Today – 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award
- Published on: 22 October 2025
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THIS ACCOLADE CELEBRATES A DESIGN TEAM WHO CONSISTENTLY PERFORMS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN THE ANNUAL AUSTRALIAN GOOD DESIGN AWARDS AND HAS ESTABLISHED A TANGIBLE DESIGN-LED CULTURE WITHIN THEIR ORGANISATION.
THE AWARD AIMS TO INSPIRE COMPANIES TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A DESIGN-LED CULTURE THROUGHOUT THE WORKPLACE.
Over 11 years of optimism has led to this moment for Today, an impact innovation agency. Today was born from a mission to achieve positive social environmental impact, using design as a lever. The agency’s founders, who first worked together at DTDesign in the mid-2000s, bring more than 25 years of experience in participatory and strategic design. They stand strong with a team of 70 designers, strategists, researchers, and technologists, who collaborate to achieve change across the impact sector.
At every level, Today is design led. The early days saw them laying the foundations for a setting that supports design, autonomy, trust, safety, meaningful connections, and constructive feedback. Their steadfast commitment to these values has spearheaded their portfolio and ensured their metaphorical mantle now boasts the 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award.
We sat down with Adam Morris, Creative Director and Founder, Damon O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, and Kate Benson, Storytelling and Strategy Leader at Today. They offered a look into building and sustaining an impact-focused business, a design-led culture, and the power to drive change through design.
Purpose from day zero
Before they even opened their doors, Today’s dedication to their purpose set them apart from their peers. Their mission was developed before the business itself.
“From day zero, it was about using design and innovation methods to address complex social challenges, and understanding how they could transfer to create meaningful change. That mission still guides us today,” said Damon.
Adam recalled a sense of justice that guided them in those early days. They couldn’t see good design being applied outside of a commercial setting.
“[Good design] wasn’t happening much in public services or the not-for-profit space. That felt like an imbalance, and we were excited to bring the best of design, innovation and technology to those places where it hadn’t yet been applied – and where it was most needed.”
Trust through intention
Over the past five years, 95%-97% of Today’s team has reported high confidence in their leaders. Damon attributes part of this level of consistency to authenticity.
“When most people join the business, one of the things they say after a month or so is that they’re surprised by how authentically impact-focused it is. So, at the leadership level, that alignment to values and mission is really sincere, and it literally drives our decision-making day to day.”
Adam emphasised that Today makes decisions that support trust. For them, this means replacing a ‘top down’ model with transparency and collaboration. It’s an approach that fosters a community of good people and supports them to do good work.
“We run a pretty open book on how decisions are made and include the team in asking for input and support…that collaboration is designed quite deliberately: how we meet, make decisions, and think about the future. We’re lucky to work with great facilitators, strategists and thinkers, and that same design mindset we bring to our clients gets applied internally too.”
Today – Winner of the 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award
Building an award-winning team
A strong culture always comes down to people. Today has built a team of people who are great collaborators, kind, and passionate about change.
“That’s what the culture is built on, and that’s how our teams connect and do good work,” said Adam.
Damon explained that their recruitment approach seeks people with a sincere drive to do impactful work.
“Our typical employee has usually gotten really good at what they do somewhere else and then starts asking, “Why am I doing this?”… That’s a common journey – people who’ve mastered their craft and want to do something with more purpose.”
Progress over perfection
If you look through Today’s portfolio, the sense of optimism is almost immediate. Damon said it comes through in the day-to-day details too.
“That sense of possibility is really important. Often we’re in places where things are hard, so just being the ones to say, “We can make this better” can be really powerful.
“… Over time, we’ve grown comfortable with the idea of both small and big wins. Change can be hard; sometimes it’s a breakthrough, sometimes it’s an inch forward. But both are worth celebrating, and that helps keep that sense of optimism alive.”
When paired with their mission to use design as a lever for change, this optimism drives innovation across the impact sector. One of the areas Today has achieved incredible change is the mental health space.
“In that sector, there was a realisation that human-centered transformation was needed – that people experiencing mental ill-health or seeking better wellbeing should be at the center of the change…”
“That simple tilt of perspective, truly honoring lived experience and focusing on customers or beneficiaries, can profoundly change how people think about what’s done and why. It’s like a clean slate: This isn’t working. Let’s rethink it from a different lens”, said Damon.
Adam highlighted that addressing systemic challenges requires both coordination and collaboration, saying, “The human-centered lens matters, but so does crafting collaboration with design methods, thoughtful service design, great experience design, and the application of technology across that experience. Success comes from bringing all these dimensions together in a considered, cohesive way.”
They described the multi-faceted approach as a ‘full studio workout’ – one that frames the challenge, then follows the thread through to achieve tangible change.
Today – Winner of the 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award
Becoming the best part of a clients’ week
Today described their design culture as grounded in trust, shared purpose, optimism, and free from ego. They focus on supporting each other, which provides a platform for new possibilities to take hold.
Damon said, “People back each other up and support each other…it allows you to be more creative and take more risks because you know the team has your back.”
The agency pairs their own distinct culture with deeply-involved client collaboration. Adam said this can feel different for clients, but ultimately leads to a more transparent, direct, and high-touch experience.
Damon agreed, adding, “Our goal…is just to be the best part of their week…to make that energy great, creative, joyous, and fun, to support the best outcome.”
Creativity through work, not words
When asked about cultivating creativity within teams, Damon highlighted the importance of trust and shared purpose.
“People need to trust that they’re there for the right reasons. Shared intention is what builds trust quickly. Without trust, creativity is a downstream effect,” he said.
Adam added that creativity can be developed over time.
“The more people experience it and the more comfortable they feel, they gradually become more open.”
Damon emphasised the need for action over aspiration: “We used to talk about that idea of practical innovation. It is an activity, and it’s often boring and hard. If you can’t see someone innovating, you’re probably not innovating.”
Today – Winner of the 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award
They emphasised that turning ideas into tangible forms is key, allowing teams to collaborate, prototype, build on them, and avoid getting stuck in abstract discussions.
AI for impact
The impact sector is changing as Artificial Intelligence (AI) possibilities develop. Today sees AI as a transformative tool in their work, with the potential to make services ‘more accessible, more inclusive, more effective at a scale that they never have been able to before.’ They emphasised experimenting and ‘encouraging play’, while balancing ethical considerations.
Adam said, “Getting the right amount of guidance and guard rails [when using AI]… enables the freedom to experiment and play and be creative.” Damon added, “the prize is big if you push through the discomfort.”
Good Design Australia congratulates Today on their purpose-driven, collaborative and sincere team. They’ve built a design-led culture that doesn’t just make them the best part of their clients’ week, but shapes solutions that change lives for the better.
