Our StudioCrux Design Studio is a design led consultancy creating high performing environments that are both beautifully designed and built to work. We believe design should create clarity, support people, and deliver lasting value. By aligning strategy, architecture, interiors, and technical thinking early, we reduce risk, control cost, and carry quality through delivery and use..
Crux was named after the founder’s father, who established Crux Consulting in the early 2000s with a focus on finance. An avid mountain climber, he was inspired by the idea of “The Crux” - the most challenging part of a climb. It’s not always at the summit, but once overcome, the rest of the ascent opens with clarity and momentum. That same principle holds in business and design: The Crux is the heart of a challenge, the pivotal moment where progress hinges on insight, creativity, and courage.
Finally, Crux nods to the stars - specifically, The Crux constellation - which serve as a navigational anchor and a symbol of direction, purpose, and perspective. Today, Crux Design Studio carries forward this spirit: helping clients navigate complexity to reach clarity, unlock potential, and move boldly forward.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Crux Design Studio is a design led consultancy creating high performing environments that are both beautifully designed and built to work.
We believe design should create clarity, support people, and deliver lasting value. By aligning strategy, architecture, interiors, and technical thinking early, we reduce risk, control cost, and carry quality through delivery and use.
We work openly and collaboratively, drawing on a trusted network of specialists, makers, and technology partners to strengthen ideas and expand what is possible for our clients. This connected way of working allows us to shape solutions that are more informed, more ambitious, and more effective.
Our work balances creativity with rigour, combining the discipline of architecture with the pace and accountability of a delivery led model. The result is environments that perform, adapt, and endure, and that clients are proud to stand behind.
“Over time, we have learnt that design is never just about space. It is about people, behaviours, and the confidence to make the right decisions. Our role is to guide you there, creating environments that feel authentic, purposeful, and right for your business.”
- Heather Saunders, Founder | Principle
WHY CRUX
We believe great projects are built on strong relationships, shared trust, and the right expertise at the right time.
Complex environments often fail not because of a lack of talent, but because teams are misaligned, decisions are unclear, and opportunities remain unseen. Crux exists to bring clarity early, create alignment, and open access to ideas, partners, and perspectives that elevate outcomes.
We work closely with our clients and project teams, listening carefully, guiding decisions, and removing complexity so progress feels confident rather than stressful. By integrating strategy, design, technology, and engineering from the outset, we create clarity, strengthen communication, and help teams move forward together.
We value the experience as much as the outcome, creating a collaborative, supportive process and environments that exceed expectations and unlock value clients may not have realised was possible.
The result is work delivered with certainty, quality, and trust, and relationships that continue well beyond handover.
OUR LOCATION
Crux Design Studio is headquartered in London, with teams based across North America, Dubai, and India, delivering projects worldwide. Our work spans continents, sectors, and shaped by international design experience and a truly global perspective.
No project is too far or too small. With distributed teams and established delivery networks, we can scale seamlessly to support a single, highly focused commission or multiple projects running in parallel. Wherever your business operates, we bring clarity, consistency, and confidence—working as one integrated studio to support your ambitions, wherever they take you.
"When we hired Heather and Crux, we knew that she was a smart and stylish designer. However, my anxiety was about Care City’s circumstances and requirements. We didn’t have a large budget, and we also did not want a plush or luxurious office. I need not have worried. Heather was extremely responsive to our brief and priorities, and curious to understand our team, organisation and work as deeply as possible, to create a space right for us. Heather rolled with the process of us changing our mind or simply not knowing the answers she needed, in a way that supported us to learn and build confidence through the process."
- John Craig, Care City
