Carra Santos
Designer, Researcher & Educator
I design creative research approaches to help people explore social, environmental and economic challenges more fully before developing ideas and solutions.
I work with teams connecting global challenges to local contexts, considering different needs, possibilities and perspectives so they can develop responses that relate to the people and places they're intended to serve.My work brings together design, research and creative learning, with an emphasis on early-stage research and discovery.
My work
I work across research projects, innovation programmes and education, using creative and interdisciplinary approaches to investigate questions, strengthen starting points, and involve more people in the process.This is often in response to:
Unexpected resistance to, or a lack of engagement with, proposals.
Unexplored territory beyond the team's immediate discipline or area of expertise.
Different perspectives, priorities or interests that are proving difficult to reconcile.
A proposed solution that hasn't yet been tested against the realities of people's lives.
A challenge that turns out to be more complex than initially anticipated.
My approach adapts to the question and context. I draw on research, observation, systems thinking and creative methods, choosing approaches that help people look beyond their initial assumptions and understand more of what's going on.
Selected experience
My work includes consultancy and collaborations with the World Health Organization, Design Council, University of Bath, local authorities, design practices, social enterprises and community-led initiatives.Across these projects, I design creative, engaging and context-specific ways for people to encounter unfamiliar ideas, investigate challenges from different perspectives, question assumptions and explore what they don't yet know.
Researching & reframing challenges
Bringing wider human motivations into public health communication
World Health Organization
Introducing values thinking into tobacco cessation communication, identifying more than ten opportunities for further research into country-specific, culturally relevant messaging that speaks to motivations beyond health, to inform the future development of graphic health warnings in line with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) guidelines.Reframing a climate action proposal through a deeper understanding of place
London Borough of Hounslow / Design Council
Coaching the Net Zero team to develop and implement a design research plan that tested a proposed climate intervention against local lived experience, ultimately reframing the challenge and informing a new brief for further exploration.Helping teams investigate challenges before deciding how to proceed
Design Council / 'Design, differently' programme
Coaching six council and community-led climate initiatives through design thinking, incorporating systems, values and futures thinking where relevant to help teams question assumptions, investigate local contexts and develop stronger, more grounded proposals.
"Carra brought insight, thoughtfulness, and a deep sense of curiosity to the work we did together at the WHO on tobacco control. 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 - Carra made a lasting impact on the work and on me personally."
— Dr Hebe Gouda, Project Officer, World Health Organization
Developing understanding through shared learning
Building shared understanding across different perspectives
University of Bath / Bath & North East Somerset Council
Designing a programme of workshops, public events and place-based activities to bring people with different backgrounds and priorities into sustained dialogue around Doughnut Economics, connecting social, environmental and economic concerns to develop a more joined-up understanding of local challenges.Connecting young people's aspirations with climate action
Essex County Council / Design Council
Shifting the Council's focus from telling young people what climate actions they should take to asking them about the climate-positive future they want to create, generating ten youth-led themes to inform the development of Essex's Student-Led Climate Ambassador Network.Connecting wider sustainability principles with design practice
Lumsden Design
Broadening an international design team's understanding of sustainability beyond material and environmental considerations, highlighting existing connections with social, cultural and economic wellbeing and identifying opportunities to build on these through their practice.
"Carra is a driven, intelligent and curious colleague - when working with us at the Design Council, she helped to deliver a complex project with a range of stakeholders. 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
Bringing sustainable development concepts to life through creative environments
Making visions of sustainable everyday life tangible
Farm Kitchen, 100% Design at London Design Festival
Creating a 272m² immersive environment that brought food growing, cooking, nature and social experience together, inviting visitors to experience an alternative vision of the future kitchen and consider how food production might become part of everyday domestic and community life.Creating opportunities for people to connect through shared activity
Maker Carousel, 100% Design at London Design Festival
Reimagining an 81m² makerspace initially focused on 3D printing as a shared environment for creative experimentation, bringing traditional craft, digital fabrication and emerging technologies together so visitors could try unfamiliar techniques, exchange ideas and make things together.
"A huge boost to the quality of design thinking at the show. Carra's approach to every project is in-depth, practical and passionate; working with her is always a very pleasurable experience and her ability to make things happen both creatively and practically is invaluable."
— William Knight, Director, Material Matters and Renew Consultancy; former Show Director, 100% Design
To discuss any of these projects in more detail, get in touch.
Independent research
Alongside commissioned work, I develop independent projects that explore people, places, ideas and the ways we understand the world around us.
Civic Sketchbook
An ongoing exploration of place through walking, photography and drawing, developing the habit of looking more closely and noticing the life already present in a place.
Pre-Collaborative City
Exploring the conditions for collaboration, through interdisciplinary thinking, resources and examples that prepare people for cross-sector engagement.
About
I began my career in design, developing future concepts and immersive environments shaped by an interest in the natural world, creativity and community, and alternatives to trend-driven consumption. Growing up in rural Northern Ireland gave me an early awareness of our relationship with nature and material culture.As my practice developed, I wanted to keep people and nature at the heart of future concepts, even as the field became increasingly shaped by technology. But much of my work was guided by intuition, and I wanted to build a stronger evidence base for the ideas behind it. This led me to study Sustainable Development in Practice at the University of the West of England, where I graduated with distinction in 2021.My subsequent work has brought together my background in design with analytical enquiry, social science and systems thinking. I've worked across public health, climate action, place-based development and design practice, using creative and participatory approaches to explore questions that cross disciplinary and sector boundaries.Alongside commissioned work, I continue to explore how a focus on cities can make interconnected social and environmental questions more tangible. This informs my independent research and the development of frameworks and resources for understanding place and the systems that shape it.
Working together
I'm interested in contributing to work in different ways: through a fractional role, a defined project, teaching or research collaboration, or one-to-one support.
One-to-one thinking space & mentoring
Dedicated time and a fresh perspective to explore a live work challenge, examine what's emerging and uncover perspectives and ways forward you might not yet have considered.
Project and programme work
Contributing to research projects and designing creative learning experiences that help teams investigate challenges, engage with perspectives beyond their own and develop a broader understanding of the issues they're addressing.
Educational resources
Developing resources for public sector and place-based design professionals who want to strengthen their design discovery skills, explore creative approaches and apply them in their own work.
"I would describe Carra as rigorously creative, in that she combines systems thinking and critical thinking with the spontaneity needed for new ideas. Not many people can do this. She questions everything and because she's also a terrific person, connects with people on many levels. It's an impressive combination of skills for change-making. Working with Carra definitely made me a better designer."
— Darren Evans, Strategic Designer and Design Council programme colleague
Contact
If you think my experience might be relevant to something you're working on, I'd be delighted to hear from you.
© Carra Santos | Profile photo by Catherine East