Q&A with John Lynch – Designs on Growth Graduate

Take five with John Lynch, Founder and Design Director of Context Studio and a newly graduate of the Designs on Growth programme.  In this article, John shares insights into how completing the business accelerator programme transformed his approach to client relationships, decision-making, and helped scaling up his business. He discusses overcoming challenges in growth, fostering a culture of creativity within his team, and the mindset shifts that have driven more strategic and impactful business decisions.

• What were your aspirations behind the founding of Context studio?

I had seen the value of people-centred design in services overseas, in particular public services andI wanted to bring that same level of positive change to the services that people in Ireland experience every day. Designing services that thousands of people could use every day, month or year, is by nature complex, but even small improvements can create a significant impact.

• What type of work do Context Studio specialise in? 

We do people-centred service design. That means working with lots of stakeholders in complex ecosystems to support the journey a person might make from engaging a service to obtaining a successful outcome. We try to account for their needs, the needs of staff, technology requirements and all the other variables that come into play along the way. We try to make it so that services work better. It’s an intensely collaborative process, as no single individual possesses all the answers.

• The services that you provide are fast growing – tell us more about why Service Design should be on everyone’s radar? 

(Smiles), well, it’s not my custom to suggest we should be on everyone’s radar! I suppose we could start by pointing towards complex systems that work well. The Irish passport system is a good example.  It’s not one of the projects we worked on but it’s a perfect example of a system that works better than in many other countries.  Context Studio was born out of frustration with the consistent disappointment in services in Ireland. We should be on your radar if you’re interested in things working better for the people who rely on services to get things done.

• What type of clients do you work with?

We started out, in the first few years, working with a variety of clients overseas, both public and private sector. 95% of our work was overseas. Since then, there has been a gradual uptick in the local market for service design and we’re getting to do the work we dreamed of – contributing to projects across Irish public services. Now almost 100% of our work is in Ireland and that’s nearly all work with public sector clients. Our clients have included Dublin City Council, Department of Justice, National Museum of Ireland, the HSE, Irish Heart Foundation and more.

• What has been the biggest shift in how you approach client relationships since completing the Designs on Growth programme?

I would say I’m much more confident in the way I present the studio as a business. I’m more inclined to ask straight questions about money, procurement, access, collaboration, all the good stuff  to ascertain if a project can work from the outset. It doesn’t always work out but I’ve gained confidence to behave like I’m running a business. This is certainly different from the approach I might’ve had when I was running the business with a focus on just the design perspective.

• In the past few years I believe you have increased the size of your creative team? What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while scaling up your business and what aspects of the Designs on Growth team management module helped you overcome them?

Yes, it’s tripled – and in less than 12 months! It’s been so quick, that I’ve barely been able to realise. All good news of course – but not without its challenges as you say. 

Thankfully I think Designs on Growth prepared me for several of them. Strong advice from the facilitator meant that before the growth really kicked in I had already invested in making sure we had good contracts and a strong staff handbook, for example. These may seem mundane things but have proven invaluable as there is a clear point of reference and resource for the team.

The change has been so fast that I think one of the biggest challenges has been taking stock along the way and being prepared for what’s next. It sounds simple but without carving the space out, you don’t have time to plan, or to mitigate things that might be coming up. Designs on Growth –  and subsequent coaching –  has provided me that space. 

There’s also, bluntly, the practical challenge of watching the salary bill go up and realising that you need to get serious about winning the next batch of work. For designers who become founders, that can be a tough transition as it means doing less design work and instead working on winning work for the team.

• How do you foster a creative and innovative environment within your creative team? Are there specific practices or philosophies you adhere to?

We’re a young team, so I wouldn’t pretend we’ve perfected this. I bring some of my personal learnings from other roles… the key thing I hope is that the team feels safe. People can’t be creative if they don’t feel safe… making suggestions, asking questions, pushing back when needed. I try to foster a sense of psychological safety in the team. 

As the team has grown I’ve made sure to have regular one-to-one meetings with everyone. It helps me take the pulse of how things are going, address any issues or concerns and hopefully encourage growth and professional development where I can. 

But like I say, it’s a new team, we’re still figuring things out… we’re trialling more sharing across projects – and indeed with other companies – and there are other ideas in the background for how we can make the studio a more inspiring place to work. 

I’d love to say that I’ve brought fun and humour into the room, which is vital but I credit the team for that! It made me smile the first time I heard the gang enjoying a laugh between themselves… I had very little to do with it, but it’s really important.

• What did you want to achieve for Context Studio through a business accelerator programme like Designs on Growth?

I’m really clear on this – I don’t come from a family where anyone ever ran a business. I didn’t study business in college. I had nothing but Junior Cert Business Studies and Leaving Cert Accounting to go by and I enjoyed neither! My decision to start a business was one taken as a designer who wanted the opportunity to do more interesting and impactful design work. I found out afterward that running a business is a whole new job – and a fascinating one – but one that I needed to learn. 

So, in going through Designs on Growth I wanted to learn approaches that would help me be more of a business-person, but not less of a designer, if you know what I mean. I had some mentorship previously which made me feel like I was selling my soul to spreadsheets and social media marketing. Designs on Growth sounded like “here’s how to run a business, for designers”. 

• How did participating in the programme help you refine your business strategy and long-term vision?

(Laughs)… my original strategy was three bullet points representing the first three years… so you could say the programme had very little to work with from the beginning! Honestly, there was so much obvious stuff I hadn’t thought about, too much to list, but one thing stands out:

I entered Designs on Growth with a real chip on my shoulder about marketing. Victor Papanek wrote “Advertising design, in persuading people to buy things they don`t need, with money they don’t have, in order to impress others who don’t care, is probably the phoniest field in existence today.” – and I agreed, I still agree. 

But… during Designs on Growth I had all my biases challenged; I learned that to grow a business, and a team, people out in the world need to know about you… and the best way to make sure of that was to talk about the work. We started making a conscious effort to post regularly on key channels and that has helped hugely with recruiting and a little bit with actual business development.

• What was the biggest mindset shift you experienced during the programme and how did it impact your business decisions?

That one above!

• Which modules were the most beneficial for your business and why?

It’s actually a while ago so I can’t really remember. I do, however, recall that just being among other design founders and hearing that they had similar concerns and questions to me, was massive… it’s very easy to feel like an idiot when you’re alone, but if we’re ALL idiots… then that’s a very different story! It’s invaluable to transition from being someone who thinks they are way out of their depth, to being someone who knows they’re treading water just like most people.

• What short-term return and long-term return on investment from the programme have you seen to date? 

Short-term was a sense of community and a great place to ask questions. That was the basis upon which the long term benefit grew… the confidence that comes from learning from peers and from the experience of a great coach and from having that same group of people reflect your own success back to you when it comes – because it’s easy not to notice.

• In what ways did the peer learning environment influence your growth and what valuable insights did you gain from other business owners?

It was great. I still think of the people in my group often and we had a Whatsapp channel where we exchanged questions and tips for quite a while. It was a diverse group, so we learned from each others’ approach and experience as much as we did from each others’ challenges and questions. My only regret is that we haven’t met up since  – but I do hope there’ll be a massive Designs on Growth shindig some day soon!

• What is your vision for the future of Context Studio? How do you plan to sustain growth and continue to innovate?

I can honestly say my vision for the studio has transformed and in no small way thanks to Designs on Growth. Through diligent work with coach Jeannette Naughton, the business has already grown into something I don’t think I really seriously envisaged at the start. Now, looking forward, I believe I can see what needs to be done to create a sustainable business, creating real impact, working on the challenges that matter. 

I’d like to see us become a force to be reckoned with in the design and the digital transformation of services in Ireland and Europe – and not just in the public sector. I’ve always said that I would measure our success by how we impact peoples lives and there is so much work to be done. If there’s a vision, it’s not at all about growing a huge business, but rather maintaining a strong business model and working on the stuff that matters. That model will include being a great place to work and for designers to thrive.

• What do you consider the most essential skills or attributes for someone leading a design business to possess? Has your own approach to leadership evolved since completing the Designs on Growth programme?

I am a process person… I thrive on setting out little processes to make sure I get things done. I think that’s been hugely beneficial to me but it’s also important not to be a slave to process. Designers are often good at stopping to reflect and take stock – it can be a reflex, I don’t have that… but I’ve had to work on it. It’s essential, for example to play, and to orient yourself to that plan – if it’s a year, or a two or three year plan, where do we stand?, what needs to be done? Believe it or not, I had a three year plan (three bullets, remember!) and it was almost the end of year four before Designs on Growth and the subsequent additional coaching reminded me I’d never planned the next chapter! 

My approach to leadership is still evolving. I’m still getting used to the idea of being a “leader”. I’m needing to make very strict rules for myself to defend my time and attention. Then I break them all the time and that’s something I need to work on. As designers we tend to be empathetic, curious, generous with our skills, we’re facilitators… I’ve tried to be all these things, and I don’t want to lose those attributes as a leader. It is vital though to allow time to recharge, plan, recovery time for what is often a really demanding role. I can’t say I’ve mastered it, but other people absolutely should keep this in mind! 

• Why would you recommend other designers enrol for the Designs on Growth programme?

Simple… we’re designers, we design. Some of those skills are useful when running a business but there are a lot of other things we need to learn if we’re serious about growing our impact.

• What advice would you give to a creative entrepreneur who wants to scale up their design business and is unsure whether their business is ready for an accelerator programme like Designs on Growth?

I was unsure. There’s always uncertainty. I would suggest attending one of the information sessions and asking all the questions you have. Speak, perhaps, to some alumni. But at the end of the day there’s only so much talking will tell you and for me the bottom line was I realised I needed to make an investment in myself. This might ensure that any further investment I might make in the business would be more likely to provide a return. That’s what swung it. You are your design business, so investing in yourself is one of the best things you can do, especially in those early stages.

Find out more about Design Skillnet’s Designs On Growth programme.