Design for social impact.
De Ruana is a design strategy consultancy. We put more than fifteen years of design and communication-strategy experience to work for organizations building a more just and sustainable world — from grassroots collectives to global institutions.
Who we are
Where global resources meet local need
We use design and business to create solutions to complex challenges, with a focus on lasting, sustainable impact. Our team brings together design strategy and communication expertise, built over fifteen-plus years of work for corporate, government, and grassroots organizations.
We work alongside vulnerable communities across the globe, in partnership with international organizations active in Finland and the rest of Europe. Our work lives at the intersection of global and local contexts.
- We bridge global resources to emerging needs in local communities.
- We connect local communities with local communities across the world.
- We work with vulnerable communities in partnership with global organizations operating in Finland and Europe.
Who we work with
Partners working toward the same horizon
Our clients are foundations, NGOs, accelerators, social ventures, socially driven consultancy collectives, impact investors, and government agencies — engaged in development, humanitarian aid, and environmental work.
- Foundations
- NGOs
- Accelerators
- Social ventures
- Impact investors
- Government agencies
Clients and collaborators
Why design
Participatory & sustainable design
Organizations looking to grow their social and environmental impact are turning to design because of its focus on people, communities, and living systems — an approach that is as inspiring as it is practical.
- Learn and apply design thinking to develop new offerings
- Create learning experiences for internal teams and beneficiary communities
- Facilitate participatory processes that bring communities together to co-create solutions
- Clarify complexity within systems and projects to align stakeholders
- Build alternative revenue models that connect income with social and environmental mission
- Support teams through change, and deepen understanding of the people they serve
Services
From idea to implementation
Design strategies for exploring and solving critical social challenges, all the way from idea to implementation.
Collaborative Research & Design
Codesign through workshop sprintsDesign, Prototype and Learn
Ongoing design consultingCapacity Building
Skills, tools & mindsetsAccelerating Ventures
MentoringCodesign through workshop sprints
A 4-day design-sprint cycle that takes you from problem definition to a tested prototype. Includes 3 days of research and sprint planning with two designers.
Accompany your organization as a design consultant
We partner with your team for internal or external-facing work — product design, communication design, sustainability design, participatory design, UX, content design, futures thinking, and design strategy.
Innovative skills, tools & mindsets
We teach and build capacity in design, sustainability, and visual communication, for communities and organizations alike.
Mentoring
Team mentoring inside accelerator programs on design, visual thinking, and communication — a 2-hour workshop for the whole cohort, plus 1 hour of mentoring per team.
Team
Who's behind De Ruana
Adriana Santamaría P.
Design strategistAdriana has multicultural experience working across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. As a design strategist, she has supported multi-level collaboration within government entities, educational institutions, grassroots organizations, international NGOs, and global communities of practice — designing and facilitating spaces that enable co-creation and mutual learning.
With 20 years of experience, her work spans co-design, participatory design, systems thinking, futures thinking, community building, collective governance, and storytelling in philanthropy, peacebuilding, and sustainability. She has led projects for Think Peace, the Civic Leadership Institute, Humanity United, the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP) with the Swiss Embassy in Colombia, GAAMAC, Fondo Acción, and Startup Refugees.
Mauricio Llano
Design, sustainability & communications specialistMauricio combines user- and data-driven information with qualitative and quantitative research to find insights that shape and prototype solutions to different challenges. His path has moved from communications into user-experience design and research, and more recently into design for sustainability — a discipline he sees as a powerful tool for systemic transformation.
He has worked in Colombia, the United States, and Finland, most recently contributing to social-driven and global-health projects for Sonder Collective, the Gates Foundation, the JEP in collaboration with the Swiss Embassy in Colombia, Aalto Global Impact, and the DCM Corridor Group.
How we work
Trusted networks, built over time
Projects reach us through both closed and open calls for grants and consultation. Closed calls come through the connections and networks built over years of working engagements and personal recommendations; open calls are shared through partner websites and social media, often passed along by other organizations within their trusted circles.
For funders and partners, knowing that a provider has the financial and human capacity to deliver is essential to keeping the sector transparent — which is why we invest in strong, trusted relationships. As collaborators with Sonder Collective, we also draw on a wider network of diverse designers, so we can assemble the right team for each call.
Let's design something that matters, together.
Connect with us
De Ruana Oy
Ratamotie 2 A 10
02620 Espoo, Finland
Business ID 3319824-4