The Latest

The Economist is presenting a series of online articles about design thinking in the lead-up to the magazine’s “Ideas Economy: Innovation” event in Berkeley, California. IDEO’s Tim Brown and David Fetherstonhaugh write on the power of collective contribution. Click for the full article.

SXSW offers the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. IDEO joins in with Ben Fullerton a panelist on “Design for the Dark Side” and Jennifer Leonard a panelist on “Design Fiction: Props, Prototypes, Predicaments Communicating New Ideas.”

March 11-12, 2010

The Economist is hosting a conference to explore how today’s challenges reflect customers’ fast-changing needs. At the event, IDEO’s Paul Bennett joins the discussion about how businesses need to start thinking of new ways to compete. Click to the Economist's website for more information about the conference.

January 21, 2010
Behavior change is more than a trend; it’s a sign of the times. Behavioral economists have joined the ranks of full-time staff at the White House, books covering the topic rank high on the New York Times best-seller list, and increasingly, businesses are asking IDEO to tackle behavior change issues, whether they are about weight loss, smoking cessation, home energy monitors, engaged banking and more.
In the spirit of experimentation, IDEO San Francisco opened its doors recently for a social event called Change+. The goal was to assemble a diverse crowd, share provocations and stimulate dialogue.
Read the several IDEO PATTERNS on behavior change here.

Download a PDF about the Change+ event

IDEO has been named one of Fast Company's 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2010.
View the full list here.

Keep people at the center of your work. Ask them how to help, see what they do, and learn from the facts you gather. IDEO has become a leader in design and innovation by keeping people at the center of the design process. These cards show some of the methods we use to inspire great design. Each card describes one method and includes a brief story about how and when to use it. This app isn’t a “how to” guide. It’s a design tool meant to help you explore new approaches and develop your own. Use the deck of 51 cards to take a new view and inspire creativity. The Method Card app is released as a free download with 8 cards for you to experience on your iPhone or iTouch. You can purchase the full deck of 51 cards for $4.99 within the application, eliminating the step of having to leave the app to upgrade your experience.

Virtual Wallet, an IDEO project with PNC Financial Services Group, has been chosen as a 2010 Edison Best New Products Award finalist. The awards celebrate the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison and work to increase America’s drive in the realm of innovation, creativity and ingenuity throughout the global economy.

Watch a live announcement about the awards on Discovery.com. (The dial-in question number is (240) 662-1815.)

Read more about the Edison Awards here.

Reporter Jonathan Daniel Harris interviewed IDEO’s Tim Brown at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In the article, he explains that object design has a place beside public policy and corporate social responsibility. In fact, design thinking, he says, may be necessary to enact any real change from the policy side. Click to the Huffington Post for the full article.

Presented by IDEO and hosted by DESIGN 21: Social Design Network, the Living Climate Change Video Challenge aims to extend the conversation about how daily life is shaped by climate change to a wide global audience. People of all ages are invited to create their own 2-minute videos, which will be evaluated by a panel of expert judges drawn from education, technology, media, and government.

For details, including prize information, visit Living Climate Change.

View a PDF about the Living Climate Change Video Challenge

In an online article for the publication's business section, IDEO’s Paul Bennett writes, “Look to collaborate with those who can do what you can’t.” Click here for the full article. By Paul Bennett

Design Thinker is a simulation game created ExperiencePoint in collaboration with IDEO that provides a meaningful experience with design thinking. Users compete to solve a realistic and complex challenge using design thinking, while engaging with the terms, techniques and thought patterns of successful innovators. Built for designers and non-designers alike, Design Thinker creates an energizing, practical and relevant learning experience that supports tangible business objectives using leading edge technology. The game can be easily integrated into leadership and management development programs, and its innovation content is readily linked to other key business learning modules and applied to action-learning projects.

To learn more about Design Thinker, visit experiencepoint.com/sims/DesignThinker

February 2, 2010
This IDEO event explores the human side of social media. It's an experiment itself, in that it uses face-to-face interactions and connections to inform the way we think about and create social media tools. See what kind of provocative ideas and dialogue emerge from the experience. Watch the live stream.

Columnist and panel moderator Alice Rawsthorn asks, What exactly is sustainable design? What constitutes success? And failure? On what criteria? These issues were debated at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The panel, “Design for Sustainability,” included William McDonough, the American architect who co-authored the book, “Cradle to Cradle”; Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity; and IDEO's Tim Brown. Click here for the full story.

In an online article for BusinessWeek, Diego Rodriguez explains that good business outcomes treat design as a holistic process that pulls in savvy marketing and research, as well as smart ideas. For him, it's why design matters. Click here for the full article.

March 2, 2010, 10am - 5pm

Your invited to join the Vine Salon, “User-Based Design Solutions to Meet the Challenges of Community” — a day of hands-on workshops and collaborative design thinking exercises, followed by a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception. The event, hosted by PCBC, will take place at IDEO's Palo Alto office.
For more information about the event or to buy tickets to the event, click here.
Download the program agenda here.

Design Observer’s Ernerst Beck highlights GlobalTap, a way to bring water to haves and have-nots alike with one simple system. Click here to read the full article.

Sandy Speicher is included in the Metropolis article, “Back to the Future.” In the story, Sandy explains, "When you're looking at new models of education, the first question is: How much do you want to stick to the paradigm, and how much do you want to break it?” To learn more, read the full article.

Forbes columnist Saj-nicole Joni interviews Tim Brown about why the world needs more design thinking. Read the full article.

Last night, IDEO Chicago hosted an IxDA networking / knowledge-sharing event in its brand-new Chicago studio titled “Embracing the Physical/Digital Divide: Projects and Inspiration from IDEO Chicago.” The event allowed IDEO designers to showcase cutting-edge interaction design and (re)introduce themselves to the city’s creative community.
Learn more about IxDA Chicago here.
Check out pictures of the event on IDEO's Facebook page.

Food is a complex topic — it touches on the essence of our being and our culture, all while transforming our lives in fundamental ways. Designs On– approaches food with the eyes of someone ready to enjoy a succulent meal. The results are fresh and provocative. The designers were willing to go off the beaten path, to question their personal assumptions and to move beyond the realm of expected possibilities. Designs On– Food is the third in a series of concepts, following the the topics of global warming and time.

View the Designs On– website at www.designs-on.com.

View the PDF