Dark Matter and Trojan Horses: A Strategic Design Vocabulary by Dan Hill explores how design can transcend its traditional boundaries to address complex, systemic challenges within organizations and society. The book builds a vocabulary for what Hill calls “strategic design”—a process that doesn’t stop at aesthetics or even tangible products but engages deeply with organizational systems, policies, and behaviors that influence outcomes.
Dark Matter
Hill introduces dark matter as the invisible yet powerful forces that shape and constrain change within systems. Borrowing the metaphor from physics—where dark matter makes up much of the universe’s mass but is undetectable—Hill uses it to describe unseen structures like organizational culture, politics, incentives, and market forces.
These forces are not tangible “design objects” like a product, service, or interface, but they are the very conditions in which design operates. Ignoring this dark matter risks limiting design to superficial outputs without addressing the real levers of influence that dictate whether meaningful change can occur.
In Hill’s words, designers must actively “engage with the dark matter”—they need to navigate and influence power structures, decision-making hierarchies, and hidden agendas within systems to make their work impactful.
Key takeaway: You can’t design lasting solutions without understanding and addressing the invisible forces that define the context.
Trojan Horses
The idea of Trojan horses builds on the dark matter metaphor, but focuses on tactics. While dark matter acknowledges hidden structures of influence, Trojan horses are the strategic interventions that work within those structures to drive systemic change.
Hill uses the ancient Greek myth of the Trojan Horse—a seemingly innocuous gift that enabled the Greeks to infiltrate and overcome Troy—as a metaphor for tactical design projects that serve as vehicles for broader change.
For example, a seemingly small or tactical design project (a new tool, pilot program, or initiative) might be deliberately crafted to:
– Test larger systemic ideas in a low-stakes way.
– Open up conversations about deeper organizational issues.
– Build momentum for change that would otherwise meet resistance.
A Trojan horse, therefore, disguises systemic goals as something tangible or immediately practical. It creates the entry point to engage with bigger challenges.
Key takeaway: Tactical design interventions, when framed strategically, can act as catalysts for broader change within complex systems.
How Hill Combines These Ideas
The brilliance of Dark Matter and Trojan Horses lies in how Hill combines these two ideas:
1. Dark matter highlights the invisible systems and forces that must be understood to design for meaningful change.
2. Trojan horses demonstrate how even small, seemingly tactical design actions can infiltrate those systems to achieve transformative outcomes.
By understanding the hidden forces at play and using tactical interventions as Trojan horses, designers can act strategically to reshape organizations, influence decision-makers, and challenge status quo thinking.
Why This Matters for Strategic Design
Hill challenges designers to expand their mindset from one of “designing things” to “designing conditions.” Strategic design is about creating the conditions for change by addressing systems holistically—policies, behaviors, governance, incentives, and tools.
In doing so, Hill reframes the role of design as:
– A means of tackling systemic issues.
– A way of influencing decision-making at the highest levels.
– An approach that balances practicality (Trojan horses) with systemic ambition (engaging with dark matter).
Personal Reflection
When I first read this book, my brain screamed, “This! This is it! This is what I believe can be the power and impact of a good design practice.” I had intuited that strategic design doesn’t require grandiose beginnings—it often starts small (and perhaps it always should), using practical interventions to open pathways for larger conversations. My partner and I have joked that we often perform “design therapy” for organizations. The work of sussing out beliefs and perceptions alongside the data, is always a force multiplier towards the impact and success of the overall project—no matter the size. Recognizing and working with these invisible forces—hidden decision-making criteria and hierarchies of influence—is critical to achieving real impact, whether through leadership coaching, design thinking, or organizational change initiatives.
Resource
If you’re intrigued by these concepts, here’s a presentation Dan Hill did at the Melbourne School of Design in 2013.