Design that puts people first is back in fashion.

This month: designing for the sandwich generation, why human-centred design is having its moment, a podcast launch, some big award wins, and a very special evening in London.

A note from Dane

Welcome to issue three of The Signal - thanks for opening this up! Can you believe it's August already? 2026 is absolutely flying by.

Last week, Allanah and I attended a wonderful evening hosted by NZTE: a screening of Hunt for the Wilderpeople in tribute to Sam Neill, whose recent passing has left so many of us reflecting on the extraordinary life he led. I've always loved the film, but seeing it that night was something else entirely -moving, funny, and unexpectedly tender. We even had the pleasure of hearing from the film's director, Taika Waititi, and its wonderful stars, Rachel House and Julian Dennison. Ten years on, the film hasn't lost a bit of its charm; made on a shoestring budget, it remains, remarkably, the highest-grossing New Zealand film of all time.

But the real heart of the evening was Sam himself. What came through, again and again, was his warmth - the sheer generosity of spirit he brought to everyone around him, and the grace with which he lived, right to the end. It was a fitting tribute to a man who gave so much to New Zealand film and to everyone lucky enough to know him.

A lot in this issue - awards, a podcast launch, big ideas. Let's go!

01 — The Navigator's Take

Designing for the sandwich generation

Nearly half of adults aged 40–59 are simultaneously raising children and caring for ageing parents. They’re time-poor, emotionally stretched, and underserved by almost every digital product they use. The organisations that design for them - really design for them - are sitting on one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the market.

Our work with Ryman Healthcare showed us what’s possible when you start with the human rather than the feature set. Over 300 hours of interviews, co-design, and accessibility testing led to a product that 98% of residents use weekly. That’s not adoption. That’s genuine daily value - and it starts with asking better questions.

→ Read our full take

02 — On the Horizon

Human-centred design is having its moment

After years of AI-first, feature-first, speed-first thinking, the design world is course-correcting. The 2026 UX consensus is clear: accessibility is no longer a compliance checkbox - it’s a core design standard that improves usability for everyone and is starting to influence revenue, procurement decisions, and product credibility.

So what: The products winning in 2026 aren’t the ones with the most features. They’re the ones that respect users’ time, intelligence, and context. If your design process still starts with a brief rather than a person, it’s time to flip the order.

→ Read more

The sandwich generation is a $21,000 problem for employers too

A 2025 caregiving report found that sandwich generation employees lose an average of $21,000 in income annually due to reduced hours or time away from work. For employers, this translates directly to lost productivity, talent attrition, and increased wellbeing costs. Digital tools that genuinely support caregiving - at both ends of the generational spectrum - are becoming a competitive advantage in the talent market.

So what: The sandwich generation isn’t just a design brief - it’s a workforce strategy. The organisations building products and policies that serve this group will attract and retain the talent that others are losing.

→ Read more

03 — Explain it to a kid

We’re excited to launch our very first podcast series - Explain it to a kid. In each episode, Cohen (11) and Wilby (8) ask the questions you might be afraid to ask. What’s an AI agent? What does digital transformation actually mean? It’s the interviewee’s job to explain it in the simplest possible way - so even us grown-ups can finally understand.

Is there something you’ve always wanted explained simply? Let us know - we’d love Cohen and Wilby to put it to our next guest.

*These are Dane and Allanah’s children. Bias? Absolutely. Adorable? Non-negotiable.

→ Listen now

04 — From the Deck

🏆 We’ve won some awards

BEST IN CLASS · Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui  ·  Good Design Awards 2026

GOOD DESIGN AWARD WINNER · Air New Zealand  ·  Digital Design - Apps & Software · Digital Design Interface

Incredibly proud of both teams and the clients who trusted us with the work. This is what happens when you start with the human.

Welcome Ivan and Hayden 👋

We’re excited to welcome two brilliant people to the Auckland team.

Ivan Radojcic  -  Senior Delivery Manager

Hayden Judd  -  Senior Business Advisor / Technical Delivery Manager

04 — Currently Loving

Maps + Music 🗺️🎵

Thank you Lara.

We’ve been loving Zig-Zag.fm - a maps + music discovery tool that’s been surfacing artists and songs Spotify would never in a million years suggest. It’s genuinely excellent for finding new music and falling down interesting rabbit holes.

It’s currently in early access (invite only) - but we’ve got a link if you want to jump the queue and give it a go.

→ Get the linky link → zig-zag.fm

Until Next Month

Thanks for reading - genuinely means a lot that you keep coming back. Issue three already. We’re just getting started.

The awards feel wonderful, but honestly what excites me most this month is the podcast. Watching Cohen and Wilby interrogate experts about AI in a way that actually makes sense - there’s something in that worth paying attention to. Simplicity is harder than complexity. It always has been