David Clarke.
Design has the power to change the world and the way we experience it. In 2025, where the world effectively runs on screens and software, design influences how we live, work, and connect. Every digital touchpoint – from the apps we use daily to the platforms that power global commerce – is the result of intentional design decisions. These designed artefacts inform, inspire, and enable us, both individually and collectively.
It’s easy to get lost in the rapid pace of technological progress, but sometimes, it’s important to zoom out and recognise the moment we’re living in. This is an era of incredible transformation, driven not just by bold ambitions and breakthrough technology but by the cultures that make them possible.
The success of companies like Uber, Airbnb, Apple, Google, Nike, Amazon, and Netflix isn’t just about visionary leadership or cutting-edge technology. It’s about the people behind these innovations – their culture, their tenacity, and their ability to translate ideas into reality. Often, the difference between something ordinary and something extraordinary comes down to how well an organisation fosters vision, focus, incentives, and persistence.
So, how do we build cultures that not only create but sustain world-changing innovation?
Courageous Stories: Designing for Change
Stories have the power to ignite change, especially in large organisations. The most transformative ideas don’t succeed solely because they are smart or strategic – they succeed because they are compelling.
To drive real impact, we need to master the “love language” of all stakeholders – C-suite executives, board members, shareholders, product managers, engineers, and frontline staff. Their priorities and perspectives must be woven into a cohesive, data-driven narrative that cannot be ignored.
But good isn’t good enough. Every day, brilliant strategies and ideas get sidelined in the noise of corporate inertia. The challenge is to make future possibilities so vivid that they become impossible to unsee. When people can see the future – not just in numbers but in experience – they are far more likely to invest in making it real.
Culture of Innovation: The Architecture of Progress
Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It thrives in cultures that align incentives, business metrics, and executive support. A true innovation culture isn’t just about generating vast quantities of ideas – it’s about sustaining momentum and ensuring that the right ideas get the resources they need to thrive.
Ceremonies and rituals play a critical role in fostering innovation. Celebrating progress – through milestone artefacts, cross-functional visibility, and shared goodwill – keeps teams motivated and accountable. By making innovation visible, we create a sense of collective momentum that fuels further breakthroughs.
Great ideas are rarely rejected outright; they often fade away due to lack of attention, ownership, and investment. That’s why organisations need clear mechanisms for sharing progress and keeping strategic initiatives front and centre.
Horizons of Growth: Balancing Today and Tomorrow
One of the biggest challenges in large enterprises is balancing short-term business needs with long-term resilience. Quarterly targets and immediate financial performance often take precedence over future-focused innovation, making it difficult to invest in what’s next.
But in a world where change is the only constant – whether macroeconomic, political, technological, cultural, or behavioural – staying the course can be the riskiest strategy of all. As Clayton Christensen captured in The Innovator’s Dilemma, companies that fail to evolve eventually fall behind.
The most consistently innovative companies don’t just leave the future to chance. They create dedicated structures – sibling teams focused on both incremental improvement and transformative bets. This allows them to run today’s business while simultaneously incubating the solutions of tomorrow.
Designing a Culture of Possibility
Innovation isn’t just about technology – it’s about people. It’s about storytelling that inspires action, cultures that sustain momentum, and strategies that balance immediate business needs with long-term vision.
From our work designing a more equitable future with HESTA, to empowering all Australians to have a red-hot go with Bunnings, and amplified delicious moments with KFC; the common trend with all our ambitious clients in is a culture of curiosity, their commitment to progress, and the operational muscle that makes making the default setting.
Brands and organisations that succeed in designing the future do so by fostering environments where courageous ideas are nurtured, where incentives align with innovation, and where the path to progress is made visible to all.
In a world full of modern magic and corporate distractions, the real differentiator isn’t just the ambition to change the world – it’s the culture that makes it possible.
AKQA Executive Experience Design Director, APAC, David Clarke