Mission Statement
To bring clarity to complex problems and enable creative, systems-led design to spark positive change for people, communities, and the planet.
Biography
Lara Hanlon is a design strategist, sustainability advocate, and community builder. She is the founder of Portion Collaborative, a design-led consultancy that uses creativity to change food systems. Lara also holds the role of Project Director at 100 Archive and is a Founding Member of Design Declares Ireland—two leading platforms advocating for the role of design in shaping a more sustainable, inclusive and beautiful future. As an educator, she has taught Design Thinking, UX, and Graphic Design at the Institute of Art, Design, and Technology Dún Laoghaire, and has guest lectured at institutions such as the School of Visual Arts, NYC. With a background in visual communications and experience working in multidisciplinary teams at IBM in Ireland and New York, Lara’s portfolio spans digital design, sustainable business transformation, and food systems innovation. She frequently collaborates with international organisations and national initiatives to address global and local challenges and contributes to design culture through talks, panels, and public engagements—including TEDx, CreativeMornings, and Milan Design Week. Her work has been featured in FastCompany, Dezeen, and Offscreen Magazine, and published by Bloomsbury Publishing.
Questionnaire
Where do you want to foster change and why?
Where design can shift behaviour—across policy, communities, and organisations—because it shapes how people act, choose, and imagine new possibilities.
What or who influenced you during your professional career?
The many mentors, lecturers, and managers who believed in me over the years. They each gave me the confidence and opportunities to grow in ways I never would have imagined.
We all have those significant moments or situations (success or failure); which one was yours, and what did you learn from it?
IBM was a defining chapter in my career. Working within a world-class global design program, I helped shape design practices and culture, grew my interdisciplinary capabilities, and saw firsthand how design can act as a powerful lever for strategic change.