Design Ecosystem

The Design Museum

Behind everything we own, every service we use, lies a complex web of connections between different groups, individuals and businesses.

The Design Museum was supporting five research fellows who were studying how we could make these ‘design ecosystems’ more sustainable, circular and low-waste.

Our job was to help each of them distill their findings into a single memorable visualization.

The process began with a face-to-face workshop at the Design Museum. It was a chance to meet the fellows and chisel their ideas down into snappy concepts that we could refer back to as we continued through the design process.

Then we worked with the fellows individually. By immersing ourselves in each topic, we could find the right visual device for each one – a sunburst diagram for a sustainably-circular cosmetics industry or an illustrated infographic comparing different ways the UK could grow construction timber.

The final graphics offered accessible visual entry points into this vital research. Each fellow’s report is now helping show companies, policy-makers and other researchers how altering the way we design our products and services will pave the path towards the UK’s net-zero targets.

A screenshot of one of the graphics we produced for the fellows. It's titled mosaic landscapes and uses an isometric style to recreate different UK landscapes under different forestry practices.
Senior Data Journalist Sam and a researcher are seated at a table in a brightly lit room. The researcher is gesturing with their hands and appears to be explaining their project ideas to Sam, who is attentively listening.
Our Creative Director Duncan Swain sits at a table in front of two researchers. He has one hand raised and his mouth open as he explains how the researchers can turn their ideas into concepts. The two researchers are sat closer to the camera, facing away from it and towards Duncan as they listen.
Our Managing Partner Rebecca is looking at a laptop screen as one of the Design Museum fellows talks her through his ideas for visualising his project. He is gesturing towards the laptop screen as Rebecca leans in to see the content he's talking her through.
Data Journalist Harry is seated between two researchers at a table in a brightly lit room. The researcher to Harry's right and Harry are both looking towards the left, where the third researcher is gesturing and appears to be explaining her project ideas to them.