Change starts with
understanding behaviour.
At some point, we’ve all wanted to change behaviour.
Our own, someone else’s, or that of a group or community.
Behavioural Design helps you do just that.
It’s a way of using design principles, psychology, and systems thinking to understand why people do what they do, and then shape environments, experiences, and tools that make better behaviour easier.
This self-study course gives you a hands-on introduction to Behavioural Design.
You’ll learn the principles, practise the methods, and apply them to a real problem that matters to you.
No jargon. No lectures. Just practical steps to help you think, plan, and design with behaviour in mind.
What you’ll learn
Over 20 hours of self-paced learning, you’ll explore how to:
Frame problems as behavioural challenges
Understand what really drives people’s actions
Identify patterns, barriers, and opportunities
Generate creative, evidence-based solutions
Measure what changes and why
Build ethical, sustainable behavioural interventions
This is a course for doing. You’ll pick a challenge early on and use it to practise the full Behavioural Design process, from insight to impact.
Course structure
The course is divided into five core stages, each with short, focused sprints that build your skills step by step.
1. Behavioural Design Foundations
Learn what Behavioural Design is, how it works, and how it blends Behavioural Science, Design Thinking, and Systems Thinking.
You’ll start by defining your own behavioural challenge.
2. Insight
Dig into the drivers of behaviour. Identify key actors, settings, and influences that shape what people do.
You’ll learn to look beyond surface behaviour to uncover what truly matters.
3. Explore
Map the environment around the behaviour. From rules and tools to culture and communication, you’ll uncover how context shapes choice.
4. Ideate
Turn insight into ideas. Use Behavioural Design tools and Behaviour Change Techniques to craft interventions that actually work.
5. Implement
Measure, test, and learn. Explore practical ways to monitor change, understand impact, and design ethically.
Course details
Format: Self-paced online study pack
Effort: ~20 hours
Level: Beginner-friendly, no prior knowledge needed
Points: 60
Author: Lauren Kelly, Founder of BehaviourStudio
Release date: 5th November 2020
About the author
Lauren Kelly is the founder of BehaviourStudio, a Behavioural Design studio that sits at the intersection of design and behavioural science. And creator of BehaviourKit.
Her work helps people, teams, and organisations craft engaging, motivating solutions that change behaviour for good.
Ready to start?
Learn how to design for real human behaviour, not assumptions.
Join thousands of learners exploring the art and science of Behavioural Design.