Design for Change

Creative action for social and sustainable impact

We need everything and everyone to take action on the climate emergency and social justice challenges humankind faces today. Designers too have many contributions to make, and we are offering one here: a platform for those who want to create meaningful change using the power of design for social and sustainable impact. Based on more than ten years of experience with empowering change through design around the world, What Design Can Do has created this resource. A deep dive in the archives of the design challenges it ran resulted in what you can find here: actionable knowledge.

Designing a challenge
Design is more than just making things pretty. Good design is a way to help people navigate the world and give them the power to make informed decisions. It's important to realize that almost everything around us is designed – the good as well as the bad. And with that design has a role to play in fixing the problems that the world is facing. What Design Can Do was born out of a desire not only to create a podium where designers could discuss ways to address environmental and social issues, but also to enable concrete action and the further development of design innovations. WDCD's live events were created for the exchange of ideas and to feed designers with inspiration, whereas WDCD's challenge programmes provide creatives with the opportunity, connections, resources, skills, and funding needed to pilot, test, and scale new ideas.
- What is design?
- What is a Design Challenge?
Exploring and scoping
Finding the right theme is where change begins. Big issues like climate change or social justice are too vast to tackle all at once. A design challenge narrows the focus, zeroing in on where design can add real value. It’s about balancing urgency with feasibility, setting goals that bring people together and shape every decision that follows. Rigorous research is key to this. By grounding the work in real-world contexts and diverse perspectives, teams can identify areas in which design’s contribution can be most impactful. The result: a focused, relevant design challenge, and ultimately tangible solutions with sustainable impact.
Creating a narrative
A well-crafted narrative is essential for translating complex issues like climate change or social inequity into a clear story and plays a vital role in building momentum, inspiring action and attracting support. It positions design as a tool for systemic change and helps audiences understand what’s at stake and how they can engage. A good story does not simply describe a problem, it invites people into a solution. It sparks curiosity, fosters trust, and offers a tangible glimpse of a better future. How you tell your story, through words, visuals, and tone, shapes who listens, who joins in, and how far the impact can reach.
Sharing the story
Communications and campaigning efforts must create awareness of the climate or social topic you are working in. This involves sharing your story about that topic in the most accessible ways possible. Your role becomes like a bridge between those working within your topic space (e.g. academia, policy, science) and the general public – a role that designers often take. Ultimately, your communication strategy should help enhance understanding of the critical intersection between design and pressing global challenges, and how to act on the issues, perspectives and opportunities you share.
Collaborating with partners
Driving environmental and social change is never a solo act. It happens when people come together across disciplines, geographies, and communities to shape ideas and make them happen. Collaboration defines how teams are built, how partnerships grow, and how projects move from concept to impact. It can mean aligning internally, co-creating with local communities, bridging borders, or drawing on expertise far beyond design. Whatever the context, effective collaboration depends on trust, open communication, shared purpose, and mutual support. With these principles in place, design doesn’t just imagine change, it helps drive it.
Finding funding
Financing is a critical part of bringing projects to life. Whether you're launching a new initiative or scaling an existing one, securing the right kind of financial support can determine reach and long-term impact. Funding climate- and socially-driven design projects can be challenging, but also rewarding as success also means others believe in the mission of the work. Seeing funding opportunities as avenues for network-building can help strengthen this essential part of the work.
Measuring impact
In the field of social innovation and social engineering, impact refers to the meaningful and measurable change that an initiative creates in pursuit of a sustainable, inclusive, just, and safe world. Measuring impact is not only about counting results but about understanding how actions contribute to broader systemic transformation. For organisations that use design as a problem-solving force, impact is reflected in how effectively creative professionals are empowered to contribute to societal challenges. The ultimate impact is defined by the success of these designers and innovators in reaching their own goals and by how their work influences communities, industries, and systems at large.
- IMPACT ASSESMENTS
- Developing Knowledge Products
About
Since 2011, What Design Can Do (WDCD) has been mobilising the global creative community to confront some of the world’s most urgent societal and environmental issues. Design and creativity are indispensable for solving the complex problems of our time, yet they often remain underutilised. WDCD’s mission is to show how design can empower communities, accelerate impact initiatives, and foster collective action through design challenges and events.

Design for Change

Creative action for social and sustainable impact

Designing a challenge

Exploring and scoping

Creating a narrative

Sharing the story

Collaborating with partners

Finding funding

Measuring impact

About