6th Sense started by accident in 2008.
Not exactly the plan — but turns out detours can be the best directions!
I'd been working for ?What If! Innovation for a few years — brilliant job, all design thinking and strategy, lots of travel, edging toward burnout. When the Sydney office closed, I was ready for a break. But one client had other plans.​
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"We're paying for you, not ?What If!," they said. "Keep working with us."​​
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I agreed to one project. Just one.​​ That turned into another... and another.
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This wasn’t just a stopgap, it was becoming something of its own. So I decided to name the baby. Turning the human-centred lens back on myself, I ran the same process I’d use for clients and 6th Sense Innovation was born.​​
Then in 2016, during a research interview, someone said: " You should look into Biomimicry, you'd love it."
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She was right.
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I completed my Graduate Certificate at Arizona State University in 2018, becoming one of the first certified biomimicry professionals in Australia to apply it commercially. The love affair had begun.
"You should look into biomimicry -
you'd love it."
​​​​​What started as a design thinking consultancy has evolved into something far more interesting: weaving together human insight, nature's strategies, and - most recently - AI to solve challenges that don't fit neatly into one discipline.
Today, 6th Sense looks a little different to 2008. It's evolved, pivoted, sharpened its focus. The name still fits, the work is still about sensing what's beneath the surface and helping leaders navigate complexity. Now with more flow, less force.
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By 2024, human-centred design is everywhere — I’ve trained thousands in it. But bringing the three intelligences together? That’s still rare.
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​Three intelligences. Each solving different problems. The magic happens where they converge.
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Pia Williams
Founder, 6th Sense Innovation
Expertise
Formal credentials and practitioner-level experience in all three disciplines.
Design Thinking
Two decades developing human-centred innovation expertise across brand, product, and customer experience. This is our foundation.​
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Biomimicry
Pia Williams (Founder), is one of the first certified business professionals in Australia to apply nature-inspired design commercially. Graduate-level certification from Arizona State University. Practising since 2016.​
AI Integration
Pia holds formal training from Wharton School in applying AI across business functions, and is currently completing advanced certifications in Agentic AI and AI-enhanced design thinking.​
70+ projects
Finance, FMCG, energy, health, and sustainability sectors globally
96% retention
Client return rate over the past 17 years
1000+ people
Trained professionals across APAC, EMEA, and USA
6+ years
Preferred supplier to 5 multinational organisations
Track Record
Our Team Model
We use a hub and spoke model. Pia Williams is the Founder and Principal Strategist, supported by a global pool of specialised practitioners we bring in as needed.
We are Sydney-based but run projects worldwide: Australia, UK, South Africa, Poland, Slovakia, Southeast Asia, USA, Colombia, South Korea, China, and India. Have bag, do travel.