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Tim Brown
Chair Emeritus, Global
What’s next for design?
Been at IDEO since
January 1, 1987
What you won’t learn from my bio
One of the first products I ever designed was a table saw for a British company called Wadkin. One of those saws was in use for more than 30 years in the workshop of the Central St. Martins Design School in London, helping new generations of designers build their making skills and creative confidence.
This is the question I have consistently asked throughout my design career. Today, that takes me to some edges of IDEO’s design practice that include Climate Era design, open and collective systems, designing strategy, and creative leadership.
Through writing, speaking, and advising, I try to champion the interdisciplinary, multi-faceted nature of design.
I am proud of our progress in applying design thinking to topics such as service design, system design and strategy, and across sectors such as education, health, government, technology, the social sector, and business. I frequently speak about the value of design thinking, creative leadership, and innovation to business leaders and designers around the world, and have participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
My talks "Serious Play" and "Change by Design" appear on TED.com. My book on how design thinking transforms organizations, Change by Design, was released by Harper Business in September 2009, and revised and updated in 2019.