Our approach

From framing to action.
We design the whole journey.

Our process adapts the Design Council UK’s Double Diamond into what we call the Design Funnel — a model that reflects how design-led strategic work actually unfolds. We invest disproportionate energy in the early stages: understanding the situation, surfacing assumptions, and framing the right question.

The design funnel

Understanding before solving. Framing before building.

Clarity is just the beginning. We design and develop actual solutions: new products, services, experiences, business models, and communication systems — either through our own practice or by activating our extended network of specialist collaborators.

The Locus Design Funnel: Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver

Discover

Broad exploration. Research, observation, stakeholder engagement. All assumptions are open to challenge.

Define

Synthesis and framing. Discovery is sharpened into a clear articulation of the core challenge or opportunity.

Develop

Generating, prototyping, and testing potential solutions within the constraints established by the framing work.

Deliver

Refinement, implementation, and handover of products, services, strategies, and systems ready for the real world.

How we collaborate

The six co-creation enablers

Central to how we work is a co-creation mindset. We don’t deliver solutions from the outside — we build them with you. Every engagement is structured around six enabling conditions that make collaborative thinking productive.

Safe EnvironmentIntellectual and psychological safety. Permission to be wrong, to speculate, to voice half-formed ideas.
Open, Questioning StanceChallenge assumptions through speculation rather than confrontation. “What if?” as a generative move.
Semi-Structured ProcessEnough structure to create momentum. Enough openness to allow emergence and adaptation.
Visualisation as ThinkingMaps, diagrams, and artefacts used to reason — not to decorate. Making complexity visible.
Diverse PerspectivesStakeholders as contributors, not informants. Value comes from the collision of different views.
Catalytic FacilitationProvoke insight rather than control outcomes. We steer without prescribing.

Next step

Ready to start with clarity?

The Clarity Session is a structured 120-minute strategic conversation. We map your situation, surface the real challenge, and identify the right next move.

Book a Clarity Session →