely.

Making complex systems tangible through experiential design
100% Design / London Design Festival · UK · Design

Problem
Complex ideas around sustainability, food and health are difficult to understand through information alone, especially in an industry typically dominated by fast-moving trends.Gap
Audiences needed ways to encounter and experience forward-thinking ideas to discuss, rather than simply receive trends-led inspiration to adopt.Intervention: Experiential learning through public installations
I designed three creative, participatory experiences - Farm Kitchen, Maker Carousel and Mattergarden - bringing sustainability concepts to life for international industry professionals attending 100% Design.Outcome
The installations reached 25,000+ international industry professionals, creating accessible, hands-on ways for audiences to encounter and discuss emerging ideas around sustainability, circular design, and the future of food and the built environment.

Pre-Collaborative City

The work we need to do before we bring everyone into the room.

Place-based collaborations often begin by bringing people together, only to find that people arrive with different understandings of the situation they are trying to change.When those differences remain unexplored, conversations can become debates about positions rather than opportunities to build shared understanding.The most important work may happen before collaboration begins.