👋
I'm Ciarán
{Kir-awn}
I help mission-driven organisations design digital products that just make sense.
For more than a decade, I’ve helped teams turn ambitious goals into achievable realities.
I can help you
From grassroots organisations to global, multi-partner initiatives, I partner with teams to build better systems and launch transformative digital services. My structured approach not only delivers results, but amplifies your impact with the communities you serve.
Product discovery
Product design
Product development
Reshaping humanitarian feedback systems
Loop drives systemic change by amplifying community voices and advancing decolonisation in the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Core contributions
Design direction · UX/UI design · Product development · Ethical user research
Collaboration outcomes (4 years)
Transformed from concept to operational service, enabling community feedback across 5 countries through accessible channels.
A 7-min documentary about Loop is available on YouTube here
Research contexts
🇮🇶 Iraq · 🇸🇴 Somalia · 🇿🇲 Zambia · 🇵🇭 Philippines · 🇮🇩 Indonesia · 🇵🇱 Poland · 🇺🇦 Ukraine

The open-source backbone of global healthcare
Supporting healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings, OpenMRS provides essential medical record infrastructure from local clinics to national networks
Core contributions
UX/UI design · Design system development · Usability audits · Ethical user research

Collaboration outcomes (4+ years)
Expanded OpenMRS-3 beyond outpatient care to support inpatient settings for the first time, while establishing design patterns that accelerate global adoption and community contribution.
Research contexts
🇰🇪 Kenya · 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone · 🇸🇸 South Sudan · 🇭🇹 Haiti
Connecting systems that serve communities
OpenFN helps governments, NGOs and social enterprises around the world move data, automate tasks, and accelerate social impact.

Core contributions
UX/UI design · Usability audits · High fidelity prototyping · Developer support
Research contexts
Remotely with OpenFn users around the world.
Collaboration outcomes (2 weeks)
Redesigned OpenFn's core experience, reducing complexity and lowering barriers to entry for technical and non-technical users alike.
Redesigning paper tools for frontline health workers
PHISICC (Paper-Based Health Information System in Comprehensive Care) provides frontline health workers with intuitive paper forms that guide clinical decisions and improve patient care.

Core contributions
UX/UI design · Design system (UI Kit) development
Collaboration outcomes (6 months)
Healthcare workers across all sites reported improved satisfaction and usability, while clinical impact is being measured through randomised control trials.
Research contexts
🇰🇪 Kenya · 🇲🇿 Mozambique · 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire
Delivering woman-centred data to global health decision makers to accelerate better health
Global digital good integrating segmentation science, behavioural insights, and mixed-methods research to better understand population health disparities.

Core contributions
Object-oriented UX · Concept development · Usability testing · Product design · Developer hand-off
Collaboration outcomes (2+ years)
A growing suite of digital tools evolving from concept to platform, is gradually being adopted by Ministries of Health and global health organisations worldwide.
Research contexts
🇰🇪 Kenya · 🇸🇳 Senegal · 🇮🇳 India · 🇳🇬 Nigeria
What my clients say about me





Hi, I’m Ciarán Duffy
For over a decade, I've been creating digital products for mission-driven organisations, bringing both formal training and a lifelong passion that started with building websites at age 12.
Since 2018, I've led product design projects at Sonder Collective ↗, partnering with organisations like the Gates Foundation, Humanity United, ODI Global, and OpenMRS to research and design digital products across the global health and humanitarian sectors.
My work spans global contexts, with particular expertise in designing for underserved communities and resource-constrained environments. I bring deep experience in ethical research practices and inclusive design principles, ensuring our work creates meaningful impact while protecting participant dignity and wellbeing.
My approach is grounded in kindness, collaboration, and a commitment to accessibility, ensuring digital products work for users of all abilities.
I'm originally from 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and operate from a small design studio in 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany, which serves as a collaborative hub for some of Sonder Collective's global projects.
Engagement models that work for you
As a core member of Sonder Collective ↗, I can assemble expert teams across research, design, data science, and development when needed.
Spark project
A short, energetic engagement that applies product design methods to quickly solve targeted challenges.
Strategic deep dive
An in-depth engagement where we frame problems, understand user needs, and design strategic solutions that create lasting impact.
Systemic redesign
A long-term engagement where we embed and build design capabilities to transform how your organisation serves communities.
Ready to collaborate?
Let's discuss how we can work together to bring ideas to life and make the world a little bit better.
