Where Black Researchers & Designers Thrive

Join our five-month leadership programme for Black researchers and designers working in UK civil society*

Applications reopening early 2026.

The Black Design Guild gives junior-to-mid level researchers and designers the time, resource and community needed to learn, heal and grow. Nurturing leaders driving positive change.

*we’re using civil society as a messy term for non-profits, voluntary, social, community and governmental organisations.

WHAT YOU GET

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Retreat.

If you’re in a junior-to-mid level research or design role and want to progress, our three-night retreat will help supercharge your learning and leadership journey.

You deserve support and investment as you navigate the sector and thrive in your career. The retreat will be a space where we invest in you, giving you the time to pause, heal and lay the foundations that will hold you as you grow.

Learning + Healing.

You’ll get access to an £800 Learning and Healing budget to support you to round out any technical skills and keep everything in balance while you do.

As a Guild member, you’ll receive a Learning and Healing budget (for you to claim as and when you want to) for any learning and healing support, activities or resources that are valuable to you.

Community.

As a member of the Guild, you can stay connected with your cohort, along with other alumni, for support and to continue strengthening your collective power.

You’ll have three official post-retreat cohort workshops to explore craft and ideas, as well as to receive support from peers. Your programme will wrap up with an end-of-programme cohort celebration. After that you’ll be supported to stay connected with your cohort and others in the way that suits you.

  • This has made me reimagine what thriving in the work that I do can look like.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

  • This has supported my recovery journey.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

  • I had been stuck but could now move forward in the conversations I was having with both myself and others which is exactly what I needed and wanted.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

  • I’ve learnt to view myself and my career in a more loving and caring way.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

  • It has changed my life, redirected my thinking, helped me release and restore.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

  • It was such a profound experience that I don't even think I'm aware of how much it will have positively changed the course of my life.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

  • Everything was perfect.

    BDG Alumni, 2023 Cohort

How it works

  • Apply

    Apply to join a cohort of the Guild

  • Assess

    Meet with the team to assess your fit

  • Accept

    Let us know if you accept your place

  • Access

    Retreat, learning budget, community

  • Alumni

    Stay connected and supported by peers

Eligibility

You’re a Black person in the UK working in design research or strategy.

Your current UK-based role might be user researcher, design researcher, UX researcher, product designer, digital designer, service designer, UX designer, design strategist or programme designer or you might be working in an innovation team.

You’re in a junior-to-mid level role and want to prepare for progression.

You’re a few years into your career in a junior role or you’re in a mid-level role. You’re hoping to support and/or continue your progression. You might have between three and eight years of experience in research and design roles, or have more years of transferable experience but are finding it hard to land yourself a job at the level you deserve.

You’re working in areas focused on positive social change.

You have a passion for social change. You’re working in or around non-profits, civil society, voluntary, social, community or governmental organisations. You might work in a charity, trust, foundation, agency, consultancy, studio, B-Corp, or governmental organisation.

RS

Interested in joining the 2025 cohort?

VP