Design is more than aesthetics; it is a powerful tool for social change.
It has the potential to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, from poverty and inequality to climate resilience and cultural preservation. In an era where purpose-driven businesses and social enterprises are shaping a better future, design plays a critical role in ensuring solutions are human-centred, effective, and scalable.
The Australian Good Design Awards, particularly its Social Impact category, celebrates those who are using design to create meaningful change. This category recognises projects that drive positive social outcomes, whether through community empowerment, improved service delivery, or innovative solutions to systemic challenges. But beyond recognition, the awards also serve as a launchpad for impact-driven businesses, helping past winners gain credibility, attract funding, and expand their reach.
In this article, we explore the stories of previous Social Impact category winners - how they used design to solve real-world problems, what they have achieved since winning, and the lessons they can offer to social entrepreneurs, impact-driven businesses, and changemakers looking to enter the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards.
Designing for Social Good: Stories of Impact and Innovation
1. OOXII Vision Kit: Transforming Global Eye Care Through Design
In 2024, the OOXII Vision Kit was recognised as the Australian Good Design Award Best in Class Winner for Social Impact, celebrated for its innovative and accessible approach to solving the global vision crisis. With over one billion people worldwide experiencing vision impairment simply due to a lack of access to glasses, OOXII set out to remove barriers to clear sight with a simple, durable, and scalable solution.
The OOXII Vision Kit provides everything a basic health worker needs to test vision and dispense customised, affordable glasses on the spot in remote and low-resource settings. Traditionally, obtaining glasses requires multiple steps: vision testing by a professional, receiving a prescription, and having glasses custom-made - a process that is often impossible for those living in underserved communities due to geographic isolation, lack of eye health professionals, and cost barriers. OOXII removes these obstacles by providing an intuitive, all-in-one solution that can be administered by non-specialist health workers.
Since receiving the Australian Good Design Award, the OOXII Vision Kit has continued to evolve, refining its functionality, durability, and real-world impact. Field testing in Papua New Guinea has allowed for ongoing improvements, ensuring the kit meets the practical needs of basic health workers and the communities they serve.
At the heart of the OOXII Vision Kit is a patented vision testing wheel, designed to allow individuals with no prior knowledge of eye testing to accurately determine lens power requirements. The kit also includes vision charts, a mobile application for step-by-step guidance, inventory tracking, and pre-cut lenses that can be easily inserted into adjustable stainless steel frames. These durable, lightweight, and stylish frames are designed to accommodate various face shapes and sizes, ensuring both comfort and long-term usability.
One of OOXII’s greatest strengths lies in its sustainability and affordability. Unlike most glasses, which last around two years before breaking, OOXII frames are built to last at least twice as long, with no screws in the hinges to prevent common breakages. Additionally, because the right and left lenses are identical, a wide range of pre-cut lenses can be carried in a compact kit, reducing logistical challenges and shipping costs. The design even includes an etched protractor for astigmatism correction, making it the first low-cost spectacle system to provide this function.
Beyond its design, the OOXII Vision Kit has a ripple effect on communities. By equipping local health workers with the tools to provide vision care, OOXII empowers them to run sustainable micro-enterprises, making glasses accessible while creating economic opportunities. Clear vision enables children to learn, adults to work, and communities to thrive, proving that design can be a force for social and economic empowerment.
Winning an Australian Good Design Award has helped scale OOXII’s impact, providing credibility and exposure to form partnerships, secure funding, and expand its reach. The recognition has helped drive awareness around the urgent need for accessible eye care solutions, bringing OOXII one step closer to achieving its mission: ensuring everyone, no matter where they live, has access to clear sight.
Key Takeaway for Social Entrepreneurs: Thoughtful, human-centred design can break down barriers to essential services and create scalable, sustainable impact. OOXII demonstrates how design-driven innovation can empower communities, improve livelihoods, and drive systemic change. Winning an industry-recognised award can further amplify this impact - elevating awareness, attracting key stakeholders, and unlocking new opportunities for growth and expansion.
2. Bhungroo: Harvesting Hope for Climate Resilience
Access to water is a lifeline for agriculture, yet for smallholder farmers in drought-prone regions, it remains an unpredictable and often devastating challenge. Crop failure due to extreme weather patterns leads to poverty, food insecurity, and economic instability—issues disproportionately affecting women farmers in the Global South.
Bhungroo, an affordable water-harvesting technology, is addressing this crisis by enabling ultra-poor, climate-vulnerable farmers to store and reuse floodwater during dry seasons. Recognised as a 2023 Australian Good Design Award Best in Class Winner for Social Impact, Bhungroo is a cost-effective, scalable, and community-driven innovation that not only secures food production and income stability but also empowers rural women by placing them at the forefront of its design and implementation.
Since winning the Good Design Award, Bhungroo has expanded to multiple regions across India, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Africa, adapting its model to different agricultural landscapes and community needs. The technology has also been adopted into India’s National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) policy, positioning it to impact 55 million rural women by doubling their crop income. Through its blend of traditional knowledge and scientific innovation, Bhungroo continues to be a replicable and scalable model for ensuring climate resilience and economic empowerment.
💡 Key Takeaway for Social Enterprises: Scalability and replicability are critical for maximising social impact. An award-winning design solution should be cost-effective, adaptable, and accessible to those who need it most. Bhungroo’s success demonstrates how human-centred design, traditional knowledge, and local empowerment can create solutions that drive climate resilience, economic stability, and gender equality. Winning an industry-recognised award amplifies this impact - providing credibility, exposure, and new opportunities for growth and policy integration.
3. Game Changer Challenge: Empowering the Next Generation of Problem-Solvers
The NSW Department of Education’s Game Changer Challenge (GCC) was recognised as a 2024 Australian Good Design Award Gold Winner in Social Impact for its innovative approach to fostering future skills in students. By introducing design-thinking methodologies into classrooms, GCC has helped students develop problem-solving skills, preparing them for real-world challenges.
Following its recognition, the program expanded participation to rural and regional schools, ensuring greater accessibility to design thinking education. It has also strengthened partnerships between students and industry professionals, helping bridge the gap between education and real-world application.
Key Takeaway for Impact Businesses: Education-focused social enterprises can drive systemic change by embedding design-led thinking at an early stage, equipping future generations with critical problem-solving skills.
4. Blak Design: Elevating First Nations Creativity
Blak Design, an Indigenous-led initiative by the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT), is breaking down systemic barriers in Australia’s design industry. By providing training, mentorship, and industry exposure, the program equips First Nations creatives with the skills, confidence, and networks needed to build sustainable design businesses.
Image: Blak Design participants Corina Muir, Annie Brigdale and Trina Dalton-Oogjes with mentors David Ray (left) and Janet Fieldhouse (centre) in the RMIT ceramics studio (Blak Design 2023) (photo: Christian Capurro)
Each year, Blak Design focuses on a specific design discipline, from jewellery and ceramics to the upcoming fashion and textile design program. Participants engage in intensive workshops that integrate cultural storytelling, technical expertise, and business training. The program ensures a culturally safe learning environment, led by First Nations mentors, and includes critical networking opportunities with industry leaders. A culminating exhibition at KHT, touring regional venues, provides national exposure for participants.
Winning a 2023 Australian Good Design Award Gold for Social Impact elevated the program’s visibility and credibility, leading to new funding, strengthened industry collaborations, and expanded opportunities. Alumni have since exhibited at major institutions like the NGV, launched product lines, and contributed to a more inclusive design sector.
Blak Design is more than a training program - it is actively decolonising design education, embedding Indigenous knowledge into the industry, and ensuring First Nations voices shape the future of Australian design. With continued support, it will empower more creatives, drive economic resilience, and expand its impact across the national design landscape.
Key Takeaway for Social Entrepreneurs: Cultural preservation and inclusion are vital elements of social impact. Long-term economic sustainability, cultural empowerment, and industry representation are key to breaking down systemic barriers. Winning an Australian Good Design Award helped amplify this impact - attracting partnerships and greater industry visibility, ultimately driving more equitable opportunities within the design sector.
5. Co-Designing Our Way Home: Transforming Out-of-Home Care Through Family Connection
A collaborative project by Parkerville Children and Youth Care, in partnership with Innovation Unit ANZ, Our Way Home is the result of three years of co-design and prototyping with over 200 children, families, Elders, staff, and community stakeholders. Recognising the urgent need for change in Australia’s out-of-home care (OOHC) system, the initiative reimagined how children in care can remain connected to their families and cultural roots, ultimately leading to stronger, long-term outcomes.
The current OOHC system, despite the dedication of those working within it, often fails to meet children’s needs, perpetuating intergenerational cycles of disadvantage. Aboriginal children are significantly overrepresented in care, highlighting the need for culturally responsive, family-centred models. Our Way Home offers a radical shift in how care is delivered, focusing on shared care relationships between foster carers and families of origin to support reconnection, healing, and restoration.
Key innovations include a new Family Link Worker role, the integration of Aboriginal Practice and Culture Leads, and facilitated ‘Bridge Spaces’ to help families and carers build relationships. Creative tools, such as the My Plan Kit, Voice Boxes, and Connection Cards, ensure children’s voices shape their own care journey. Practice guides and open-source resources allow for wider adoption of this model beyond Parkerville.
Winning a 2023 Australian Good Design Award Gold in Social Impact, helped to further validate the project, enabling it to scale more widely and continue transforming the lives of children, young people, and families in care.
Key Takeaway for Impact-Driven Organisations: Co-designing with communities leads to sustainable, systemic change. Our Way Home demonstrates that placing families and cultural connections at the heart of service design results in more personalised, effective, and long-term outcomes.
Why Enter the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards?
The Social Impact category of the Australian Good Design Awards is not just about recognition - it’s about amplifying impact. Here’s how entering can benefit social entrepreneurs, non-profits, and impact-driven businesses:
- Credibility & Trust – An award-winning project gains legitimacy, making it easier to attract investors, partners, and media attention.
- Funding & Partnerships – Many past winners have secured grants, sponsorships, and collaborations after being recognised.
- Increased Visibility – Winning an award boosts exposure, helping innovative solutions reach the right people who can support and scale the project.
- Industry Connections – The awards provide access to a network of leading designers, changemakers, and decision-makers.
- Impact Measurement & Validation – The application process itself helps organisations refine their messaging, articulate their impact, and strengthen their case for support.
Practical Advice for Entering
If you’re considering entering the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards, here are some practical tips:
- Tell a compelling story – Highlight the problem you’re solving, who it impacts, and how your solution is making a difference.
- Show measurable outcomes – Provide data, testimonials, and real-world results to demonstrate the effectiveness of your project.
- Emphasise innovation – Explain how your approach challenges conventional thinking, introduces new methods, or improves upon existing solutions.
- Highlight scalability – Show how your project can grow, be replicated, or have a lasting impact beyond its initial scope.
- Use strong visuals – High-quality images, prototypes, and case studies can make your submission more compelling.
Final Thoughts: Designing a Better Future
The past winners of the Australian Good Design Awards Social Impact category prove that design is a force for good. Whether addressing climate resilience, education, accessibility, cultural preservation, or social welfare, these projects demonstrate the power of design in solving real-world challenges.
For social entrepreneurs, entering the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards is an opportunity to elevate your impact, gain industry recognition, and take your project to the next level. If you are working on a design-led solution that creates meaningful change, now is the time to share it with the world.
