If your business exists to make the world better, is it good enough to work on something that’s simply “not bad”? Or is it our responsibility to raise the bar and be more rigorous about what we say “yes” to?

At Made for the World, we’ve always been driven by the idea that design can be a force for good. Right from the start, we asked ourselves the simple question: is this project going to make a positive impact?

But we realised that “positive impact” isn’t always as clear-cut as it sounds, and just avoiding harm isn’t enough. If we want our work to truly move the needle, we need to be thoughtful and deliberate about the opportunities we take on.

Learning the hard way

In our early days, we felt the pull to say “yes” to almost every opportunity: the interesting ones, the urgent ones, the ones that almost fit. But we soon learned that not everything that sounds impactful on paper delivers in practice.

Some projects turned out to be less aligned than they first appeared. Some were undercooked, underfunded, or tangled in internal politics. And a few simply left us flat – like we’d worked hard on something that didn’t make the difference we’d hoped.

Being “for good” isn’t enough – we have to be clear about what good looks like, and honest about where our time and energy are best spent.

We also became more aware of the risk of greenwashing: work that’s framed as impactful, but whose real intentions or actions don’t quite match up.

Those experiences taught us that being “for good” isn’t enough – we have to be clear about what good looks like, and honest about where our time and energy are best spent.

Developing a decision-making framework

As our studio matured, and especially as we went through the B Corp certification process, we knew we needed a better way to decide what to take on. Not just a gut feeling, or a vague sense of “this sounds positive”, but a more structured way to decide which projects were truly fit for impact, and fit for us.

So we started developing a framework – a set of questions that help us dig deeper into three areas:

• Alignment with our purpose
• Potential for impact
• The right fit

It helps us sense-check things like:

• Will this work support long-term change?
• Is impact a core objective, or a byproduct?
• Are we well placed to help the project succeed?

It gives us space to pause, ask the right questions, and have honest conversations, both within our team and with potential clients. It’s not about gatekeeping or perfectionism – it’s about clarity, integrity, and putting our energy where it matters most.

And if a project isn’t deemed the right fit? We’re able to explain why with confidence and justification.

A work in progress

Our framework isn’t perfect – it’s still evolving, and we’re working to make it even more robust and actionable.

And we know we’re not the only ones grappling with this. If you’re running a purpose-driven studio, agency, or organisation, you’ve probably wrestled with the same questions:

• How do you choose the work you take on?
• What helps you spot red flags – like greenwashing or misalignment?
• How do you balance purpose, impact, and the realities of running a business?

We’d love to hear how others are navigating these same challenges.

What’s worked for you? What’s been hard? Get in touch – let’s compare notes, and keep raising the bar for impact-led work.