Culture, Craft, and Community
How SAP connects designers worldwide
When we think of design in a tech company, we often picture interfaces, user research, prototypes, and journeys. But a significant part of design happens in the relationships between people: product managers, developers, UAs, researchers, and, of course, designers. At SAP, with over 100,000 employees worldwide, we have a vast ecosystem of designers working across hundreds of products. So we asked ourselves: what if part of our job as designers was to design how we connect? That question sparked the creation of SAP Design Hubs — a global program launched in 2023 to strengthen local design communities and foster meaningful connections within and across teams.
SAP’s human-centered leadership team recognizes community-building as a strategic necessity. When Arin Bhowmick joined SAP as Chief Design Officer in 2022, he made it clear: he wanted SAP to be the best place for designers to work. The Hubs became a key part of that vision. Since then, SAP has launched nine active Design Hubs around the world: Berlin (Germany), Brazil, Brno (Czech Republic), China, Sofia (Bulgaria), India, Vancouver (Canada), Walldorf/Rot (Germany), and Palo Alto (USA). Together, they connect more than 600 designers, nurturing a vibrant culture of collaboration, learning, and creative exchange.
Design culture starts with community
Building a healthy design culture starts by creating spaces where designers can connect beyond immediate deliverables. When people rally around shared goals, such as improving user experiences or raising the bar for craft, they begin to shape the values and behaviors that define their culture. Through consistent rituals like design critiques, onboarding sessions, and design meetups, communities build trust, openness, and a rhythm of continuous learning. These interactions help designers feel part of something larger, creating the sense of belonging that fuels motivation and creativity.
A strong community also makes knowledge visible and accessible, and we learn from each other, appreciating different points of view, walks of life, diverse backgrounds, and experiences. By encouraging peer-to-peer sharing, celebrating impact, and reinforcing the idea that great design is a shared responsibility, culture grows. As designers model curiosity, empathy, and collaboration, those behaviors spread. Community isn’t just a support system; it’s the engine that sustains and evolves design culture across teams and regions.
Great things happen when designers connect more with each other
We believed that by deepening connections among designers, we could unlock a network of insights, best practices, and creative energy. Designers could learn from each other’s successes and challenges, avoid duplicating efforts, and amplify what works. This can happen all while raising the quality of our work.
And connection brings even more: opportunities to learn from different points of view, backgrounds, and experiences; spaces where we can experiment, try, fail, and win together; acceleration of design through shared knowledge and best practices; and the ability to celebrate SAP’s incredible diversity. Our designers come from all over the world and bring insights from hundreds of companies and industries — but in an enterprise this size, many work in separate product lines. Design Hubs create a safe space to bridge those divides and build momentum for design excellence.
Since its launch, SAP Design Hubs have proven this belief right, and shown us there’s even more potential ahead. The Hubs have sparked major movements: from Design Months hosted in Labs Latin America, Berlin, and Sofia to the SAP Design Summit held for two consecutive years in Bangalore with participation from customers, students, and SAP designers. They’ve also brought global design challenges with university students, Design Days in SAP offices around the world, and engaging workshops and talks on topics like cartooning, designing for AI, and leadership interviews. In addition to larger initiatives, hubs members enjoy countless lunches, happy hours, and creative celebrations.
Do you want to be part of this global design community?
At SAP, designers bring a rich mix of backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking. In a company operating at global scale, with teams working across many product lines, SAP Design Hubs help connect people across locations and disciplines. They create space for collaboration, innovation, and the kind of creative momentum that drives meaningful design. Explore SAP Design's open positions to learn more about opportunities to join this inclusive, innovative community.