👋
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
I led a multidisciplinary team of designers, developers, and humanitarian accountability specialists from around the globe in a collaborative effort that enhanced clarity and understanding among internal stakeholders, local and international partner NGOs, UN agencies, and donor organisations. Furthermore, I worked closely with vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugee communities in selected regions where Loop was implemented to design effective feedback channels. This process culminated in the successful launch of a digital platform across five countries.
Collaboration outcomes (4 years)
Transformed Loop from concept to operational service, facilitating community feedback across five countries via SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and a web app in twelve local and international languages.
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
As one of two designers supporting the OpenMRS community, I played a vital role in integrating product design practices within our team of global developer contributors. I collaborated closely with implementing organisations, including Partners in Health, Ampath, Palladium, MSF, and Mekom Solutions, to understand organisation and user needs, and build alignment on feature development, prioritisation, and implementation.
Collaboration outcomes (4+ years)
As of 2025, OpenMRS-3 is used in over 18,000 health facilities worldwide. It has expanded its coverage beyond outpatient care to support inpatient settings for the first time. Additionally, design patterns have been established to accelerate the global adoption of O3 and encourage community contributions.
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
I scoped, planned, and facilitated a 10-day design sprint in collaboration with another product designer and the OpenFn development team. Throughout this process, I conducted a comprehensive UX audit of the existing workflow builder, explored various potential solutions in low fidelity, and prototyped and tested a visual workflow builder alongside a workflow monitoring tool. Additionally, I created hand-off documentation and collaborated with the OpenFn technical team to support the implementation of the validated solutions.
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
Collaborated with a team of two other designers to create a UI kit that enabled us to efficiently build forms and implement changes at scale.
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
As the Product Design Lead, I am responsible for building alignment within a multidisciplinary team of more than 20 contributors, including specialists in data science, design, behavioural science, software development, and global health. I also focus on understanding the needs of our users across Ministries of Health and global health organisations worldwide, collaborating to create a platform for data-driven health decisions.
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.
