Ethical Design Co.

A print and digital design agency that cares.

UX (user experience) design for websites, web apps and other software products.

Our HCD (human-centred design) approach to UX allows us to think outside the box to help you gain insights into who your users are and what they are trying to achieve, and then design the most effective visual cues to help them get there.

Our practice is a little bit different

We use a variety of tools that are centred around standard UX practice, but we include some anthropological techniques that will provide deeper qualitative insights.

We draw upon Sonja’s unique skills in Design Anthropology, i.e. her understanding of how we design the world around us in order to find meaning in our human existence. We know how to work past our internal biases and design for everyone, for real needs, and for a sustainable future.

What does a UX design project involve?

Typically, UX design comes into the picture in the very early stage of a digital or website design project. Depending on your project, this might include using a variety of techniques and online tools to find insights and solutions that we can present to you. Some of the techniques we use are:

For discovery projects (research):

  • QAME framework
  • Card sorting
  • Personality modelling
  • Contextual enquiry (participant observation)
  • Interviewing and questionnaires
  • Cultural probe development

For concepting projects (strategy):

  • Persona creation
  • Concept mapping
  • SWOT analysis
  • Usability testing
  • Ethics matrix
  • IA evaluation
  • User tutorials
  • User, task and navigation flows

For execution projects (design):

  • Wireframing and prototyping
  • Scenario-based design
  • Affinity diagramming
  • Frequency analysis
  • A/B or split testing
  • Accessibility testing
  • Heatmaps, Mouse-tracking or Synthetic Eye-tracking
  • Analytics reporting
  • Co-design (multidisciplinary workshops)

Contact us now for a quote

What our customers say…

  • 5
    "Working with Ethical Design Co. was a rewarding and inspirational experience. They were responsible for the content development, website design and web development of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence's 2023 Annual report. They also produced a 52-page full report and 4-page summary report version and managed the printing of everything including our financial report. The result was spectacular! I would definitely recommend them and look forward to working with them again."
    Melanie Hailstone
    Brotherhood of St. Laurence
  • Emily McCaffrey, Head of Philanthropy at Medicines Development for Global Health, greyscale headshot.
    5
    "It's such a pleasure to work with the professional and friendly team at Ethical Design Co. Their creative vision is compelling, and the results speak for themselves. We love our new philanthropy pages! Thank you Ethical Design Co."
    Emily McCaffrey
    Medicines Development for Global Health
  • Headshot of Amanda Grace from Landcare Victoria Inc. - Testimonial thumbnail image in greyscale, circle.
    5
    "Ethical Design Co. have designed and printed a number of documents for our organisation, from simple flyers to complex reports, plus new brand guidelines, and we have been extremely happy with everything they have produced. Such a lovely team, too! Highly recommended."
    Amanda Grace
    Landcare Victoria Inc.
  • Allira-headshot-grey-200px
    5
    "I engaged Ethical Design Co. to turn my dreams and visualizations into reality. From the very beginning of our engagement on the projects of logo and branding, advertising materials, and website design and development, Ethical Design Co.’s professionalism and eye for design was apparent. I was impressed with their suggested improvements on my concepts, felt confident in leaving them in charge of design decisions and have continued to be impressed with the projects on completion. I recommend Ethical Design Co. if you are after a quality service with sleek and sophisticated results."
    Allira Panebianco
    Freedom Diabetes Management
  • Paula-Kaye Richards, Head of Marketing & Communications at Space Capital, greyscale headshot.
    5
    "I have worked with Ethical Design Co. on multiple projects and will continue to work with them in the future. They have been an amazing partner who has helped on projects as large as our rebranding strategy for three brands, to brand guidelines to our quarterly reporting. In all of these projects, they have provided a fresh perspective/design that has been impressive. Working with them is professional and easy without a single deadline missed. I would recommend them for all design work."
    Paula-Kaye Richards
    Space Capital
  • 5
    “I can't thank you enough and honestly couldn't recommend the team at EDCo. any more highly! Your work is truly professional and has encapsulated the core of my business better than even I could've hoped for!”
    Tim Thomas
    Celestial Sound
  • 5
    "The team at Ethical Design Co. designed the whole look and feel of our brand, something we are now proud to display. Because of the professionalism shown from the very first talks we had with them, we were able to put many creative decisions into their hands. When launching another business, I would not hesitate to get them involved from the very start. As a bonus, they deliver work on time too."
    Anthony Ward
    Noria
  • 5
    "As a specialist solutions consulting group that provides information and analytic services to our corporate clients, we engaged with Sonja Meyer to help add an additional level of professional design to our solutions.  From our very first engagement with Sonja we quickly realised that we received more than just her wonderful designs.  Other qualities like her professionalism, experience and fast turnaround have enriched our projects to a point where Sonja’s involvement has become a constant feature in our projects that have a high graphic or visualisation component."
    Zac Anstee
    Tridant
  • 5
    "Sonja has a fine eye for beauty. Her work is elegant and she has a remarkable capacity to reflect the taste of her clients. She is silken smooth to work with. She meets her deadlines, provides accurate information when required, contributes grace and intelligence to the development of every project. I am forever recommending her, and I recommend her again, here and now, to you."
    Donna Ward
    Inkerman & Blunt
  • 5
    "We often seek out Sonja’s assistance on UI/UX designs on particularly creative challenges that our internal designers get blocked on. Her work is always delivered timely and is always above the quality expected. Every time we deliver Sonja’s designs to a client they are blown away."
    Joe McCord
    Digital8
  • 5
    "Sonja has been our go-to designer for all our web-based needs, designing our web platform from initial mock-ups to a fully functioning product. She is a thoughtful, and nimble designer responding to our requirements and our user’s needs whilst retaining a clear vision for simple, engaging and user-friendly design. She manages to fit in with the fast-paced demands of an early stage start-up whilst continually creating beautiful designs for us. I would thoroughly recommend Sonja as a partner in design and we feel lucky to have found her!"
    Daneal Bassiouni
    Native
  • 5
    "As the owner of a small business and a design novice, it's been a pleasure to deal with EDCo. Their designs met my brief perfectly, making my business branding a breeze. Sonja is exceptionally professional and her designs are elegant. Over the years I have been in business I have always chosen to return to Sonja for any design needs. Her work has always been delivered well within deadlines with the assurance that all measures have been taken with environmental sustainability in mind - giving me peace of mind as well as strong branding. Thank you Sonja!"
    Angela O’Toole
    The Art of Eating
  • 5
    "Sonja has worked closely with me in designing our circa 30-page pitch deck, investor summary slides, and other multi-page presentations needed to pitch key partners. She also designed, top to bottom, our crowd funding page. Sonja is an incredible designer, but she also is a great instructor too. Most importantly, Sonja is a pleasure to work with. There’s no BS, she is prompt and hardworking. Her performance has been consistently high and turnaround quick whether she’s working from home base in Melbourne or from a remote island in Vietnam. We will continue to use her services for the foreseeable future."
    Brandon Greenberg
    Mately

Services

At Ethical Design Co. we work on a range of design and development projects. Including but not limited to the following:

Green Printing

Ethical print management and sustainable design strategy for print. If you are in Australia, we can take care of all your print needs.

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