To increase the national donor base, the American Red Cross sought IDEO's help elevating the donation experience. The resulting work -- centered on the mobile drive experience -- spanned brand, service, space, and product design to increase the organization's visibility and foster new donor relationships.

In talking to donors and non-donors, IDEO found that emotional associations drive the behaviors of both groups. Committed donors give blood out of a sense of civic responsibility; non-donors are often daunted by the physicality of the experience and lack awareness about the value of donorship. But as the population of committed donors ages and takes on fewer recruits, IDEO needed to look at how the American Red Cross could gain greater emotional relevance with potential new donors. After three months of research, IDEO reframed the organization's focus to center on the donor and the donor experience rather than on the process or recipients of the donation.

IDEO's experience blueprint for the American Red Cross identified a series of opportunities, journey phases, and brand principles that could be implemented nationwide in the form of engaging mobile drive environments and service interactions. For the drive environments, IDEO designed and prototyped full- scale spatial layouts and kit-based furniture components that support distinct social and medical functions. A mobile system of branded carts and podiums was designed to work both as storage and furniture. For the service component, IDEO designed a system of service tools and protocols that enable staff to deliver on the promise of putting the donor at the center of the experience. These components have been piloted with the Carolinas region.