Three People You Didn't Know Were Great designers

At Nomat, we think a lot about what it means to design something well. Not just websites or services, but careers, strategies and systems. The more I reflect on it, the more I see a simple truth: All successful people are, in their own way, great designers. There are examples of great designers everywhere, and often in places we don't traditionally consider to be design.

They may not call themselves designers. But look closely at how they operate, and you’ll see it. Successful people are not just smart or lucky — they’re intentional. They study the systems they’re in, identify opportunities others miss and build thoughtful paths to success.

To bring that idea to life, I want to share a few stories. Three people from very different worlds: sport, politics, and medicine. Each one exemplifies this way of thinking.

Roger Federer: Designing a Career for Longevity

Roger Federer is known for his effortless game, but nothing about his success was accidental. Early in his career, he was emotional, inconsistent. He was undeniably talented, but not yet dominant. So he took a hard look at himself and the sport. He began to understand what separated the good from the great: not just power or technique, but discipline, temperament and strategy.

Over time, he reshaped not just his mental approach but his entire professional ecosystem. He refined his training, chose his tournaments carefully and even adjusted his racquet to suit a changing game. In 2017, at age 35, he skipped the clay-court season (a bold move) to preserve his body and focus on the surfaces that suited him best. The result? A record-breaking Wimbledon title that year, without dropping a set.

Federer didn’t just adapt. He designed his career. With foresight. With intention. With an understanding of the system he was part of.

Barack Obama: Building a Movement from the Ground Up

Before Barack Obama became President, he was a community organiser. That mindset never left him. When he ran for office, he saw that the traditional political playbook wasn’t working anymore. People were disengaged. Cynical. Campaigns talked at voters, not with them.

Rather than try to force an old model to work, he built something different. His 2008 campaign empowered people at a grassroots level. His team created one of the first political platforms where supporters could connect, self-organise and fundraise together. He leaned into digital tools, decentralised communication and fostered a tone of optimism that resonated across generations.

He wasn’t just running for office. He was designing a different kind of politics — one that made people feel seen, heard, and involved.

That design mindset continued into his presidency, with initiatives like the U.S. Digital Service, where he brought designers and technologists into government to fix critical public systems from the inside out.

Dr Catherine Hamlin: Reimagining Healthcare in Ethiopia

Dr Catherine Hamlin was an obstetrician from Australia who moved to Ethiopia in the 1950s, and what she found changed her life. Thousands of young women were suffering from obstetric fistula, a preventable childbirth injury that left them incontinent and often abandoned by their communities.

She could have focused solely on treating patients. But she saw the bigger picture — that this was a systemic problem, rooted in poverty, stigma, and a lack of maternal care. So she built something deeper: a specialised hospital in Addis Ababa, a network of regional outreach centres, and eventually, a midwifery college to train local women and prevent fistula in the first place.

Dr Hamlin didn’t just provide care. She redesigned the system around it. And decades later, her legacy continues.

What They All Have in Common

What ties these three together?
• They looked beyond the obvious.
• They paid attention to the system.
• They made deliberate choices.
• And they built something sustainable (something that worked for them, and for the people they served).

In other words, they designed their path to success.

At Nomat, this is the work we do every day. Whether we’re helping a team align on strategy, redesigning a digital product or rethinking how people engage with a service — we’re helping our clients see the system more clearly, make smarter decisions, and shape better outcomes.

Because in the end, success isn’t a happy accident.

It’s designed.