Ramsey Ford
Co-founder / Consultant / Emeritus Board Member
he/him
Ramsey Ford is a designer, no doubt about it. He has practiced design from seemingly every perspective: as an award-winning product designer, a design professor, a maker and an entrepreneur.
As it turns out, his design background gave him a unique perspective for helping people solve complex problems. His passion for social justice inspired his Master’s thesis on what designers could learn from community organizing. Ramsey is a collaborative change facilitator who brings creative and inclusive approaches to mission-driven organizations seeking change and innovation. In 2009 he co-founded Design Impact to co-create solutions to complex social problems with communities and grassroots organizations.
Over 13 years, he grew this idea into a nationally recognized consulting organization whose work spanned the globe and sectors, ranging from workforce development to senior hunger, to children’s health, to organizational change. Prior to co-founding Design Impact Ramsey spent a decade in corporate consulting. He received both his undergraduate degree in industrial design and Master of Design from the University of Cincinnati where he developed the concept of deeply engaging design as a change process in organizations and communities. Those experiences – combined with a knack for facilitating creative process and a passion for social justice – was the start of Design Impact.
Ramsey continues to advance the conversation on inclusive design through workshops and speaking engagements such as the Public Interest Design Institute, IDSA International, and Unite for Sight Global Health and Innovation Conference. An avid writer, Ramsey regularly shares his perspective on social design through outlets like Design Observer, FastCompany, Innovations and Product Design Hub. His work has also been published in the Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook and Leap Dialogues.
Creative Outlets: Cartooning, gardening, cooking
Causes: Dismantling institutional racism, environmental justice, small business development
Contact Ramsey: ramsey@d-impact.org
