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︎Design Thinking
for Social
Impact


I specialize in creating user-centered products, services, and experiences for organizations tackling complex social challenges.


Working across sustainability, sanitation & hygiene, healthcare,  & social entrepreneurship, my approach blends product and material expertise with user research. Drawing inspiration from diverse design disciplines and cultural contexts, I create solutions that resonate with people and drive meaningful impact.


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Immunization Accelerator Program Across East Africa

This project leveraged human-centered design to empower grassroots organizations across Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, and Uganda in developing innovative immunization solutions. Through sustained piloting, testing, and mentorship, we guided these organizations toward user-ready solutions that could influence broader health ecosystems and create lasting community impact.

PROJECT IMMUNIZATION ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
SECTOR  PUBLIC HEALTH
ORGANISATION OPENIDEO
ROLE HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN | WORKSHOP FACILITATION
| VISUAL STORYTELLING | SUPPORT & MENTORING ORGANISATION
LOCATION KENYA, TANZANIA, SOMALIA & UGANDA
PROJECT DURATION 6 MONTHS
TEAM SIZE 4
CONTENT COURTESY OPENIDEO

KEY METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN | USER JOURNEYS | ECOSYTEM MAP | QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS | SYNTHESIS WITH TEAM | EVALUATION MATRIX | SYSTEMS MAP | DESIGNING OF COMMUNICATION ASSETS

Field research across 4 remote communities
revealed the intricate relationships
between culture, customs, and health service delivery.


︎01

Stories from the field

Hearing personal stories from different stakeholders and key voices in the community allowed us to develop a more nuanced perspective of the complexity of the health service ecosystem.

︎02

Collecting Insights 

Working directly with local organizations provided deep contextual knowledge essential for designing interventions that would resonate within existing community structures rather than disrupting them.

︎03

Resource Allocation

We identified intervention opportunities and began outlining what kind of support would be most effective.

︎04

HCD support

I engaged more deeply with a Maasai community living in Moita Kiloriti, Northern Tanzania. I supported a grassroots organisation working with the community in leveraging human centered design to create solutions that aligned with community needs, recognizing that sustainable solutions must emerge from genuine understanding of user experiences and constraints. We gathered personal accounts from mothers, caregivers, husbands, and traditional birth attendants who played crucial roles in the immunization journey.
These narratives became primary data, revealing structural barriers and community strengths that surveys typically miss—the nuanced realities behind health decisions and service delivery gaps.

Through extensive fieldwork and stakeholder engagement, the research process involved systematic consultation with multiple community actors...
 

...caregivers navigating healthcare decisions, healthcare providers operating within resource limitations, traditional birth attendants keeping their traditions alive and community leaders influencing local health practices.

︎05

Collaborative Solution Development

Through iterative development and community feedback loops, we co-created user-friendly immunization calendars containing vital information, appointment tracking, and adherence nudges. Additionally, we developed baby carriers and bags as motivational incentives to ease clinic transportation while enhancing caregiver standing in the community. The resulting interventions were both evidence-based and community-owned, contributing to improved immunization service delivery.



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The Value
Of Industrial
Waste
Materials

The Punah Project focused on building awareness around the importance of industrial waste materials and their value as a resource. At Godrej and Boyce, one of India’s largest manufacturing companies, 18,505 tonnes of industrial waste materials are generated during the manufacturing process every year.

PROJECT EXPLORING THE VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE MATERIALS
SECTOR MATERIAL RESEARCH & SUSTAINABILITY
ORGANISATIONGODREJ INNOVATION CENTER
LOCATION MUMBAI, INDIA
ROLE MATERIAL RESEARCH & COMMUNICATION
WORKSHOP DURATION 1 YEAR 2 MONTHS

KEY METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
MATERIAL RESEARCH | DOCUMENTATION OF WASTE STREAM | COMMUNICATION DESIGN | WORKSHOP FACILITATION

︎The problem...

...large quantities of materials that are resource, production and energy intensive to be manufactured in the first place, are down-cycled, sent to incineration or landfill.



︎Our Objective...

...centered around building a rigorously categorised repository of waste to ensure access to waste materials and creating a blueprint of ways in which to recycle materials and create closed-loop systems.
01

Mapping Waste Streams

We mapped out waste streams, collecting and recording data on more than 700+ waste materials generated during manufacturing.

02

Documenting Waste Samples

We documented properties, quantities of waste generated per month, the respective manufacturing process and waste stream journeys.

03

Building a Waste Repository


We collated the data and categorized all waste materials according to properties and type in order to create a waste material repository.

We explored materials through experimental making, taking a closer look at their natural properties and limitations

04

Materials were chosen according to the quantities generated and the environmental threat caused by sending them to incineration or landfill.

05

Through the process of experimentation, we looked for simple solutions, keeping step-processes and energy consumption to a minimum whilst looking beyond conventional  boundaries.

06

We developed step processes & recycling solutions, re-introducing some of these materials back into the manufacturing process and taking into consideration what kind of usage would be most viable and scalable.

Every year 470,400 kg of turning and boring is generated.


Turning & Boring is the output of one of the most basic machining processes used to shape metal objects. This is a step-by-step guide of how to turn metal turning & boring back into solid metal to be reused.

More than 15,000 pairs of gloves are discarded and collected every month from various divisions at Godrej & Boyce.


Oil soaked cotton gloves are generally sent to incineration facilities while non-oil soaked gloves are sent to landfill. Workers gloves were washed, stripped of oil and then dyed with waste dyes and upcycled into garments, rugs and upholstery.

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Developing Diaper Solutions 

In partnership with ZanaAfrica, this project addressed a critical gap in infant hygiene for Kenyan families who faced inadequate diaper options. Existing affordable products contained substandard materials causing poor absorption, frequent leaking, and infant discomfort—creating health risks and financial burden.

PROJECT DEVELOPING DIAPER SOLUTIONS
SECTOR SANITATION & HYGIENE
ORGANISATION ZANAAFRICA
LOCATION KENYA
ROLE USER, PRODUCT & MATERIAL RESEARCH  |  PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONTENT COURTESY ZANAAFRICA
PROJECT DURATION 8 MONTHS

KEY METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
MATERIAL RESEARCH | QUALITATIVE USER RESEARCH | FOCUS GROUP SESSION | LAB TESTING | CROSS ANALYSIS OF RESULT | HYBRID DIAPER PRODUCTION

︎The Challenge...


...required balancing premium performance with affordability while considering environmental impact and specific user needs.

︎Our Objective was to understand...

︎ How different materials affect our user, their usage behaviour, needs and desires
︎How might we reduce health risks associated with diaper usage
︎The material differentials, options and technologies available

The Research Process

︎a) Material Research Methodology


︎01

Material Research

Material science research provided foundational understanding of diaper components, revealing the complex relationship between construction methods, quality indicators, and performance outcomes across disposable, eco-friendly, and hybrid products.

︎ 02

Lab Testing

Laboratory validation through partnership with a Kenyan pharmaceutical company provided objective performance data on absorption, retention, and rewet properties, revealing important discrepancies between technical specifications and real-world user experiences.

︎b) User Research Methodology


︎03

User Testing

User testing across Nairobi, Kilifi, and Homa Bay involved focus groups and six-day product testing periods with families, comparing usage behaviors and preferences across different demographics and situations.

We tested different diaper types

4 Disposable
2 Eco-friendly
3 Hybrid


With

45 users

Over a

6 day period

In 3 locations

Kilifi, Homa Bay & Nairobi


︎c) Prototyping


︎04

Prototyping

This comprehensive analysis informed development of both hybrid and disposable diaper solutions tailored to the Kenyan market.

We prototyped  

1 hybrid diaper with reusable inserts


︎d) WIP


︎05

Manufacturing

And Zana Africa is in the process of collaborating with manufacturers to create a disposable diaper based on the data and results collected.


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Empowering Young Couples in Rural Ethiopia

In collaboration with IDEO.org and PSI Ethiopia, this project addressed a critical gap in reproductive health support for married adolescent girls in rural Ethiopia. While motherhood remained a primary aspiration for these young women, they lacked essential information and agency to pursue healthy pregnancies safely.



︎The Challenge...

centered on embedded power dynamics and systemic barriers that limited girls' access to antenatal care, proper nutrition guidance, and continuous reproductive health services.
PROJECT FAMILY PLANNING IN RURAL ETHIOPIA
SECTOR PUBLIC HEALTH
ORGANISATION IDEO.ORG PARTNERING WITH PSI ETHIOPIA
ROLE CO-LEADING PROJECT  |  HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN  |  SERVICE DESIGN
LOCATION ETHIOPIA & NAIROBI
CONTENT COURTESY IDEO.ORG
PROJECT DURATION 4 MONTHS

KEY METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN | USER JOURNEY MAPS | ECOSYTEM MAPS | QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS SYNTHESIS WITH TEAM | EVALUATION MATRIX | DESIGNING OF COMMUNICATION ASSETS 

We focused our research on....

︎01

...understanding the pregnancy journey and where intervention or support might be needed

︎02

..identifying challenges pertaining to cultural, societal or institutional spheres of influence

︎03

...concluding key parameters and constraints for young couples

︎Our research revealed that...

...traditional customs and social structures often excluded young women from decision-making about their own pregnancies.

︎We designed interventions that...

focused on shifting mindsets, building agency, and addressing power imbalances that created barriers to care.
︎We interviewed

100 users & stakeholders

Husbands
Mothers
Mothers In-law
Health Workers

︎In two rural locations 

Becho Woreda
& Geze Gofa

in Western Ethiopia

We synthesized our learnings, tweaked, iterated and redesigned our prototypes
according to the feedback we had gotten. Our final tools aimed to transform
the conversation around reproductive health from individual burden to shared
responsibility, empowering young women while engaging their support networks
in ensuring safer pregnancies and continued family planning access.

︎01

Smart ANC Tracker

This leaflet guides young couples through the complete pregnancy journey, providing developmental information, danger sign recognition, and ANC checklists to encourage joint decision-making and care adherence.

︎02

Smart Nutrition

The guide delivers clear, accessible guidance on essential nutrition and supplements for healthy pregnancy illustrated in a culturally relevant way.



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Connecting Changemakers
on Gender Mainstreaming

The Chroma Collective is a community of gender practitioners, doers, experts and problem solvers from a variety of leading donor and financing institutions from around the world.The Collective works to effectively integrate gender within and across international developmen systems addressing gaps, norms, beliefs and values that can lead to gender inequality.


PROJECT GENDER MAINSTREAMING
ORGANISATION IDEO.ORG
ROLE DESIGN RESEARCH  |  VISUAL DESIGN
LOCATION NAIROBI
CONTENT COURTESY IDEO.ORG
PROJECT DURATION 1 MONTH

KEY METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
RAPID PROTOTYPING | BRAINSTORMING & SYNTHESIS  | BUILDING WIREFRAMES


︎The Challenge...

was that practitioners had a wealth of expericnce, knowledge and best practises that was difficult to share across different channels and organisations. There was no common platform where information could be easily disseminated and a cohesive community feeling could be formed.

︎Our Objective...

...during this design sprint was focused on how we can better connect members of this
community to share and disseminate knowledge and learnings on the topic.


︎01

Workshopping ideas

We workshopped a variety of different concepts. Field notes explored how different voices on gender from around the world could be showcased on a platform in the form of stories, photography, or answered prompts. The objective was for organisations and companies working in different regions to gain a more nuanced perspective and  understanding on current gender topics.

Our final prototype was GM On-The-Go, an online resource platform where Chroma Members can easily connect and share gender mainstreaming related content. 


The platform would feature an array of human stories from around the globe, bite-sized learning infos, best practises, resources, impact tracking and a culture of care.


︎




Scaling
Artisan
Production
at LYNK

At LYNK, a social enterprise connecting informal sector workers to employment opportunities, the challenge was transforming highly customized furniture pieces into scalable products without losing artisanal value.

PROJECT SCALING ARTISAN PRODUCTION
SECTOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ORGANISATION LYNK
ROLE DESIGN LEAD | STRATEGY  |  PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT  |  VISUAL DESIGN UX/UI
DURATION 1 YEAR, 2 MONTHS


KEY METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
DESIGN STRATEGY | USER INTERVIEWS | PRODUCT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
The existing model of bespoke furniture showcased craftsman skill but created
bottlenecks in production, transportation, and inventory management. The solution required balancing
standardization with customization—maintaining personalization while enabling efficient production.


︎Evaluating skillsets

Through systematic evaluation of carpenter skillsets and customer demand patterns, distinct "furniture families" emerged that leveraged specific craftsman competencies. Collaborative design sessions with carpenters produced modular furniture systems that assembled through simple slotting mechanisms and flat-packed for efficient transport

︎Streamlining customer journeys

Customers retained customization through mix-and-match components while production became predictable and scalable. Implementation included integrating furniture galleries into carpenter profiles, streamlining the customer journey and ultimately increasing sales through standardized yet customizable offerings that preserved the platform's artisanal identity.


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