Translating Chaos: How I Bridge Ambiguity and Bureaucracy
Bureaucracies crave certainty. Design lives in ambiguity. I work in that gap—translating strategic design into moves that public systems can actually pick up and run with. In this talk, I’ll share how I’ve learned to stop pushing against the system and start designing with it. No big bang redesigns—just practical ways to get good ideas through risk-averse environments without losing what makes them powerful.
You’ll leave with simple tactics to reframe your work, build trust with decision-makers, and get real change moving—even in the slowest parts of government.
Sash Milne
Sash is a strategic designer with a PhD in Design, working at the intersection of organisations and complex systems.
She began her career on the frontlines of social services, where she gained a grounded understanding of how systems shape people’s lives. That experience sparked a long-term focus on redesigning services and structures to work better for those they serve.
Today, Sash helps organisations navigate complexity, improve ways of working, and design for long-term impact. Her work focuses on bridging strategy and delivery—translating ambition into practical, system-aware approaches that enable meaningful and lasting change.
She is known for bringing clarity to complex environments, building trust across disciplines, and helping ideas move from intent to implementation.