I help design and innovation leaders work out what to do next when the way forward isn't clear.

You have good people and good intentions behind your project, but something isn't working as expected, and you can't quite see why or what to do next.

I work with universities, innovation hubs, public-sector organisations and mission-driven businesses on place-based action across climate, health and social innovation.I help you step back and understand what's happening - researching the context, connecting perspectives, testing assumptions and looking beyond the usual lens.Then we work out what will move things forward.

How I work

I look for what's sitting just outside the field of view, then design the connection.

When something isn't working as expected or the next step isn't obvious, I don't assume we already know why or what the answer should be. I help you step back, understand the wider situation, and look beyond the current scope to see what needs to be brought into the frame.That might involve researching the local context, talking to people involved, reviewing existing research or data, mapping different perspectives, testing assumptions, or bringing in a different disciplinary lens. The response emerges from what we find.Once we understand the situation more clearly, we design the appropriate response together - whether that's further research, a learning programme, curriculum intervention, workshop, framework, toolkit, coaching or something else.It's useful when...

  • The people you're trying to engage aren't responding as expected.

  • Everyone seems to have a different idea of the problem.

  • Your research isn't translating into action.

  • Your team is going round in circles about what to do next.

  • A promising project has stalled, or the original plan no longer fits what you're finding out.

  • You suspect something important is missing, but can't yet see what it is.

I can come in at different points - while a challenge is still taking shape to avoid a false start; when something isn't working as expected and needs course-correcting; or when a project has stalled and needs an independent review.

1. Diagnose
Look beyond the field of view

I bring together research, systems thinking, design research, stakeholder insight, learning and creative practice to investigate the situation from different angles.

2. Design
Build the connection

Once the picture is clearer, I draw on the most appropriate tools and work with you to develop the next step according to what the situation requires.

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 & Managing Director, Lumsden Design

Project snapshots

Different challenges, different responses, but the same starting point: connecting perspectives.

Here are some brief examples of how I’ve connected perspectives to shape learning, engagement and strategic interventions in practice. Contact me to discuss them or other examples.

Connecting city stakeholders through Doughnut Economics education

University of Bath · UK · Economic Development

Context Interest in Doughnut Economics was growing across Bath, UK, but early attempts at engagement revealed tensions across sectors and groups.
Diagnosis It had been assumed that people in the same room would share the same perspective. People first needed opportunities to spend time together, hear different perspectives and develop a shared understanding of the framework before collaboration would be possible.
Intervention A multi-format learning programme - including a nine-week readalong, 24 bespoke workshops, a public lecture, an urban photo walk and an online community.
Outcome The programme created shared spaces for participants to learn, question and discuss the topic, contributing to greater consensus around a previously divisive approach to social and environmental priorities.

Connecting young people's priorities with climate action

Design Council · UK · Climate Action

Context Essex County Council was developing a Youth Climate Ambassador Network, but early research suggested limited interest in climate action among students.
Diagnosis Climate was naturally the priority of the council climate team, but not necessarily the priority of young people. The council team needed to understand what mattered to the young people and where their priorities connected with climate action.
Intervention Participatory research & co-design - a visioning workshop designed to surface students’ own priorities, explore their thoughts on climate action, and translate the findings into themes for engagement.
Outcome Ten student-led themes emerged from the workshop - from Circular Communities to Future of Work - giving the council evidence-based priorities for youth climate engagement alongside a reusable workshop design.

Connecting sustainability with existing design capabilities

Lumsden Design · International · Regenerative Enterprise

Context An international interior design practice wanted to respond more confidently to growing expectations around social and environmental impact.
Diagnosis The practice had learned about sustainability through an operations-focused 'eco' lens. As a result, they didn't see the connections between sustainability and their existing strengths across design, materials, communication, place and social value.
Intervention Leadership consultancy & participatory education - conversations with leadership followed by a team workshop to surface existing knowledge, challenge assumptions, build shared understanding and identify connections to existing capabilities.
Outcome Sustainability became an untapped creative opportunity, revealing specific areas to research and strengthen for positive impact and providing a stronger basis for future development.

Connecting sustainability with a luxury interiors curriculum

The Interior Design School · UK · Design Education

Context The school was receiving growing questions from prospective students about sustainability, but leadership wanted to understand how it genuinely connected to expectations within the luxury interiors market before deciding how to bring it into the curriculum.
Diagnosis The question wasn't about adding a sustainability module, but how the industry itself would evolve to operate within a local, circular and regenerative economy.
Intervention Curriculum research & opportunity-mapping - research into the future of the luxury interiors industry, bringing together sustainability principles, market expectations and the school's existing expertise.
Outcome Sustainability emerged as much closer to the school's existing interests and expertise than leadership had expected - far from an add-on agenda, but something that could future-proof its position - with clear directions for future curriculum and business development.

Find out more about the research that sits behind this work.
My design research practice explores how people, place and context can be better understood through contextual research, observation, data, creative methods and interdisciplinary thinking.

About

I bring together design, research, systems thinking and learning to explore a project's wider context.

I look past the stated problem to identify the underlying questions, assumptions and dynamics that may be shaping a project - then bring in the perspectives and tools needed to understand the situation more fully.Over the past fifteen years, I've worked across public, private and social innovation contexts, from global institutions to grassroots communities. My experience includes the World Health Organization, Design Council, University of Bath, local authorities, mission-driven businesses and community initiatives.My toolkit draws on design research, systems thinking, sustainable development, learning design, behavioural insight and creative practice. I don't use these as a fixed methodology; I draw on them according to what the situation requires.Before focusing on learning and research, I spent over a decade founding and leading an independent innovation and design practice, creating ways for people to engage with complex systems through products, spaces and public installations.I have an MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice (Distinction), alongside 15+ years of experience working across disciplines, sectors and audiences.

Independent research

Alongside client work, I develop two ongoing research projects exploring how people, place, meaning and understanding connect, and what needs to be noticed and understood before action.Civic Sketchbook
A creative ethnography practice exploring how photography, observation and visual research can capture the character of people and place.Pre-Collaborative City
A developing collection of research and learning resources exploring what needs to be understood before place-based collaboration can work.

Design research

I use design research to understand people, places and complex systems.

I bring different perspectives and forms of evidence together to reveal what needs to be understood before decisions are made.

My design research practice draws on contextual research, observation, qualitative and quantitative evidence, systems thinking, behavioural insight and creative methods. Sometimes I use established methods; sometimes I adapt or develop an approach for the particular situation, drawing on practice across design, sustainable development, public health, learning and place.

Selected research practice

Developing a hyperlocal research method

MSc Sustainable Development in Practice · UWE Bristol

I designed, prototyped, tested and applied an interdisciplinary research method and framework connecting hyperlocal social, environmental and economic needs in areas of urban inequality. Focusing on a brownfield site in Redcliffe, Bristol, I compiled existing qualitative and quantitative research, undertook observational field research and synthesised the findings through a needs-based framework from behavioural research. From this, I produced six guiding principles for sustainable development, prioritised against global, national and local policy and relevant industry standards.Entitled Bridge to Belonging, my method was developed during my Sustainability in the Built Environment module, which I completed with a mark of 83%.“An outstanding piece of work.”
Professor Danielle Sinnett, Director, Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, UWE BristolThis subsequently led me to develop a CPD learning series on the method, and informed my work with the Design Council and London Borough of Hounslow.Research methods: interdisciplinary contextual research · qualitative and quantitative evidence synthesis · observational field research · needs-based framework development

Research-led course correction

Design Council · London Borough of Hounslow · Climate action

Hounslow's Net Zero team entered the Design Council's 'Design, differently' programme with a proposal for a parklet intended to help create a 'climate-positive community'. I identified that the team had moved towards a solution without enough discovery research into the neighbourhood. I helped identify the research gaps, develop a research plan and initiate field research through a Ward Walk focused on experiencing the area from residents' perspectives.Observation revealed a gap between the proposed intervention and everyday realities: existing facilities weren't always being used, some public spaces felt inaccessible or unsafe, and one particularly underserved estate had effectively been outside the team's field of view.I introduced my hyperlocal research framework to help develop an interdisciplinary team and organise further desk and contextual research to inform an appropriate approach to engagement. Subsequent engagement with residents and through trusted local intermediaries revealed that safety, isolation and lack of trust were significant barriers to participation.The original parklet proposal was abandoned and the brief rewritten around a youth-centric community hub and council presence on the estate - addressing the conditions needed for longer-term community and climate action.Research contribution: identifying research gaps · research planning · observational field research · framework development · synthesis · supporting course correctionThis gives the eye a useful route through the case study:research gap → field research → overlooked context → framework → key insight → changed briefWhich is exactly the story you want an architecture/design research reader to see.

Finding a new lens in global health data

World Health Organization · Global · Public health

As a specialist consultant to the WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative, I was asked to explore whether the WHO Pictorial Health Warnings on Tobacco Products Database contained opportunities to broaden messaging to encourage smoking cessation.I analysed, categorised and coded 595 warnings and captions from 37+ countries, introducing Schwartz Theory of Basic Values as a behavioural research lens to examine how human motivations and cultural meaning were represented within a global policy framework. The analysis found that 96% of messages focused on adverse health effects, while values such as Hedonism, Achievement and Tradition - which can give behaviours cultural and social meaning - were minimally represented or absent. This contrasted sharply with tobacco industry messaging, which has historically used cultural meaning and human motivations to make smoking desirable.To explore what the global dataset could not show, I combined this analysis with secondary research, four semi-structured interviews with tobacco users and four composite personas. This brought individual motivations, cultural context and lived experience into the analysis, revealing examples of cessation messaging that connected quitting with family, identity, achievement, tradition and social belonging.Together, the research suggested opportunities to explore culture-specific cessation messaging alongside standardised global health communication, bringing local perspectives into a global policy environment. I presented the findings to WHO leadership and produced an initial visual summary for the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, contributing to implementation of WHO FCTC Articles 11 and 12.Research contribution: secondary research and data analysis · data categorisation and coding · behavioural values framework · semi-structured interviews · composite persona development · cross-disciplinary synthesis · visual communication · research recommendations

Civic Sketchbook

Independent practice · People & place

Civic Sketchbook is a creative ethnography method I developed to improve how we notice cities and understand their character and sense of place. I developed and tested the method across cities in the UK and Europe, and applied it most fully in Mouraria, Lisbon, using walking, observation and photography to explore what and who is already present in a place.Twenty prompts across ten lenses — including wildlife, colour, landscape, pattern and materials — guide the observation process. The resulting photographs are then reviewed through journalling, sketching, colour extraction, pattern and motif analysis, developing into visual research outputs including sketchbooks, moodboards, a printed journal and a pop-up exhibition.The method is interested in qualities of place that can easily sit outside conventional project briefs: character, stories, local knowledge, skills, natural environment and everyday experience. The aim is to bring these into conversations about design, hospitality, tourism and other place-based projects.Civic Sketchbook continues as an independent research project and Substack publication, exploring creative methods for noticing and understanding people and place.Research methods: creative ethnography · walking and observation · photographic research · visual analysis · reflective synthesis

Connecting research to design practice

Working across disciplines

I don't work from a single fixed methodology. I select and combine approaches according to the question and the context.

My research toolkit includes:

  • contextual and observational research

  • qualitative and quantitative evidence

  • interviews and stakeholder conversations

  • desk research and literature

  • behavioural and systems perspectives

  • visual research and creative ethnography

  • participatory workshops and co-design

  • analytical frameworks and mapping

  • synthesis, visualisation and research communication

What connects the work is a willingness to ask: What are we not seeing yet - and what difference might it make if we did?