Fred Dust

Fred Dust

Fred Dust is a partner and a practice lead at IDEO. Fred leads Systems at Scale, the group responsible for helping clients with large systemic infrastructural questions from governmental shifts, to behavior change, and beyond.

During his tenure at IDEO, Fred has helped guide the realization of a future-focused education center at Stanford; taken Nike executives shopping; and worked with patients and staff to help build innovative service models for Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente. Most recently, he helped The American Red Cross redesign the donation experience and the Transportation Security Administration evolve airport security.

Fred is a member of the Board of Governors at Parsons The New School, and also acts on the Advisory Board of the Aspen Institute. He has taught classes at California College of the Arts and at the School of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley, as well as holding numerous guests professorships including the Bruce Goff lectureship at the University of Oklahoma.

In addition Fred lectures widely on varied topics from design methodology to future experience trends, and has written for numerous publications including his latest article on Designing Systems at Scale for Rotman Magazine. Fred and IDEO have also published a book on the design of spaces titled Extra Spatial (Chronicle Books, 2003), and guide books that define the essence of exceptional experiences through the lens of a city titled Eyes Open: New York and Eyes Open: London (Chronicle Books, 2008).

Prior to joining IDEO Fred was a project architect at Fernau and Hartman where he worked on a variety of retail and corporate projects including the Smith & Hawken headquarters, Smith and Hawken retail prototype, and Oxygen Media Networks. Fred also spent 8 years working in the Art world with Hotwire Productions, the SFMOMA, Galeria De la Raza and other organizations, and also worked independently with various artists supervising the development of several interactive art installations as well as aiding in the production of numerous film video projects.

Fred holds a bachelors degree in art history from Reed College and a masters of architecture from the School of Environmental Design at University of California, Berkeley.

Topics Fred speaks on:

  • Branded Experiences
  • Community Building
  • Design for Community
  • Design Thinking
  • Environments Design
  • Healthy Spaces
  • Networked Culture
  • Retail & Hospitality

Speaking engagements:

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