Design
for
Business
Value for Designers.
Impact for Organizations.
The Wink Collective exists because the old rules of design education and practice are broken. We are here to close the gap between creativity and the hard truth of business, reframing strategic design as the most potent driver of business growth and measurable organizational impact.
Our Approach: Challenge the Status Quo
At The Wink Collective, we reject the idea that design is just decoration. Design is strategy, business communication, and measurable growth.
Wink was founded by Craig Edis, a product and design leadership veteran who spent his career inside organizations, observing the chaos. He saw a clear pattern: designers leave school with craft but zero business acumen. Teams and startups struggle because they lack the clarity, structure, and communication that makes design successful within a P&L.
Wink is the antidote.
Built on decades of hands-on experience in product, brand, and service design, we offer the essential, unconventional wisdom:
For Designers & Teams: We equip you with the mindset, professional skills, and processes to connect your creative genius with undeniable business success.
For Organizations: We partner through Wink Consulting to embed radical design leadership, streamline operational waste, and unlock growth through strategic design consulting.
We don't waste time teaching software. We focus on the high-value knowledge missing everywhere else:
Aligning design decisions with business outcomes and ROI.
Mastering effective stakeholder collaboration and cross-functional communication.
Applying deep user-centred thinking, psychology, and service design principles.
Bringing radical efficiency, clarity, and professionalism to every project.
The result: a new breed of designer, team, and organization that works smarter, grows faster, and delivers with disruptive purpose.
Boosting designers in their careers with business-thinking.
Wink Academy equips designers with the professional skills and business mindset they need to be an irresistible hire and thrive from day one.
The truth is, knowing how to design is not the same as being a professional designer. Getting hired, or promoted, is now about your attitude, your process, and how you strategically apply the power of design to benefit both the user and the business. The backbone of Wink Academy is simple: we raise your value by teaching the in-demand skills employers actually seek beyond your technical craft.
Students learn to:
Connect design directly to business outcomes and user needs.
Communicate ideas with clarity and confidence to executive teams.
Collaborate fiercely across functions, clients, and industries.
Manage projects, time, and feedback like a seasoned professional.
Apply design psychology, service design, and strategic user-centred thinking.
Who it’s for:
Design students, graduates, and emerging professionals seeking a definitive competitive edge to land the roles they want.
Designers seeking to further their value and move up in their careers to more senior design roles.
“Wink’s guidance helped me build a strong foundation in UX/UI design, with a focus on accessibility, inclusive standards, and industry best practices. The techniques I learned from Craig shaped not only my client work and portfolio, but also influenced my approach across other areas of design. I deeply value the way Craig draws from his professional experience to prepare students for the realities of the industry.”
Boost Your Design Career Now
Wink Academy’s courses are designed to give designers the professional edge they will not find in traditional programs. By focusing on business-thinking, collaboration, and real-world process skills.
Design teams that deliver undeniable business impact.
Wink Consulting partners with in-house teams, agencies, and startups to transform design from a perceived cost centre into an undeniable growth driver.
Our Services:
Strategy & Leadership
Strategic Design Consulting: Executive-level design and strategy support to clarify vision, solve challenges, and deliver actionable design frameworks.
Ongoing Consulting & Advisory: A steady, experienced partner for leadership teams, embedding modern design thinking and aligning creative direction with core business goals.
Design Management: Coaching leaders on impactful feedback, ruthless prioritization, and building stronger alignment between design and organizational strategy.
Design Direction & Growth
Design Strategy & Vision: Define vision, positioning, and roadmaps that connect where you are today with where you want to grow tomorrow.
Design & Brand Structure: Align brand, messaging, and design systems for clarity and scalable growth.
Insight & Differentiation: Turn customer and market insights into opportunities that make your brand disruptive.
Systems & Practices
Scaling Systems & Practices: Build robust design systems, onboarding experiences, and frameworks that support sustainable, high-velocity growth.
Processes & Practices: Embed workflows that slash waste and increase design impact.
Team Optimization: Strengthen design teams for efficiency, collaboration, and measurable value.
Startup & SaaS Support
Helping founders create scalable product and brand foundations with clear positioning, design systems, and user-focused practices.
Who it’s for:
In-house teams ready to increase efficiency and prove design impact.
Agencies seeking stronger practices and client relationships.
Startups & SaaS companies building scalable design and brand foundations.
Let’s Elevate Your Design Team’s Impact
Whether you’re scaling a startup, sharpening an agency’s practices, or guiding an in-house team, Wink Consulting helps you maximize design’s business value.
Why It Matters
The design world is changing. Employers and organizations now expect designers who can integrate strategy, user insight, and efficiency — not just produce visuals.
The Wink Collective reframes design as a core driver of business success, helping:
Designers become more valuable professionals
Teams prove design’s impact on the bottom line
Organizations leverage design as a strategic advantage
Reach out,
and say ‘Hi’
Designers, educators, teams, and organizations are rethinking what design means for business. Are you ready to join them?