Magnetic

What a year it’s been at Magnetic! From our acquisition by Newton to growing our fantastic team, we’ve tackled over 50 projects this year, each of them aiming to design better futures for people, businesses, and the planet. Some standout moments include partnering with a major FS company to help them lead the sustainability conversation, rebranding a prominent UK accountancy firm to unify their teams and accelerate growth, and creating a digital experience to support patients undergoing IVF. We also collaborated with a leading equity firm to champion deeper connections with scale-ups, and continued supporting a global healthcare provider in transforming the dialysis experience for millions of patients. This year, we’ve had the privilege of working with new innovation partners, including Brompton Bicycle, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Mastercard and Waitrose & Partners, while continuing to collaborate with established leaders in our community, such as Innovate UK, Mars, Google, Simply Business, Fulham Pier and so many more.  To every leader and team we’ve worked with in 2024, thank you for your dedication to growth, optimism, and the belief that we can shape the world around us. Together, let’s keep designing better futures. As we prepare to close our studios for the holidays from 24th December, we wish you a very merry, safe, and prosperous festive season. Here’s to an incredible 2025 ahead. We’ll be back on 2nd January.  #appreciation #innovation #design #people #growth

How important are people leaders in shaping the future of consumer goods organisations? Our research and expert interviews show that the role is more crucial than you might think. With the consumer goods sector shaping everyday life and driving global economies, we’re focusing on redefining its future in 2035, uncovering the opportunities and challenges ahead. The industry is projected to reach an extraordinary $3,171.11 billion by 2032, making its influence more significant than ever. And with rapid changes and uncertainty in the sector, understanding people’s needs and shaping organisational culture is more vital than ever. People leaders are uniquely placed to create value and be at the heart of transformation.  We’re pleased to launch our latest Thought Report on the four future forces reshaping the consumer goods sector. This report is a toolkit for people leaders, offering insights and strategies to enable adaptability, create meaningful change, and drive transformation through connection. We spoke to experts, read reports and conducted our own research to reveal how people leaders can drive real transformation through the process and by sparking deeper innovation through people. When people thrive, so do industries and societies. Download our new Thought Report >> https://lnkd.in/eKt3An4q #peopleleaders #transformation #futureofconsumergoods #consumergoods #fmcg #designbetterfutures

Last week our CEO Jenny Burns was featured in Econsultancy talking about Agencies in 2025. What’s the elephant in the room? Here is what she and other agency leaders have to say... Jenny spoke about the commoditisation of creativity, with agencies squeezed by cost-cutting and clients building in-house capabilities. To stay relevant, agencies must prove they’re strategic partners, offering unique insights and experience beyond what in-house teams can provide. Matt Redman, SVP Strategy at Valtech, talks about the decline of scale as a competitive advantage. Programmatic media and AI have levelled the playing field, yet agencies still need to focus on consolidation instead of building exceptional creative teams. Creativity, he argues, will once again become the key differentiator. Nils Andersson Wimby, Group Client Director at Mindshare Sweden, highlights the lack of focus on strategy. The obsession with tech trends and tools often distracts from what matters most. Yet, he sees tight budgets in 2025 as an opportunity to prioritise impactful, strategic work over fleeting trends. The path forward? Double down on #creativity, strategic value, and focus. #businessleadership #business2025

Act small, think big and fail fast. In today’s fast-paced world, growth goes beyond just launching new products—it’s about refining processes, enhancing customer experiences, and tackling real-world challenges. For business leaders, validating ideas and reducing risk through real-world testing is essential to staying agile. At Magnetic, we champion a culture of rapid experimentation as it fuels innovation. By running low-cost, high-impact tests, we empower teams to validate bold ideas, save time, reduce risk, and create measurable value.   Here are some recent examples: For a Fortune 500, we deployed a mystery staffing team for two weeks, identifying design improvements for a better customer and staff experience. Partnering with Condé Nast International to launch Vogue Business, we used pricing and proposition testing to attract 400,000 subscribers and foster a culture of agile growth in a fast-paced market.   Get started with our Experiment canvas >> https://lnkd.in/g_vmzuZa #experiments #innovation #growth #businessgrowth #designbetterfutures

Optimism: The Business Leader's Superpower! In a world filled with challenges, optimism isn’t just a mindset—it’s a strategy. For leaders, it’s the currency that fuels adaptation, meets customers where they are, and drives progress. Positive disruption doesn’t have to mean dramatic pivots, high costs, or earth-shattering inventions. Most often, it’s about: ✅ Small-scale experimentation: Incremental changes that deliver big impact. ✅ Empowering culture: Equipping teams to challenge the status quo with confidence. ✅ Calculated risk-taking: Embracing uncertainty to spark growth. Optimism isn’t just a superpower—it’s a commitment to progress. Let’s lead with purpose and positivity. Because the best leaders don’t just adapt to the future—they create it, one optimistic choice at a time. Read our five principles to design with optimism below. #Leadership #Optimism #Innovation #PositiveDisruption

Say hello to our latest #Magneticfeature, Junior Consultant Khadija Shabir. Khadija joined us last year as part of our Jumpstarter cohort and has dived head-first into the world of design and innovation. Since joining, she’s contributed to some exciting projects—designing a brilliant onboarding experience for a famous confectionery business and collaborating with a major food and beverage retailer to create an everyday shopping revolution. Khadija is known for her curiosity and her drive to create change. She’s passionate about helping businesses understand their customers and developing human-centred products and services. We asked Khadija: What's been your proudest moment at Magnetic? “My proudest moment at Magnetic was hosting and facilitating the Innovation Summer School. It was incredibly rewarding to offer six London-based students a week of inspiring work experience focused on Design Thinking and Innovation—a career path not much talked about in schools. It was truly special to provide students with an opportunity to upskill, challenge misconceptions about the corporate world, collaborate with Innovate UK, and magnify their confidence. It’s a privilege to be part of something Magnetic offers to empower and uplift its community.” Fun fact: "I love to bake—it’s my therapy! From gooey brownies to chewy cookies and classic traybake sprinkle cake. Watch out at the next Magnetic Bake Off!" #teamappreciation #people #productsandservices #innovation #designbetterfutures

Business leaders, it’s time to rethink your strategy! Cutting costs may protect margins in the short term, but let’s face it—you can’t cut your way to sustainable growth. Overemphasising cost management risks stifling creativity, sidelining innovation, and missing opportunities to differentiate in today’s competitive, fast-changing world. Employees are eager to contribute more than efficiency; they want to drive bold ideas forward. And your shareholders? They’re looking for long-term value, not just short-term gains. 💡 The future belongs to companies that invest in innovation, create new markets, and transform customer experiences. Are you ready to shift from a survival mindset to one of proactive growth? Read Magnetic CEO Jenny Burns’s thoughts on building thriving businesses, not just surviving. #Leadership #Innovation #BusinessGrowth #FutureFocused

Join Magnetic’s Jen Jeng, Oliver Bullock, and Miro’s Rory Keddie on 10th December, 15:00 CET, for a virtual chat on where AI meets Design Thinking. Using AI to bring new ideas to life faster is a hot topic - but how are organisations doing it in practice? We’re merging AI with a human-centred design approach to accelerate the entire creative process. From sparking fresh ideas to refining solutions for faster impact, see how Magnetic practitioners use Miro’s AI-powered Innovation Workspace to help unlock new ideas, accelerate project delivery, and dive deeper into client insights. We’ll cover: ✅ Bringing AI into your design approach and practices to accelerate the design thinking process ✅ How and when to use AI to complement a practitioner’s skills and process  ✅ Use tools like mind maps and ‘How Might We’ statements to empower teams to think divergently, synthesise faster, and test and iterate concepts that matter. Sign up for free below: https://lnkd.in/ezVEwB9Y #webinar #ai #designthinking #design #designbetterfutures

Britain is fuelled by small businesses—all 5.6 million of them. SMEs make up 99% of businesses in the UK and are the backbone of our economy, driving growth, innovation, productivity, and job creation. We need our SMEs to survive, thrive and meet their full potential. But the turbulent economy, changing consumer habits, and high energy bills are challenges for SMEs. Collaboration is the key to innovation, progress, and economic growth. If big businesses and government entities can collaborate with SMEs and harness their power, there will be many mutual benefits. Large organisations can learn about innovation from small businesses, and it can make them more innovative. SMEs bring new ideas, fresh thinking, creativity and agility. They are also often more acutely focused on doing good, for consumers and for the planet — purpose-driven towards creating a better future. The recent Budget recognised this, focusing on supporting SMEs through increased funding for research and development in high-growth sectors like biotechnology, aerospace, and life sciences. These initiatives empower SMEs to collaborate with larger organisations, leveraging innovation to compete globally. For example, targeted funding in the life sciences sector is designed to bolster resilience and create opportunities for small businesses to play a pivotal role in future health advancements. Read more below >> https://lnkd.in/eHG7tH2k #sme #future #collaboration #innovation #economicgrowth #designbetterfutures

✨ Calling all experienced service designers - we’re hiring! If you are a junior-to-midweight Service Designer with a good understanding of Design Thinking, working on client-facing projects we'd love to hear from you. At Magnetic we are a diverse team of designers, innovators, dreamers, and boundary-pushers. We work together with ambitious businesses to design better futures by solving big problems. Our people challenge the status quo and redefine industries with transformative solutions with design at the heart. Join us:  https://lnkd.in/e-MrxDpN #werehiring #recruiting #talent #designbetterfutures