J5 Design is a design and consulting firm with studios in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Chicago. We work alongside healthcare institutions, governments, non-profits, and communities to deliver more human-centred products, services, and strategies.
We’re a design and consulting firm dedicated to improving the interactions between people and the environment around them.
Users can be patients receiving healthcare, someone travelling through an airport, or the employee responsible for delivering any of these services.
Our success comes from how deeply we transform the organizations we work with and the lives of those they exist to serve in measurable ways.
How many people are positively impacted by the change?
What tangible improvements are made to the experience of users and the organization’s performance?
How are teams embracing new ways of working, and are the changes sustainable?
Design-led companies are structured to put customers at the heart of innovation, from idea to implementation. Many studies demonstrate the performance gap between companies that invest in design as a continuous and strategic intervention and those that don’t.
228%
efficiency and effectiveness
Design-driven companies outperformed the S&P 500 by 228% over the course of a 10-year period.1
41%
brand and reputation
41% of design-led companies reported greater market share and 50% reported more loyal customers. 2
32%
revenue growth
Design-driven companies drove 32% more revenue growth over 5 years than those that didn’t prioritize design.3
301%
return on investment
Internal design thinking practices achieve a 301% return on investment through improved product outcomes and reduced risk of costly failures.4
1. Design Management Institute, Design-driven companies outperform SP by 228% over ten years / 2. Adobe, Design-led firms win the business advantage (2016) / 3. McKinsey, The business value of design (2018) / 4. IBM, The Total Economic Impact™ Of IBM’s design thinking practice (2018)
Design shapes the world around us: from the products and services we use in our everyday lives, to the buildings and communities that surround all of us.
Sydney Johnson Head of Design, J5
Despite their size and complexity, these organizations offer a unique opportunity for us to design strategic interventions and responses that improve the lives of millions of people. By guiding our clients through uncertainty and institutional layers, we identify unmet needs, shift mindsets, and transform legacy systems and structures.
We design human-centred digital services that are effective, and accessible for all citizens. To do this, we consider what they need to accomplish when using a government service and integrate human capabilities with AI and emerging technologies.
We work with healthcare providers to better understand the needs of their patients, caregivers, and staff, so we can improve their experience and the performance of the systems that deliver care. We do this so people can lead healthier, happier lives.
Student expectations and employer needs of new graduates are rapidly changing, and the gap is only growing. We transform how students learn and educational institutions deliver, setting them both up for better futures.
Together with people with lived experience of social issues, we co-create programs, systems, and services. Community engagement and participatory design principles are at the heart of our approach.
By working alongside the people who face the very challenges we’re trying to solve, our work goes beyond understanding users to actively co-designing with them from idea to implementation.
A historic lack of investment in clinical and non-clinical research has led to inadequate women’s health services.
With the backing of provincial government funding, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Cumming School of Medicine and Alberta Health Services partnered with J5 Design to scale up women’s health in Calgary and surrounding areas. We facilitated strategic priority-setting and roadmap creation in this exciting partnership of research and clinical experts, and funding stakeholders.
Replacing costly and ineffective software to improve access to courtroom transcripts. Access to courtroom transcripts is vital to maintaining the integrity, efficiency, and transparency of the legal system. Our designers were part of a product team who designed a modern digital transcript service that could meet the functional needs of users and the business unit. The new digital service was released on schedule, enabling the transition away from the legacy platform before its contract renewal. Within the first six months, the new service was successfully adopted by all court levels and locations across the province, processing over 10,000 transcript orders.
Siloed primary care clinic spaces are facing staff and funding challenges with increased population demands.
J5 Design helped a large Primary Care Network provider consolidate several clinics into a larger clinic space that would serve new patients and providers. This work was integrated with the building and design of the work environment where people could foster connections with patients, clinicians, and support staff.
Creating strategic and easy-to-use tools to grow with intention.
The Board of Directors at the Centre for Newcomers (CFN) were anticipating significant growth over the next five years. We created an strategy comprised of three tools: (1) a framework that helped CFN assess growth opportunities for alignment, impact, readiness, and growth potential; (2) a tool for testing the potential of high impact opportunities; and (3) an evaluation framework that made visible impact and learnings for future iterations. This “Living Strategy” has been used by CFN to meet its strategic goals while staying focused on the needs of newcomers.
At J5, we start by reimagining the entire business around the customer, then enabling employees within the organization to become catalysts for change by designing new capabilities and processes required to deliver exceptional experiences for years to come.
We LISTEN to users, communities, and internal teams.
We host, facilitate, and observe leaders, teams, and entire communities, bringing diverse groups together to align on a shared vision for innovation and change. Our approach brings clarity to the complexity, by encouraging a growth mindset and the creative confidence needed to see opportunities within the hairball and define the right problems worth solving.
We DESIGN services and experiences for people.
Our designers work side by side with our clients to prototype solutions, gathering feedback from the people who will use them to ensure they’re practical and effective.
The double heart visual reflects the importance of designing not only with users, but also the people responsible for delivering services or strategies. Our work focuses on integrating both groups to ensure future solutions meet their needs in ways that lead to adoption and sustainable change.
We help REALIZE change and transformation.
We embed design into strategy and operations, building the adaptive capacity of leaders and employees so they can embrace new behaviours and systems that drive long-term innovation.
The butterfly symbolizes our approach to transformation and the different stages of maturity needed to emerge renewed. Each wing of the butterfly reflects capabilities that organizations need to develop, which are dependent on industry, culture, and other factors.
CALGARY
Ampersand, North Tower
140, 4th Ave SW, Suite 1500
Calgary, AB, Canada, T2P 3N3
EDMONTON
We use the strategic value of design to transform user experiences, the bottom line, and society at large. Whether it’s physical spaces, customer experiences, or digital transformation, we put people at the heart of innovation and change.
Let’s start with a meeting. Scan our QR code to book your first meeting.
10310 - 102nd Ave, Suite 201
Edmonton, AB, Canada, T5J 2X6
TORONTO
1655 Dupont St, Suite 101
Toronto, ON, Canada, M6P 3T1
159 N Sangamon St, Suite 200
Chicago, IL, USA, 60607