Building Bridges Between Design, Impact and Access
Reflecting on Progress, Confronting Challenges, and Charting a Path Towards Greater Access
The past few months have been quite the journey. We’ve been working on some exciting projects and preparing for moments on global stages that we’re genuinely buzzing about. But we’ve also been having some really honest conversations about access, resources, and who gets to benefit from quality design support in the impact space.
What’s come from all this reflection? A clearer sense of where we’re heading. We’ve been asking ourselves how we ensure that vital work on the ground doesn’t go unsupported simply because budgets are tight. The answer? We’re experimenting with new ways of working, refining what we offer, and building towards something that delivers real value at scale. Here’s what’s been happening and where we’re going.
Short on time? Here’s the nutshell…
🌍 We’re expanding climate action projects with CPI launching at COP this November, whilst Design Declares made waves at World Design Congress with our Sphere of Action framework
💭 Reduced capacity and funding shifts have sparked important conversations about making quality design accessible to progressive brands with limited resources
🔧 We’re refining our Foundations offering and leaning on our expert network to deliver value where it’s needed most, with a new project supporting Nature’s Rights already underway
🎤 Abb-d’s speaking at INTL Glasgow and with Readymag in the coming months, plus we’re celebrating 10 years of B Corps with a focus on JEDI principles and developing a new initiative to deliver free creative support at scale
Taking Climate Action to New Places
Our partnership with CPI keeps growing, and we’re thrilled about two projects launching at COP this November.
First up, we’re expanding the Climate Finance Reform Compass into Brazil, helping the financial sector stay informed and drive action towards their 2030 commitments. Second, we’re building a new directory for the Green Guarantees Group, connecting sustainable initiatives with the right guarantees to fund their work. Case studies for both will follow later this year.
On the team front, our superstar ops manager Holly has gone on maternity leave and we’ve welcomed the amazing Iona into the team as Account Manager. She’s already making brilliant contributions!
Design Declares had a fantastic session at World Design Congress too, hosting an interactive workshop for 60 delegates using Driftime’s Sphere of Action framework and the new D! Climate Action Cards. The cards were sold exclusively at WDC, but if you’re after a deck, head over to the Material Matters store.
All this momentum’s been brilliant, though it’s also brought some capacity challenges that have got us thinking differently about how we work.
The Conversations We’ve Been Having
With a smaller team, some of our internal developments have naturally slowed. Things such as our annual Impact Report, or our industry observations report Beyond Trends, even new initiatives we’ll be announcing soon are all taking a bit longer than we’d hoped.
But the more significant conversation has been about access to design. We’ve been hearing from many progressive brands who’ve seen their resources shift, particularly those who depended on pools like USAID. It’s pushed us to think hard about how we continue supporting impact work without anyone having to scale down their ambitions.
These conversations revealed something we couldn’t ignore. Quality design often remains out of reach for organisations with limited resources. We’re absolutely here for those engagements with enterprises doing brilliant work at scale, but we kept coming back to a question. What about the progressive brands doing vital, necessary work on the ground with tighter budgets?
So we asked ourselves how we support that vital work whilst ensuring we can still support our team. The answer’s been about getting creative with how we deliver value.
Finding New Ways to Show Up
Where capacity’s been stretched, we’ve leaned on our extended network of experts, bringing in support exactly where it’s needed. It’s reminded us how much strength there is in working collaboratively.
We’ve launched our Foundations offering and we’re constantly refining it based on what we’re learning. It’s designed specifically for organisations with limited resources who still need quality design support. But here’s where we need your help. If you’re in the impact space, we’d genuinely love to hear what you think. Do these Foundations meet your needs? Is it clear enough? Have we overlooked anything?
Your feedback genuinely shapes how we deliver support where it matters most. We’re seeing signs of it’s impact, and we’ve just started a new project with Nature’s Rights through our Foundations, supporting their mission to bring the legal rights of nature equal to human and economic rights.
This momentum’s carrying through into some exciting conversations and events coming up.
What’s Coming Next
Abb-d Taiyo’s got a busy month ahead. He’ll be back in Glasgow discussing sustainable design on behalf of both Driftime and Design Declares during a panel at INTL, and he’ll be speaking in an online talk with Readymag about the art of impact reports.
We’re also celebrating 10 years of B Corps in November, as part of Abb-d’s role as B Local co-chair for the south coast. We’ll be focusing on JEDI principles during an interactive session, plus throwing a proper party to mark a decade of ‘Business for Good’.
The Foundations offering is taking shape. We’ve delivered a few projects and seen how partners have benefited from the streamlined approach, and we’re continuing to refine it with each engagement.
And here’s the thing we’re most excited about. We’re developing a new initiative to deliver value at greater scale, for those needing creative support, completely free. We’re not quite ready to share details yet, but watch this space.
The thread connecting everything? We’re working to bridge the gap between insight and access, ensuring meaningful design support reaches the progressive brands driving change, regardless of budget size.
More soon,
The Drifteam
Monthly picks from the Drifteam…
🚀 Abb-d relived his R-Type nostalgia with Dark Star Fury, an interactive browser game reminiscent of the 2D space shooter.
🖍️ Iona explored the weird and wonderful renders of Tom Curtis, bringing children’s drawings to life in sometimes disturbing ways.
🛝 Olivia played around with the Minimalier by Studio Feixen, taking random drawings to even more random places.
😸 Kenny wandered the neon streets of SMSY, Samual Honigstein’s 90’s neo tokyo influenced interactive website.
🌐 Ed explored Kagi Small Web, a project dedicated to humanising the web by surfacing the people behind the posts and stories that zip by.