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Work with us

Design solutions to today’s biggest challenges.

Use design to unlock opportunities, solve complex challenges and grow capability. 

We work with organisations, sectors and places to use design effectively, demonstrate its value and embed it where it can have the greatest impact. 

Whether you want to drive good growth, strengthen decision-making or leverage the role of design across a whole system, we can help. 

Through our network of 250 Design Council Experts, we support partners in the UK and internationally to assess where design can be harnessed, apply it to real-world action, and build the skills, tools and confidence to use it well. 

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We've worked with

1,000 +
people from 70 organisations.

89 %
of participants felt that they had improved their design skills.

9 /10
said our Design Reviews built a smoother planning process.

Ways to work with us

Evaluate

We help understand how design is currently being used in your organisation, sector or system.

We identify where there are gaps, and where there is potential to do more including:  

  • Audit and reviews to assess design capability, maturity and practice. 
  • Research and insight into the role and value of design in your sector. 
  • Measurement and evaluation to understand impact across economic, social and environmental outcomes, as well as team culture and ways of working. 
  • Using the Design Council’s sector leading toolkits and frameworks.  

Innovate

We support innovation programmes that turn ambitious ideas into action.

Using our Systemic Design Framework and Framework for Innovation, we bring together partners, stakeholders and communities to:  

  • Develop a shared understanding of a complex challenge or opportunity.
  • Generate and test new ideas.
  • Move quickly from insight to action.
  • Ceate momentum for change and long-term impact.

Embed

We help place good quality design into the heart of sectors and organisations.

Using tailored toolkits, frameworks, principles and governance. 

  • Design Review bringing together our Experts to provide review and strategic advice on major housing and infrastructure developments 

  • Creating tailored design principles and policies to guide your organisation, sector or supply chain in adhering to good design 

  • Supporting Design Champions fulfilling their role to advocate for good quality design across an organisation 

Upskill

We help teams, leaders and partners build the confidence and capability to use design in their everyday work.

We support people to use design thinking and systemic design approaches, commission specialist design services more effectively, and make better decisions through the design and delivery process, including: 

 

Read our case study with Network Rail

International

We also work internationally to help cities, regions and countries strengthen their design capability and grow the impact of design in their economies and public services. 

As the first Design Council established in the world, we bring more than 80 years of experience in championing design, growing demand for it, and helping ensure that design delivers for people and planet. 

We can support partners internationally to: 

  • Understand and assess their Design Economy. 
  • Identify opportunities to grow the use and value of design. 
  • Explore how sectors or public services could make better use of design. 
  • Build capability through training, tools and frameworks. 
  • Shape missions or programmes inspired by approaches such as Skills for Planet. 

If you are looking to grow design capability, tackle a complex challenge or explore how design could create more value in your organisation, sector or place, we’d love to hear from you. 

[Get in touch to discuss your challenge or opportunity]

Impact

5,000
businesses supported (every £1 invested in design provides £20 in return).

1,000
unique development schemes created in local authorities and NGOs.

100 +
local councils supported, creating a new market for design in public sector innovation.

Partners

Testimonials

"I have a much greater appreciation of the council officers, contractors and LDA design after being part of the [community engagement] process."

Teignbridge local resident for Design Code Pathfinders programme

“We partnered with the Design Council to create a more inclusive ecosystem that can help solve London’s most pressing problems, both big and small, by leveraging the innovation that exists across the city. We now have a model for scaling up this way of working to build a more connected and inclusive city.”

Theo Blackwell MBE, Greater London Authority

“Participants consistently agreed that the course gave them the confidence to promote good design. We [plan to] expand it across the organisation and I’m excited to see the benefits over the coming years in our buildings and for our passengers.”

Anthony Dewar, Technical Head of Buildings and Architecture at Network Rail