Unlocking Australia’s Design Potential

Australia is home to world-class design talent, yet design capability remains an underutilised tool in shaping business strategy, policy and innovation. The Australian Design Council is determined to change that – embedding design capability as a critical driver of economic, social, cultural and environmental progress.

At the forefront of this change is Dr. Sam Bucolo, a seasoned Industrial Designer, academic and advisor with over 30 years of experience embedding design-led thinking into industry, research and government. Bucolo isn’t just advocating for design – he’s challenging outdated perceptions of it. For him, design is more than aesthetics and functionality, it’s a strategic process that reframes problems before solving them to deliver meaningful and scalable impact.

What does it take to become a design-led nation? We sat down with Dr. Bucolo, Executive Director of the Australian Design Council, to find out.

In this conversation, Bucolo examines why Australia is not truly leveraging design capability as a strategic tool and what it will take to change that. He discusses topics such as, the need for businesses and policymakers to move beyond the finished product, the role of design in reframing challenges and how the Australian Design Council is helping to drive the change to a more design-led nation.

GDA: What are some misconceptions about design? 

Dr. Sam Bucolo: We talk about design as a noun and a verb. And when you talk about design as a noun, it’s always about the artifact, what it creates. I encourage people to stand back and ask, ‘What’s the process of how that was created?’ 

Great design doesn’t just happen. It involves a rigorous, iterative process that takes time and deep engagement. We need to move beyond celebrating the finished product and start recognising the strategic thinking and design process behind it. I want people to be curious about how we created it, who created it and why they created it.

[Image: The Australian Design Council Members at the 2024 Australian Good Design Awards]

GDA: What do you see as the main barriers preventing Australian businesses and policymakers from fully embracing design as a strategic tool?

Sam: Businesses and policymakers face different challenges. For businesses, the key question is not just how to integrate design capability but how to ensure it delivers real value. Australia has a world-class design sector – design related industries contribute more than $60 billion to Australia’s economy. The challenge now is getting businesses to recognise the value that design capability can create and subsequently embedding this world-class capability into their businesses to create meaningful impact.

One major issue is that designers are often brought in too late, when problems have already been defined and solutions set. This limits their ability to shape strategy effectively. Businesses need to shift their perception of design from pure execution to include framing. 

Government, on the other hand, is generally better at involving designers early through workshops, co-creation and co-design activities. The challenge here is ensuring these processes lead to meaningful impact and accountability for delivering great design outcomes. Policymakers need to use design capability to define the right problems in the first place, rather than just refining predetermined solutions.

Ultimately, we need to ensure designers are engaged early on to ensure they are working on solving the right problems, and executing the best solutions. 

GDA: How does Australia’s design capability compare globally?

Sam: We’ve got great design education in Australia. Australian universities and colleges produce outstanding designers, many who go on to win international awards and work in global firms. We consistently punch above our weight.

Our goal is to cultivate a design-led culture where businesses use design strategically to solve pressing issues, such as affordable housing, homelessness and cost of living.

GDA: Can you share any recent examples of Australian businesses or projects that have successfully embedded design as a competitive advantage?

Sam: Success is often measured in economic terms, but the UK Design Council recently released a report that places ‘planet and society’ on the same level as ‘economy’. That’s the kind of thinking we are working to embed here in Australia.

A great example is Sea Forest – a 2024 Australian Good Design Award Gold Winner and also recipient of the 2024 Michael Bryce Patron’s Award, presented as part of the annual Australian Good Design Awards – which integrates strong design principles to drive economic, social and environmental impact. Their work demonstrates that good design naturally leads to positive outcomes. The key is using design thinking from the start to help define opportunities, rather than bringing it in late to fix predefined problems.

[Image: Sea Forest Design Team Lead Scientist Rocky de Nys]

GDA: The re-establishment of the Australian Design Council presents a fresh opportunity to influence policy. What specific changes or initiatives would you like to see the government implement to support design-led innovation?

Sam: The Australian Design Council operates through three key programs: Design Impact Reviews, Sector Challenges and National Challenges. These programs are aimed at ensuring we’re solving the right problems before jumping to solutions. A big part of our role is challenging government agencies to reframe their thinking and ask themselves, ‘Have we actually identified the right problem to be solved?’ That’s not an easy thing to do.

We know this isn’t going to be an overnight change, we’re trying to make generational changes. But, when you get it right and the light bulb goes on, and someone can say, ‘I didn’t realise design did that,’ and that’s a big step in the right direction. 

GDA: How can Australian industries be encouraged to integrate design thinking at a strategic level, rather than just at a surface level?

Sam: Whether it’s a small business or a large corporation, businesses don’t initially realise the strategic value of design. But when challenged and asked whether their strategy is truly creating value, they are often surprised by the insights design can offer.

Done right, this process can be transformative, and lead to profound changes in strategy, workforce engagement and meaningful impact. Unfortunately, designers are often brought into a project way too late with predefined briefs, limiting their ability to create real value. We need to shift perceptions so that design capability is seen as integral to business and not just a function that ‘makes things look pretty’. 

GDA: The Australian Design Council advocates for integrating Indigenous design principles and promoting cultural diversity in the sector. How can Australia better harness Indigenous knowledge systems and design practices in mainstream projects?

Sam: This is a very important topic. In our Design Impact Review program, we focus on designing for impact across four key pillars: People, Planet, Prosperity and Culture. When we talk about Culture, it’s about designing to acknowledge, respect, and shape Australia’s culture. How can we encourage businesses to embrace Australia’s rich and diverse culture when designing a new product or service? What does it mean to be Designed in Australia and how do we get businesses to embrace this? How do we embed First Nations design principles such as circularity and regenerative design into our design practices?  

Projects like Australia Post’s ‘Embrace your Place’ campaign – the 2024 Australian Good Design Award Best in Class Winner for Advertising Design – which encouraged the use of Traditional Place names on mailing addresses, show how a seemingly small act can help connect people to a language and culture that’s been around for more than 60,000 years and adds value to the business and society as a whole.

Businesses should view Indigenous design principals as part of a holistic approach to good design, ensuring that Indigenous perspectives are included as a sum, not the parts. 

[Image: How Sending Mail Encouraged Australian to Learn About Their Local First Nations History – Project by Australia Post and Carbon Creative]

GDA: What challenges do we face in making Australia’s design sector more inclusive, and how can we ensure diverse voices are represented?

Sam: The Australian Design Council’s advisory board consists of 35 diverse design leaders, representing different disciplines, genders, First Nations voices and geographic footprints. This diversity ensures a broad perspective in helping to shape the sector.

While we won’t always get it perfect, inclusivity is an ongoing effort. Bridging the gap between business and policy perspectives, with diverse design advisors strengthens the sector as a whole.

GDA: How will we know if Australia has truly become a ‘design-led nation’?

Sam: That’s a very good question! We are not going to wake up one morning and go, ‘Wow, we’re a design-led country.’

I think we’ll know we’re on the way to being design-led when there are visibly less friction points across our economy – more services that work seamlessly, more businesses that thrive by understanding their customers at an empathetic level, and a more balanced approach to solving societal challenges.

When businesses, governments and communities instinctively turn to design as a problem-solving, value-adding tool, rather than an afterthought, we’ll know we’re getting there.

Becoming a design-led nation isn’t about a single moment of transformation – it’s about incorporating design into the way we think, plan, identify and solve problems. The key lies in shifting perceptions and educating government and businesses in the potential value and impact design capability can create, to ensure we are integrating design as early as possible and positioning design capability as a strategic advantage rather than an aesthetic afterthought. It’s more about the journey to become a design-led nation vs. the destination. 

To learn more about the Australian Design Council’s work and how design can be leveraged for impact, visit their website.