Empathy in Action.
Impact by Design.
Let’s design impactful and human sized services together
Impactful and value based services are at the heart of our work. We use inclusive design and human-centred design to create new, meaningful services, experiences and organisations. We support organisations, small businesses and communities to build an impactful, resource-wise and sustainable future.
Why Empact?
Values at the center
For us, value-based work is at the core of who we are. This is reflected in both the process and the outcome of our work. Equitable and impactful services and their development are the foundation of our business.
Expertise and experience
We have vast expertise in translating complex societal challenges into concrete services. Our team has over 18 years of combined experience in human-centred, inclusive design in the public, private and third sectors, both domestically and internationally.
Focus on equity and sustainable development
We focus on projects that promote equity in different areas of life, and through our work we aim to contribute to a more sustainable future.
Inclusive design
Equity is at the heart of our design process, not just at the level of speech, but in action. In practice, this means a particularly inclusive way of working, often with marginalized groups at the centre.
Sensitivity to marginalized groups
We have extensive experience in involving marginalized groups in our work and have a sensitive and respectful approach. We have experience working with migrants and refugees, young people and unemployed people, among others.
Our work
Nicehearts Neighborhood Mothers
Neighborhood Mothers is a network of volunteer women who support immigrant women in promoting community, integration, and inclusion. Although the activities are already well-established, Neighborhood Mothers wanted to develop their processes, improve the quality of training and communication, and strengthen the volunteers’ ability to organize successful events.
Naistenkartano
Naistenkartano supports the wellbeing of women through peer-led groups and easy to access psychosocial services. As client needs have been growing more complex, the emotional load on staff has also increased. To assist with this, the organization partnered with Empact to strengthen internal support structures and reimagine how their work is organized.
Nuoret Lesket ry – Young Widows
Nuoret Lesket ry is an NGO in Finland, providing peer support, counseling and other services to young widows and their families. Empact facilitated a sparring session with the staff to help them take the first steps in developing a clearer, more accessible service path for people who have lost a partner and become widowers.
”We asked Empact to design and facilitate a service design workshop to help us identify challenges related to our program and find solutions to them. Michelle led an inspiring and efficient workshop for the Neighbor Mothers team and volunteers. After the workshop, we received a concise material package and recommendations for the next steps to achieve our goals. Thank you for the pleasant and seamless collaboration!”
– Anni Susineva, Neighborhood Mothers, Nicehearts
”I warmly recommend Anna and Michelle from Empact! They build up the development work with care and attention, create a good atmosphere and a clear way of working, and also take care of the follow-up in an exemplary manner. The whole process was handled from start to finish with great professionalism!”
– Anna Vuorio, Naistenkartano
”I can wholeheartedly recommend Empact. Working with Michelle is smooth, and the client is truly listened to. The work was completed quickly and efficiently. It’s clear that every client is important to them!”
– Niina Laaksonen, Hivpoint
”I participated in a workshop facilitated by Empact with my work community. We are undergoing an internal change in our working practices, which is challenging at times, and it was important at this stage to pause together on the themes we felt were important. Empact’s facilitators had built a solid workshop to support our reflections, which allowed us to explore different perspectives and develop creative solutions during the development day. The workshop enabled us to recognize the necessary actions and take the first steps on the path of change!”
– Workshop participant
”Anna and Michelle are amazing professionals who are a pleasure to work with. They bring strong methodological expertise, the ability to lead engaging and high-quality workshops, and an excellent understanding of how to include diverse groups. On top of that, they are incredibly flexible, creatively solving unexpected situations and developing innovative solutions to challenging problems. I highly recommend working with Anna and Michelle!”
– Päivi Korpela, Plan International
”Anna and Michelle are a diamond duo! The sparring session was inspiring and made our creative juices flow. Even in a short time, we achieved a lot! We even picked up some good tools for us to use in the future.”
– Sini Leppänen, Nuoret Lesket ry
Our team
Our team currently consists of two experienced service designers. Both of us bring a mix of social understanding and concrete design skills from several years of experience in different sectors. We have experience in engaging a diverse range of people and elevating the voices that often remain silent.
Michelle Sahal Estimé
I am a service designer who wants to make both digital and physical society more equitable, so it serves us all. I have worked with a wide range of equality related challenges and topics for over 14 years, in NGOs, at the United Nations, academia and most recently in an IT consulting firm. Since 2016, human-centred design has been an integral part of my work. My background in health and communications from the third sector gives me a strong foundation in helping NGOs, networks and small businesses to develop impactful and inclusive services. I am particularly inspired by projects where I can concretely include and engage minorities in the inclusive design process.
Anna Pyyluoma
I am a service designer who helps organisations work more effectively and understand how to respond to the needs of a changing world. I specialize in strategic planning, service design and change management. I am a skilled facilitator and I am passionate about working with social innovation. My dream project would be to participate in a future visioning project that empowers marginalized groups, helping organisations to adapt their activities to better meet the needs of everyone. I want to use my design skills to promote a sustainable future and inclusion.
Our services
Our approach is inclusive and collaborative: we involve stakeholders and beneficiaries throughout the design process. This is how we ensure that the services and solutions we design are equitable, innovative and appealing to those they are intended to serve.
Service design with equity at the center
- Inclusive design, DEI in design
- Customer understanding and user research
- Workshops and facilitation
- Designing new concepts
- Service design trainings and sparring
Advocacy and social impact
- Co-created visions and futures thinking
- Co-created campaigns
- Facilitating cooperation between networks
- Speeches and panel discussions
Organizational development
- Co-created organisational cultures that support experimentation and innovation
- Co-created strategies and visions
- Developing new processes
- Co-created action plans
Blog posts
Read our blog to find our newest posts related to Empact, inclusive design and other related interesting topics. Each post is written in both Finnish and English.
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Kohti vaikuttavampaa kestävyyssiirtymää – monitieteisyys ja muotoilijan rooli muutoksen vauhdittajana
Anna Pyyluoma, Empactin toinen perustaja jatkaa Empactin kestävän kehityksen blogisarjaa, jossa pohditaan inklusiivisen muotoilun roolia…
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DEI under attack: Let’s go back to basics
Now that DEI as a concept is under attack globally, we think going back to…
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Uusi blogisarja inklusiivisesta muotoilusta kestävyyshaasteissa
Anna Pyyluoma, Empactin toinen perustaja avaa Empactin kestävän kehityksen blogisarjan, jossa pohditaan inklusiivisen muotoilun roolia…
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Inklusiivisen muotoilun haasteet – muotoilijoiden kokemana
Michelle Sahal Estimé, Empactin toinen perustaja jakaa oivalluksia MBA-opinnäytetyöstään, joka käsitteli yhdenvertaisuuden, moninaisuuden ja inklusiivisuuden…
How can we help you?
We’re Michelle and Anna, both experienced service designers specialized in inclusive design. We would love to help you design equitable services and products. Please contact us to discuss more!