Fred Dust
A Partner at IDEO, Fred leads Systems at Scale, the group responsible for helping clients with large, systemic questions about infrastructure, from governmental shifts to behavioral change and beyond. During his tenure with us, he has taken Nike executives shopping, helped guide the realization of a future-focused education center at Stanford University, and worked with patients and staff to build innovative service models for the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente. Most recently, he collaborated with the American Red Cross to redesign its donation experience and the Transportation Security Administration to evolve airport security.
Fred serves on the Board of Governors at Parsons The New School and on the Advisory Board of the Aspen Institute. He lectures widely on varied topics from design methodology to future experience trends. He has taught classes at California College of the Arts and at the School of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley. He also holds numerous guest professor positions, including the Bruce Goff lectureship at the University of Oklahoma.
His writing, published by various journals, also appears in several IDEO books: Extra Spatial (Chronicle Books, 2003), which discusses the design of spaces, and Eyes Open: New York and Eyes Open: London (Chronicle Books, 2008), which are city guides that view exceptional experiences through an urban lens.
Prior to joining IDEO, Fred was a project architect at Fernau & Hartman, where he worked on retail and corporate projects, including the Smith & Hawken headquarters and retail prototype and Oxygen Media. He also spent eight years working in the art world with major organizations (Hotwire Productions, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Galería de la Raza, and others) and independent artists, supervising the development of interactive art installations and assisting in the production of film video projects.
Fred holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Reed College and a master’s in architecture from the School of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley.
Topics Fred speaks on:
- Branded Experiences
- Community Building
- Design for Community
- Design Thinking
- Environments Design
- Healthy Spaces
- Networked Culture
- Retail & Hospitality
Speaking engagements:
July 2010, "Can We Rethink Consumer Behavior? Going Green in America," The Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen, CO.
Watch the video here.
April 2010, "Becoming and Thinking Like a Designer," TEDx Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.
Watch the video here.
October 2009, Aspen In New York: Capitalism and the Future, panelist
July 2009, "New Challenges and Opportunities," The Getty Museum, addressing international museum leaders, Los Angeles, CA
July 2009, "Designing for consumer friendliness," US Travel Association Board Meeting
March 2009, Fusion 2009 Conference, International Council of Shopping Centers, Florida
December 2007, “Eye on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies,” Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, panelist
September 2005, “Changing the Way Companies Innovate,” AIGA SF/Apple
July 2005, AIGA/LA Collaboration Series 3
March 2005, store planning and design workshop, SPECS 2005
July 2004, Hard Choices…Smart Planning Conference, closing plenary
October 2002, “Does Design Really Matter?” panelist
Published works:
April 2008, “Marriott perks up Courtyard with edgier, more social style,” USA Today
March 2008, IDEO Eyes Open, Chronicle Books
January 2008, “Love Your Customers or Get a New Business,” The Boston Globe
May 2007, “A Traditionalist Walks a Fine Line,” The Wall Street Journal
February 2007, “Customer Service Champs,” BusinessWeek
October 2006, “IDEO’s Urban Pre-Planning,” Metropolis magazine
March 2006, “Going Off the Beaten Path for New Design Ideas,” The New York Times
2003, Extra Spatial, Chronicle Books
2003, Red Dot Award, Extra Spatial, Communication Design category