This month, take a deep-dive into updates on our latest projects, including our partnership with Tali, insights from the International Public Health Conference, an exciting update on Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, plus a look at our team retreat and a spotlight on cashless communities. Let’s go!

🗓️ This Month at Ideate

• In the Field: We’re thrilled to partner with Tali Karachi on the launch of their first website, bringing their unique store experience online. The site will feature e-commerce capabilities for local and international orders, educational content on Pakistani craft, and a user-friendly design. Together, we’re aiming to enhance Tali’s global visibility while building a community dedicated to celebrating Pakistani craftsmanship. Stay tuned!

• Expanding Perspectives: This month, Ideate attended the 14th International Public Health Conference in Islamabad, where we learnt more about the groundbreaking research on sexual and reproductive health happening particularly in Sindh, with the help of qualitative data. We see great potential in how qualitative, human-centered approaches can complement the existing research to help gain deeper insights and achieve greater impact.

• Shaping Pakistan’s Entrepreneurial Future: Over the last few weeks, our Partner & Chief Design Officer, Ali Murtaza has collaborated with the SECP to help shape and support the Pakistan Startup Summit 2024, which took place in Karachi earlier this month. The summit brought together industry leaders, policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs to explore ways of fostering innovation, and building resilient ecosystems to drive sustainable growth across Pakistan’s startup ecosystem. We are now putting together the post-summit report, which will highlight key themes, challenges, policy recommendations, and opportunities for collaboration that emerged through the summit and strategic discussions following it.

• Team Getaway: The Ideate team took a well-deserved break with our quarterly retreat in the scenic Margalla Hills, spending the weekend rock climbing, cooking and bonding together!

🔎 Project Spotlight 

Building Cashless Communities: A Step Towards Digital Inclusion

We partnered with Karandaaz to design Pakistan’s first scalable cashless ecosystem, starting with a housing society in Lahore, Pakistan. By understanding the needs of residents, merchants, and administrators, we developed strategies to digitize key payment touchpoints like utility bills and society fees. This pilot program is paving the way for more inclusive and accessible digital financial services nationwide. Read the full case study on our website here.

Want to explore scalable digital solutions with us? Contact Ahmed Hashmi, Head of Experience Design, at [email protected].

🍪 Bite-sized Insights

• Our research into piloting cashless ecosystems in housing societies revealed a key insight: residents prioritize the speed and convenience of digital payments above all other benefits. We tested value propositions like safety and security, financial management, savings and investments, and environmental impact, and collaborated with community administrators to refine messages that encourage adoption. The most preferred message —“Digital payments are fast, reliable, and convenient”—emphasized the importance of ease and efficiency in driving the shift to cashless systems.

• While being on track to become some of the first fully cashless societies, Sweden and Norway are now reassessing their move toward cashless societies due to security risks posed by cyber-attacks. Both countries are encouraging citizens to keep cash on hand for emergencies. Sweden is exploring an “e-krona,” a digital currency designed to serve as a backup to cash in case of digital system failures, ensuring resilience in times of crisis. These steps highlight the balance between digital innovation and national security in payment systems.¹

🍿 This Month’s Top Picks

📖 Reading: Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything

📺 Watching: Slow Horses 

📻 Listening to: Let’s Talk Religion

📣 Community Shoutouts

Bolt teamed up with the Little Big Think Tank—children aged 5 to 13—to redesign a classic city playmat, replacing cars with people-friendly features like accessible transport, cycling infrastructure, parks, and local shops. We love how this project highlights how good design can shape the future, sparking new ideas for cities that put people first.

Explore the playmat and get the design files here.

📮 Let’s Work Together

At Ideate, collaboration isn’t just a value—it’s at the heart of everything we do. Whether you’re looking to collaborate or want to explore how human-centered design can help your work, we’re all ears. Let’s brainstorm together:

Ali Murtaza, Partner & Chief Design Officer– [email protected]

Or write to us on Instagram or LinkedIn! We're excited to see how we can work together.

Citations

1)  Bryant, M. (2024, October 30). Sweden and Norway rethink cashless society plans over Russia security fears. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/30/sweden-and-norway-rethink-cashless-society-plans-over-russia-security-fears