About us

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Engage By Design

Engage by Design (EbD) is a Sustainable Design Research Studio co founded by Zoë Olivia John & Rodrigo Bautista.

We specialise in designing strategic interventions that aim to support the transformation of a product or service into a more sustainable one.

We act as a platform that enables dialogues and actions between a diverse range of disciplines around sustainability and design through creative outputs and workshops. We help to empower our partners and collaborators to generate meaningful change through opening conversations & providing space for reflection.

Zoe & Rodrigo both bring assorted backgrounds to EbD enabling truly distinct abilities and perspectives. These skills have been developed from a range of past projects that including creative design research and development of; systems, future visioning, product, commercial interiors & fashion.


Rodrigo Bautista

Rodrigo is an award winner designer from ICSID and AIGA. He studied industrial design as a first degree and now has a double master’s degree in Branding & Communications Strategy and Sustainability studied in Mexico and the UK respectively.

Through his work in many different industries, including media, products, services and telecommunications, Rodrigo has learned different methodologies that now help him tackle projects that vary in scale and scope. Rodrigo has worked for Telmex/America Movil, Leo Burnett, Liverpool and Idea Interior studio and also volunteer for organisations such as Forum for the Future, Greenpeace and WWOOF.

In addition to his previous experience he has co-produced the two ‘Town Halls’ Designers Accord in the UK (2011-2012) exploring the themes; sustainable actions and social innovation. During 2012 he was invited as Guardian panellist to discuss how technology can enable more sustainable lifestyles in the future.

Rodrigo has been teaching industrial and experience design courses at various universities (UNUM, CUC and Anahuac in Mexico) and has been guest lecturer, including University of Brighton and Winchester School of Art in the UK.

Today, he is a proud ‘Do-Gooder’ cause/affect member. He believes that design can transcend beyond the design world and stimulate world changing ideas. Rodrigo focuses his work on creative methods, strategic interventions and approaches to sustainable innovation.

Zoë Olivia John 

Always feels a bit odd writing these things. She has done a tonne of stuff from pot washer & housekeeper to lecturing in sustainable and responsible practices across a large range of design fields at all levels. She is the head of the Designers Accord in the EU (if you are not already an affiliate – get thee there), is a founding member for the Brighton Chapter of Good for Nothing, a community of thinkers, do-ers, makers and tinkerers applying their skills and energy to accelerate the work of cause-led innovators and change makers & is keen on developing her work with brands helping them integrate sustainability in all its guises. She is currently the Managing Director at Wilderness Wood, a centre for 21st Century Slow and Sustainable Living set in 62 acres of beautiful Sussex woodland. If you really want to you can see her work history here.

I see it like this – Finite planet with a hellava lot of social and behavioural issues. I would like to help change that. If you would like to know more, lets chat. Its much more fun.

Please drop us a line and say hello.