Purpose-driven design

With more designers and agencies adopting a position of purpose, it’s harder to stand out and truly demonstrate a unique creative angle. Abb-d Choudhury, founder of Driftime®, writes about why he chose to reposition his business and undergo a radical shift towards people and planet-focused outcomes. Here are some ideas and tips for those looking to instill design and organisational ethics in their companies.

In the wake of climate change, social injustice, and wanting to create a more equitable world, purpose-driven design practices are springing up everywhere. Designers want to add meaning to the work they do and boost impact. The challenge is, finding purpose can take patience and experience. Yet, in the world of creative saturation and competition, the term ‘purpose’ in itself can become contradictory and lose its meaning.

We are taught early in our creative careers to chase kudos for our work, find the perfect clients, then one day become a creative director for a large firm, where you win prestigious awards and so on. As someone who has achieved these goals, I can tell you the luster wears off quite quickly. It hasn’t brought long-lasting happiness or fulfilment, it simply guaranteed I would be forever busy with work I didn’t care much about, with results and impact I had no control over. I wanted more from what I spent my life learning and crafting, and believed that design has a much higher responsibility.