Not always

A couple of months, I was approached by an acquaintance with the idea of building a healthcare staffing agency – specifically to help qualified nurses from India find placements in Germany. As a communication designer with an intercultural background and personal ties to the world of caregiving, the idea immediately resonated with me – not only professionally, but on a broader societal level.

To bring more depth to the project, I invited a colleague with experience in strategic organizational development to join us. Together, we conducted a series of workshops and developed a comprehensive concept focused on sustainable workforce development with a globally minded, long-term approach. The goal was never just to place people in jobs – but to create a system that is economically viable, culturally sensitive, and socially responsible.

The project name and brand idea India Works, which I suggested as part of our collaboration, reflected more than a geographic origin. It represented a philosophy: international collaboration, thoughtfully structured, rooted in human values, and designed to last.

Roles were clearly defined from the start – leadership, operations, and communications/branding – as equal partners. In the creative process, we not only developed solid operational strategies, but also a clear visual and strategic identity. From a communications perspective, the concept was firmly anchored in the broader sociopolitical context of care work, migration, and workforce development.

Later in the process, our project partner decided to pursue the initiative independently. The timing was late in the game, but the shift in direction is understandable – sometimes ideas evolve differently than initially expected.

What makes healthcare staffing particularly compelling right now is the enormous business potential. Driven by demographic shifts and numerous government support programs, the field almost doesn’t require strong branding or design to succeed. There is real momentum – and with it, I guess, a tendency to pursue opportunities individually, especially if you’re the one holding the operational expertise, rather than develop them collaboratively.

For me, this experience reinforced the importance of approaching complex global challenges not just from an economic standpoint, but through a cultural, ethical, and systemic lens. In that space, communication design has a vital role to play – not just as visual polish, but as a connector between cultures, systems, and ideas.

The topic remains close to my heart. While this particular collaboration took a different path, the conviction remains: Global challenges require holistic thinking – and are best addressed through interdisciplinary collaboration.