Design Researcher and Strategist

I help teams make sense of complexity by identifying user needs, visualizing systems, and reimagining futures.

If you're building something impactful and need to better
understand the people it’s meant for, let’s talk.

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Haleemah Sadiah is a design researcher and strategist focused on design for systems change. She has worked across India, sub-Saharan Africa, and the U.S. with place-based design and technology partners to center community voices in global health, education, and economic development.

Haleemah holds an MFA in Design for Sustainability from the Savannah College of Art and Design and is currently a Design Lead at Catapult Design. Recent work includes Indigenizing Design, an Indigenous-authored framework and set of facilitation tools, and a partnership with Cone Health in rural North Carolina to build the design capacity of the hospital’s innovation team and several nonprofits.

Focus:

Participatory Research
Systems Change
Design for Sustainability

Recognition

Awards and Honors

Core77 Design Awards, Social Impact, Pro-Notable, 2025
Core77 Design Awards, Social Impact, Winner, 2024

Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, Best Design North America, Finalist, 2024
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, Impact, Honoree, 2024
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, Social Justice, Honoree, 2024

GreenBiz 30-Under-30, Honoree, 2023

Talks and Mentorship

Design for Sustainability Alumni Mentor
Savannah College of Art and Design, 2025-26

Design Competition Judge
Codefy.org, 2024

Speaker
AIGA Phoenix Design Week, 2023

Video Presentation
HDCA Conference, 2020

Nest Fellow (Mentor Program)
Nest, 2021

Interviews and Profiles

Designer Profile
Design Makes Sense, 2025

Podcast Guest,
S4, Ep 5: Planting the Seeds of Change
Climify Podcast, 2024

Haleemah Sadiah on Indigenizing Design
SCAD Works, 2023