Design Declares

What began as a UK initiative in 2022 has grown to over 1,000 signatories across 50 countries. Driftime® is a founding co-steer, helping shape the framework and toolkit from the outset.

The design industry has a problem. We have been part of driving unsustainable consumption, and now we have an opportunity to be part of the solution. European Commission research suggests that over 80 per cent of all product-related environmental impacts are determined during the design phase. That statistic shines a light on both the responsibility and the potential designers hold.

Design Declares exists to help the design community take ownership of this responsibility. Founded in September 2022, the movement emerged from conversations that began in 2019 when the UK Government declared a climate emergency. While architects, engineers, and musicians had already launched their own declaration movements, the broader design industry lacked a unified voice. Design Declares fills that gap, connecting communication, digital, industrial, and service designers who are ready to act.

Design Declares aims to create a framework for the design industry, establishing actionable means to set a new standard for design moving forward. Central to this framework are the 8 Acts of Emergency, a progressive journey from awareness to action. These Acts guide designers from acknowledging the crisis through measuring impact and redefining what constitutes good design, ultimately reaching systemic change by working alongside policymakers and activists.

The Design Declares Toolkit supports this journey. Created with insights from over 150 designers, the Toolkit breaks each Act into achievable steps with supporting resources, template letters, and case studies. This living document continues to grow as the community contributes knowledge and experience.

A central question remains what might be called the designer's dilemma. As a service economy, designers depend on clients. How do those who are ready to act navigate their businesses when revenue comes from clients whose practices may not yet align with climate goals? Design Declares works to provide guidance and support rather than judgement.

In July 2023, Design Declares became a registered Community Interest Company (CIC), a people-powered structure with planet-led ambitions that places progress and impact at its heart.

Since launching in September 2022, Design Declares has grown to over 1,000 signatories across 50 countries. Design Declares Australia launched in July 2024 with 58 founding signatories including Frost, Koskela, and Good Design Australia. Design Declares Ireland launched in November 2023, led by the Institute of Designers in Ireland and funded by Creative Ireland's Climate Action Fund, with 150 Irish designers gathering in Dublin to mark the beginning of the movement.

Publications including Dezeen, It's Nice That, Design Week, and Creative Review have featured Design Declares, bringing the movement to wider attention within the creative industries.

Design Declares continues to expand its reach. The World Design Congress returned to London in September 2025 for the first time in over 50 years, and Design Declares co-created a deck of 52 Climate Action Cards for launch at the Congress, providing accessible actions for designers to take throughout the year.

The pattern is encouraging, collective commitment motivates the sector to act. As the community grows, so does its capacity to share knowledge, support each other, and demonstrate that the design industry can be part of the solution to the climate and ecological emergency.