Design with Impact

Sarah is the MD & Lead Strategist at REFRAMR, a boutique Human Centred Design studio based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Moving between both strategy and operations, Sarah faciliates the delivery of innovative and future-focussed business and service models hands-on, while also advising senior leaders on shaping the conditions for more human centred cultures to emerge.

Originally trained as a human systems analyst, Sarah now uses her background in cross-cultural relations, experience design and entrepreneurship to facilitate projects and workshops that help clients think and act beyond the status quo. She is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading Design Strategists and works with a diverse range of NFP, government, scale up and corporate clients to co-design outcomes that put people first.

In the past, Sarah has facilitated the co-development of policy proposals for the European Union, created conditions for communit-led international development programmes and frequently works with organisations across sectors to lead signature projects that open hearts and minds to the benefits and possibilities of a human centred approach.

She is well known for her efforts to build design maturity in Aotearoa New Zealand through the establishment of the CX Collective, now New Zealand’s largest community of in-house design teams. Together, they are working and learning to uplift outcomes for customers, citizens and communities across the motu.

Through her work and passion projects, Sarah loves contributing to conversations and causes that hold space for critical thinking and bold actions to help create greater equity, justice and compassion for people and places around us.