Design For Good feat. Tim Fendley

In this blog, we talk with Tim Fendley, Creative Director and CEO of Applied Information Group, a wayfinding consultancy dedicated to helping people navigate complex spaces with ease. Tim shares the story behind Applied’s innovative approach, their global impact through wayfinding solutions, and the challenges of scaling a purpose-driven business.

The purpose of our ‘Design For Good’ content series is to shine a light on how creative innovation can be a driver for positive change. We feature those that are making it happen, those with grand potential. Businesses and individuals that are shaking up their sector and finding ways to do things better, for social or environmental good.

Can you please introduce yourself, what your business does, what stage you are at currently and what makes your business and offering unique?

Hi, I’m Tim Fendley, Creative Director and CEO of Applied Information Group. Applied is a specialist wayfinding consultancy. We design systems that help people move around places easier. While it may seem simple, it’s a surprisingly complex challenge requiring a very specific set of skills. We’re an established global business with a team of 45 and we are excited to be growing our team.

You could say we have two superpowers. Firstly, we use neuroscience to understand people: their motivations and preferences and how they find their way. Secondly, we have an ability to scale systems, across multiple locations, campuses and even countries. Sounds a bit mundane, but it’s incredibly effective.

Can you share the story behind the origin of your business and Service / Product?

I designed Bristol Legible City while at Applied’s forerunner: MetaDesign (we had the name before Zuckerberg!). This project perfectly matched my love of information design, cities and orienteering.

The first thing we did after starting Applied was to come up with the idea for a ‘Legible’ London. We highlighted the confusion millions of people find when they come out of tube stations. We could see how limiting this lack of knowledge was when experiencing a place for the first time. We thought this is a problem we can solve. It took five years of lobbying, promoting and designing to come up with a citywide solution. It went through prototyping and piloting and proved its impact at every stage.

We’ve now applied this approach across over twenty cities around the world, benefiting cities such as Brighton, Glasgow, Seattle and Madrid. We’ve helped people get around large campuses, such as Princeton University, the MET, the National Gallery London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, Google and NASA. We’ve also implemented solutions that better connect regional transport systems for networks in Vancouver and Toronto. We’re currently working on the transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area. All these projects benefit from our two superpowers!

Can you share some challenges or barriers you had to overcome to create a Product / Service offering with potential, whilst ‘designing for good’?

For Applied, ‘designing for good’ is pretty fundamental. We believe that the best design prioritises the public’s perspective, improving lives whilst meeting the objectives of the organisations that invest in our services. Wayfinding encourages more people to walk and wheel, benefiting health, retail sales and community cohesion. Our work also supports increased use of buses and trains, giving people the freedom to explore their surroundings.

B Corp’s objectives and values align very closely with what is important to Applied. B Corp provides a structure, a way to assess how you are doing and to look at some aspects of your business where you are strong and some where you need some work. It really helps to have a way to measure these ‘softer’ aspects, that are actually more important than they are credited.

For Legible London, we knew that ‘designing for good’ was the right thing to do, that it would be effective. We had an unbending belief and drive to overcome the city’s complex and natural bureaucracy. It took a lot of investment from Applied at the time. We backed our own ideas with our own money. Most of the time we were told it was not possible, and we kept asking why not. We found that the barriers were only psychological, and as soon as we generated momentum, we gathered a cohort of support. Legible London now spans over 25 boroughs in London and is seen as the definition of modern city wayfinding.

We are now focusing on expanding our digital solutions. With a growing team and enhanced capabilities, we are developing innovative products. The market is evolving from simpler, often imperfect digital solutions to more sophisticated ones with clear purpose. As our clients become increasingly discerning, Applied is well-positioned to deliver even more effective outcomes.

Our latest initiative is to re-design how walking, wheeling and cycling information is delivered throughout the UK.

Speaking of people, can you share some challenges you have faced, are facing or are anticipating around scaling and growing your team as a business with purpose? Do you have any top tips you could share with those businesses faced with the same issues?

Applied has gone through several stages in its growth. For the last few years we were hovering at just over 30 people in size, mostly in the UK and the US. A seemingly invisible barrier we could not break. We looked hard at ourselves and realised that it was not sales or new business opportunities that held us back. It was infrastructure. As soon as we won more work, we did not have the structure and systems to handle it whilst seeking future projects. We needed to listen to our own advice and build systems and roles that would allow the business to flourish.

We brought in experts, set-up systems, and started to behave like a company of 120 people, not 12. Central to this transformation was empowering our large team of senior leaders. We consistently hire astonishingly talented people, and it’s vital we give them the space to grow. It is also a lot easier to grow a team when you have a clear sense of purpose, if you all know why you are coming into work every day, and why you sometimes must park your own story to make sure the bigger story is successful.

My role is evolving from decision maker to coach and supporter, while also returning to being a creative ideas generator – dreaming up the next barmy scheme. Our senior team is now running the business, and we are thriving and growing.

What has been the key thing you’ve learned about ‘designing for good’ and your target audience specifically?

Designing for good is simply a good idea.