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What I learnt … redesigning the death industry

For Dan Garrett of Farewill, the biggest challenge was to overcome people’s reluctance to confront their own mortality — so he made will writing more engaging

“Can you redesign the death industry?” Dan Garrett asked himself as he did his final project at the Royal College of Art. “Can you change the way that people feel about it?”
“Can you redesign the death industry?” Dan Garrett asked himself as he did his final project at the Royal College of Art. “Can you change the way that people feel about it?”
Richard Tyler
The Times

Dan Garrett, 33, is the co-founder and chief executive of Farewill, a leading online provider of will-writing, probate and cremation services. A winner of the annual Sir James Dyson product design award, Garrett established the company in 2016 after studying at the Royal College of Art. It now has annualised revenues of more than £10 million from its several hundred thousand customers. Farewill has venture capital backing from the likes of Highland Europe and has just passed the £1 billion mark for legacies pledged to charities in its wills.

I started Farewill out of the Royal College of Art and my background is in design. It was my final project there. This whole business has essentially been, “Can you redesign the death industry?” and “Can