Meld Studios

September 28, 2020 Capability Building, Events We are delighted to announce we’ll be running two new online workshops in November: Prototyping beyond testing – how to use prototypes to learn more about your audience, 10th November 10am-4pm (AEST) Need to know policy skills for the future, 17th November 10am-4pm (AEST) Spaces for each workshop are strictly limited. Click on the links above to find out more and make a booking.

Mid-year is always a reflection time for us. We analyse our financial performance and various statistics, and we think critically about how we’re delivering on our mission. This year, in the midst of troubling times nationally and globally, it feels more important now than ever to draw out the silver linings and acknowledge the achievements we’ve made despite the challenges thrown our way.

Meld Studios is proud to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We accept the invitation from the Uluru Statement to all Australians to support constitutional and structural reform so Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can take their rightful place in our nation. We support the proposal for a Voice to Parliament enabled by the constitution that gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a say on matters that impact their communities.

Collaboration between public and private sector organisations is essential for addressing the complex challenges we face today because no single organisation is sufficiently influential or effective enough to drive the level of change and outcomes we need to see.

Out of the horrors of Covid-19, as organisations are taking stock and re-evaluating their business models, there is an opportunity to redefine organisational purpose and create better, more human-centred organisations. Or alternatively we could be sent spiralling backwards and all the customer-centred advancements of recent years could end in nowt as organisations get distracted by making the bucks they need to ensure survival.

IDEO’s Venn diagram is one of the founding pillars of design as we know it, and it’s had a huge influence on my career. But it needs to be reconsidered. In light of what’s happened recently with the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, we need to rethink the entire framing. Because things that have always been impossible — so not viable, or not feasible, or both — are overnight starting to happen.

We are delighted to announce the launch of Meld Studios Perth and welcome Nick Leigh as our first Principal in the city. We have been fortunate enough to know Nick for many years and recently worked with him on a placemaking project for a state government client. Nick is an extremely well-connected member of Perth’s design community and a great addition to Meld’s team.

We are excited about the recognition we’ve all received for using design as a strategic tool for tackling complex challenges.

With the recent Australian Government budget providing tax incentives for company expenditure, we can expect to see an increase in large-scale investments just around the corner. These tax incentives suddenly make it a whole lot more attractive to invest capital expenditure in digital transformation, major infrastructure and future proofing initiatives. Our word of advice to organisations across Australia is to tread carefully.

We are helping the Port Authority of NSW to use the creation of its sustainability plan to model new ways of working. This project has maintained momentum despite COVID-19 challenges. It is a testament to Port Authority’s responsible leadership that sustainability remains a priority at this time. We started with a workshop to push Port Authority’s thinking about what sustainability means. The full executive team participated in this four-hour session.