Since its founding over a century ago, Tokyo College of Music (TCM) has trained countless world-class musicians. Despite its well-established reputation, however, the school was feeling a pressing need to reconsider its role in order to remain relevant in a changing world.

The college had plans to build a second campus in Daikanyama, a prominent area of Tokyo known for being a hotbed for new global trends. Taking advantage of this opportunity, TCM leaders asked IDEO to help them develop a new concept for the school, and to redesign the learning experience while preserving a focus on classical music.

To kick off the research phases of the project, IDEO designers interviewed TCM students, and traveled to London, New York, and Boston visiting educational institutions, music schools, and arts facilities.

The team observed that students at music colleges outside of Japan were giving serious consideration to their career plans at an early stage in their studies, acquiring a variety of skills and mindsets through a well-rounded education. By contrast, TCM students were focused on learning and performing classical music, but tended not to have a clear image of future career opportunities.

IDEO proposed four specific directions for TCM’s new campus, based on an overarching theme of “culture, fields, and people collaborating across boundaries.” The first aim was to foster a business mindset and entrepreneurial spirit among the students that surpassed their classical music training. Next was to increase opportunities for actual performances, collaborations with professionals outside the school, and joint projects. The third aim was to position the college as a platform that would encourage the spontaneous creation of communities within and outside the school. The final aim was to develop students who were digitally savvy and fluent in new technologies, enabling them to continue evolving in response to developments in the real world. These goals are reflected in the various spaces of the school, as well as in the design of the experiences that occur in those spaces.

The most symbolic of these spaces is the Creative Lab. Originally intended as a library, the space now functions as a platform where people from within and outside the school community can collaborate and generate innovative ideas. The open layout, which encloses a cafeteria for students and faculty, can be altered depending on programming needs. The Creative Lab provides a venue not only for live performances in which the students can polish their improvisational skills, but for holding workshops and other events on topics such as cultural exchange, business, and new technologies.

New furniture and objects were carefully selected to inspire spontaneous encounters and conversation between students from different departments and staff, creating a flow of activity.

Even the landings on the staircases, which tend to be dead space, were designed with this concept in mind. One student commented that the space facilitates meeting new people and creates “opportunities for deeper interaction with students from other departments.” This intentional, open design has transformed the space into a hub within the school and the local community.

Through the new environment and educational opportunities at TCM's Daikanyama campus, students now have stronger opportunities to apply their creative talents in numerous fields worldwide, creating impact informed by the various perspectives, skills, and relationships they have developed at TCM.

Georgia is among the most populous states in the American South. It’s a place with a storied past and promising future—on the rise economically, and continuing its powerful cultural impact on music, TV, cuisine, and tourism. Over 10.4 million people call Georgia home, and nearly all of these people will at some point navigate the state’s websites for securing everyday services. Ideally, this online platform would provide unifying and accessible government resources for everyone, whether they’re renewing their vehicle registration, seeking a fishing license, or looking up tax law updates.

Georgia’s Office of Digital Services (DSGA), part of the Georgia Technology Authority, was challenged with designing a platform to modernize the collective and individual online presence of 80+ state agencies, many of which used visually disconnected formats and color palettes that could leave the public feeling confused. DSGA recognized that they could provide more efficient and higher quality service to the public if they simplified the language, designed the site from the user's point of view, and created a more cohesive look and feel across agencies.

IDEO worked with the DSGA to identify the priorities of Georgia residents who use the various agency websites. On a road trip from Savannah to Atlanta, with stops in Macon and Dublin, the IDEO team immersed themselves in the rich culture of Georgia, connecting with social workers, low-income residents, state agency leadership and civic organizations to learn how Georgia’s digital properties could better address their disparate needs.

The design research underscored that there isn’t just one Georgia—it’s a tapestry of people, geographies and political orientations. Yet several common themes emerged, including:

Georgians want their government to “give it to them straight.” On the redesigned Georgia.gov platform, the people of Georgia can easily search popular topics to get the information they need. This includes learning how to apply for food stamps, renewing a business license, or simply finding out the location of a local office in their area. If a user has remaining questions, they can connect directly with a real human for further assistance, balancing direct information with warmth and a personal touch. User feedback on the site provides the opportunity for continuous design improvement.

Georgians want to take pride in the legacy and the future of their state. IDEO developed an entirely new design system with new navigational elements, fonts, and a color palette inspired by Georgia’s landscapes, all of which can be modified for individual agencies while remaining consistent with the state brand.

A distillation of the original Georgia seal adds authority, and new icons anchor the site’s menus and bring more clarity to the search function. The platform was designed to be Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 AA compliant, providing clear and accessible page content that adheres to federal laws and international web standards. To instill trust in Georgia’s online presence, each page also has a header that indicates it’s an official Georgia State website and outlines the uniform features constituents can use to identify this.

With improved navigation and easy-to-access prioritized content, Georgia.gov is a much more efficient platform for addressing requests from citizens. The site projects a happy-to-help, citizen-centered approach that aims to empower all Georgians so that they feel confident, informed, and prepared.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 30 million Americans have diabetes, almost 10% of the population. The vast majority of these diagnoses are type 2, which is commonly treated through a combination of medicine, diet, and exercise. Today, one of the major barriers to better outcomes is access to trusted information. As little as 15 percent of people with diabetes receive adequate education from their healthcare providers on managing their disease and making recommended lifestyle changes.

Ascensia Diabetes Care, a global healthcare company, has been a leader in diabetes treatment for over 70 years, known primarily for producing blood glucose meters. IDEO has worked with Ascensia for more than a decade, helping develop and design their CONTOUR NEXT ONE meter in 2016. In 2017, Ascensia engaged IDEO with a new goal of moving the company beyond physical devices. Ascensia envisioned a first-of-its-kind approach to educating and monitoring diabetes patients. In partnership with IDEO, they wanted to build a comprehensive solution—one that would not simply take glucose readings and document food intake, but would consider all factors that impact a person's health.

Through deep collaboration, Ascensia and IDEO built a powerful app-based service. The project began with a strategic vision for the experience and ended with the delivery of an all-encompassing health offering, including training of providers, packaging, app design, content creation, and visual design.

The patient experience married data and tracking, real-life mentorship, and personalized content. When a patient signed up, they were paired with a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) who created a tailored program based on their needs and linked them to relevant articles on topics like cooking, mental wellbeing, and sexual health. The IDEO team led the charge in hiring and training guides, crafting the educational content, and even designing the content management hub.

The data engine behind the app is another one of the program's stand-out qualities. The app pulled data from multiple data sources—exercise bands and glucose meters—to provide constant feedback, track progress, and continually refine the experience. To generate empathy, as well as build the app's initial data set, IDEO's data scientists tested the product on themselves. One designer wore a wrist full of exercise monitors around the office and tracked her blood sugar after every meal.

The app-based service was tested with 60 people and demonstrated remarkable early results. Only two participants failed to complete the study—a stunning success rate when adherence to therapy for chronic illnesses in developed countries averages around 50%. Additionally, participants reported drastic improvements in both physical and mental health. One recently widowed 70-year-old woman emerged from depression, returned to swimming, and started having regular blood sugar readings.

The project required Ascensia to embrace new ways of working internally, adopt a broader view of their offering, and ultimately expand the way they serve people with diabetes.

When Mr. Gordon told his fifth grade students they were taking a field trip on a bus, many of them envisioned the city bus that they ride each day to school. But when they saw the Verizon Explorer Lab pull into the school parking lot, they realized a unique experience awaited them. Painted in bright colors, this bus promised something very different from their daily commute.

“Climb aboard, explorers!” says the Lead Explorer. The students walk through the bus’ sliding doors and inside, where instead of rows of seats, they find a sleek research lab. Suddenly, the lights dim. The bus makes a rumbling noise as though it’s about to lift off. And on a large screen, a vision of Earth from space appears. The students listen and point as the video narrator briefs them on NASA’s ongoing search for life in space.

Science education isn’t always this fun. Some kids have a chance to learn through interactive games, immersive experiences, or engaging field trips; but many lack access to rich educational experiences in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). As a result, they can be less likely to pursue careers in STEM, though many future jobs will demand mastery of these subjects. This not only impacts a student’s potential and future, but reduces the diversity and number of qualified STEM job applicants.

In under-resourced schools, students are often limited to the scarce tools available for STEM learning in their classrooms. Many kids rarely have a chance to leave their neighborhoods. For these kids, mobile learning experiences that come to their school offer unparalleled exposure to cutting-edge, technologically advanced, and—most importantly—inspiring gateways into these critical academic subjects.

As part of its focus on digital inclusion, Verizon partnered with IDEO to share the excitement of STEM learning with middle schoolers. To facilitate access and discovery of STEM, the team designed a learning experience that takes place on a coach bus and can be scaled to reach kids across the nation.

The team set out to transform the bus into the Verizon Explorer Lab: a futuristic research lab that transports kids to new environments, from outer space to under the sea. As part of the larger Verizon Innovative Learning program, the Verizon Explorer Lab offers delightful and rigorous content that meets national science standards.

A multidisciplinary team comprised of designers across interaction, communication, environments, games, and software partnered with Verizon to bring the Verizon Explorer Lab to life.

To keep the student at the center of the experience, the team designed alongside kids. Their gravitation toward play, interaction, and technology inspired the digital game that students play onboard the bus. When developing the game’s narrative, the designers turned to popular kids’ books and movies. What began as a card game prototype eventually became a 360-degree video and virtual reality expedition to Mars—complete with a custom musical score—that introduces middle schoolers to engineering basics.

After stepping through the bus doors and taking a tour of the solar system, Mr. Gordon’s students receive an emergency call from NASA: They must rescue the missing Curiosity rover, which is dedicated to collecting evidence of life on Mars. Eager to save Curiosity, the students become immersed in the adventure at hand. And through the adventure, they become immersed in science.

Students use tablets to design their own Mars rover. Each rover appears on a large screen and traverses the planet’s extreme terrain. The goal is to collect data that suggests life on Mars, including ice deposits, photos, and more. Students iterate on their rover’s design—wheels, power sources, and sensors—to test if it can stand up against dust storms and craters. The team consulted a NASA planetary scientist to ensure accuracy, as well as educators to establish cohesion with classroom curricula.

During the game, students are encouraged to compare designs and learn from each other: One rover may be able to travel long distances and take various photos, while another can carry large quantities of ice and sediment samples but can’t go far because of its size. At the end of the mission, the group finds Curiosity and sends all of the evidence they’ve collectively gathered back to NASA to aid the search for life beyond Earth. Before departing the bus, students watch an animated video that explains various jobs in STEM and encourages kids to pursue one of these careers.

The Verizon Explorer Lab teaches students the engineering design loop, the value of collaboration and teamwork, and what a career in STEM might look like. The mission to Mars game is just one of many potential STEM learning opportunities for students and integrated, customizable learning modules for teachers.

Since launch, the Verizon Explorer Lab has traveled to various parts of the United States and reached thousands of kids. It continues to be managed by Learning Undefeated, Verizon’s nonprofit partner. By designing for and with students, it’s possible to create educational experiences that facilitate meaningful learning and genuine fun. The Verizon Explorer Lab represents progress towards a more inclusive future for employers and the STEM field.

1. Get out of your head

When the music comes on, I let go of what’s in my head and let my body take over. Learning the steps mechanically will never get me into the groove—I have to connect to the music to find my flow.

Design work is no different. Exploring the future of the credit card (yes, that’s part of “design” work here at IDEO) probably won’t have you jumping out of bed; you have to find something in the challenge that moves you. In this case, it was understanding that the card could be about access—to that trip you often dream of taking, to the most amazing cup of coffee in a little-known cafe, to that stunning bag that is clearly missing from your collection. This shift, from payment to access, unlocks a whole new way of thinking about the opportunity. When you move beyond executing the mechanics and find a way connect to the opportunity on a deeper, more personal level, you will be able to bring your best creative energy to it.

2. Learn as you go

In class, we don’t see the full routine at the beginning. We learn it in parts and build as we go. This requires trust and patience: trust that the parts will add up to something bigger, and the patience to go through a process of trial, error, and repetition.

This runs counter to how I (and many people) work. Designers like to move fast—to begin with a vision and quickly start building it out. For example, imagine a smart, voice-activated delivery service for an older adult. You can probably already envision a prototype in your mind. But how will the service interact in a way that feels appropriately human? If the user asks the same question again and again, how will it respond to her? How might it share relevant information with her family and caregivers? Designing these details is critical to getting the service right. Even when the vision comes easily, following through requires is an exploratory process that requires patience. Putting in the time and effort to learn something new is sure to pay off when some unexpected revelation emerges.

3. Add your flare

Once I know the mechanics of the dance, the real work starts: a subtle swing of my hips, the way I hold my hands, adding my flare to a key transition. This is where I make what I’ve learned my own.

It can be scary to take something that’s been expertly designed and change it. When working through a new digital ecosystem for a retailer, a visually compelling user interface could stop you from questioning possible disconnects in the customer experience or retailer mechanics. But being part of a design team is about looking for places where your unique perspective adds depth and insight to what you collectively create. So don’t be afraid to put your post-it sketch on top of a beautiful screen. Sharing your point of view gets you to an even better design.

4. Get inspired, not competitive

During class I seek out the people in the room who pick up the moves quickly and execute them perfectly. When I start comparing myself to them, I always lose. But when I shift my perspective and instead draw energy and take pointers from those dancers, it opens up a world of possibilities. My moves improve and so does my confidence.

We all have high expectations for our work. But when you look at other people as reference points for how you’re failing, self-doubt invariably creeps in, preventing you from doing your best work. What if the next time you start to judge yourself, you pair up with a designer who inspires you to explore the challenge side-by-side? Your design jam session may not get you as sweaty as a hip-hop jam session, but you'll likely still find yourself smiling—and doling out a few high-fives along the way.

Illustrations by Yue Yuan.

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I wanted to try something new this year. Something that scared me a little bit. (Okay, a lot.) So I signed up for a hip-hop class. On the first day I almost didn’t go, but an hour into class I was covered in sweat, smiling from ear to ear, and high-fiving my fellow classmates. On Monday morning I found that what I learned in class had followed me to work. It was more than just the music in my head—there were other lessons to take from that class. Here’s what I discovered about how hip-hop can make you a better designer:

Today’s products were designed for the industrial era of browsing store aisles and making choices based on packaging. But now that we’re largely buying stuff online, it’s time to rethink that model.

So, IDEO’s London and Munich studios teamed up to create an exhibition of six circular design fictions called Never Finished. (We also worked on a design guide with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which you can find here.)

Circular products and the materials they’re made of are designed to be kept in use, to be regenerative, and not to be thrown away. Tomorrow’s things will also be smart—with sensors and software built into them—which will allow us to improve their usefulness over time. Circular products promise to save both money and the planet. (You’ve heard about the great Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean, right?)

Take a peek at the potential future of product design:

What if your makeup got better with age?

Infinity is a makeup service with packaging that is designed to get more beautiful, more useful, and more valuable as you use it. Housed in luxurious, long-lasting brass, Infinity’s lipstick holder and blusher case are designed to grow old with you. A built-in scanner (sensor) also captures skin health data, and orders (customized) refills when empty.

What if food packaging was redesigned for online shopping?

Food packaging is designed to attract people’s eye on a supermarket shelf, extend the lifespan of the product, and protect what’s inside from damage. But it’s over-engineered for online delivery, and it's hard to recycle. Clean is a new food packaging system designed for online delivery services. It’s refillable and easily decanted, recycled, or composted.

What if sneakers could be made better than new?

Once these sneakers are worn out, the owner simply bags them up in a pre-paid shipping pack and sends them back to the factory, where the sole is scanned and the materials are disassembled and processed for reuse. The factory then uses the scan of the sole to print a new shoe using the reclaimed materials—perfectly tailored to the user.

What if your household gadget sold itself?

Use Me/Lose Me is a usage-monitoring service that aims to get the most out of household appliances—even if that means changing owners. Using a web-connected chip, Use Me/Lose Me sends a text message to a gadget's owner quoting the latest price they could get for selling it. If the user wishes to sell, they can simply reply to the text message, which automatically uploads the item to an online auction site, arranging the entire sale, payment, and shipping.

We had a lot of fun pairing circular design principles with user needs. By exploring “what if” scenarios, we believe we have found more elegant solutions to the traditional linear path of make, use, dispose.

Of course, moving to a Circular Economy won’t be easy. Consumerism is a huge, gnarly, systemic problem, driven by shifting business models. But change will be driven by people who choose to buy products and services not because they’re circular, but because they are better.

We hope Never Finished feels like a gauntlet thrown down to you designers out there. Let’s make things that are better for the user, better for business, and better for the planet.

Already working on something circular? Tell us more!

What do you do with your stinky, worn out sneakers? How about that empty lipstick case? If you answered, “Toss it in the trash, of course!” you’d be completely normal. What other choice do we have?

Name: Katie Clark
Location: San Francisco
Role at IDEO: Digital Marketing Director
Joined IDEO: 2003
Twitter: @katieclark
Instagram: @katieclark
Titillating Fact: I once ran a marathon on what turned out to be half a functioning heart. I had heart surgery one month later—good as new!

1. NASA Social

I grew up in Central Florida watching more space shuttle and satellite launches from Kennedy Space Center than I can count. We had astronauts and astrophysicists as neighbors, and I had some pretty great show-and-tells in my day. I can still remember watching the Challenger explode and knowing instantly, even at age 6, that something was wrong.

Needless to say, I’ve had a lifelong obsession with NASA and became involved with NASA Social events a few years ago. The event series is NASA’s way of emboldening and educating social media-savvy citizens around events, launches, and the incredible work NASA does. The ripple effect means more and more networks learn about the variety of things happening throughout the space nerd universe.

Here’s how it works: You apply for specific events and, if approved, you receive press-equivalent access—a.k.a. “social media credentials”—to briefings, tours, NASA personnel, etc. I even got to meet Charles Bolden at the last one I attended in Lompoc, California!

2. Angel Island

Growing up in the U.S., kids are steeped in the history of Ellis Island, but Angel Island seems to be its unknown little sister. This is one of my favorite places to visit in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of reasons, and yet, many Bay Areans have never even heard of it, even though it’s right next to Alcatraz. I recently became an Angel Island Conservancy board member, so I like to evangelize its awesomeness every chance I get.

The history of this island is incredibly fascinating (and at times fraught), from its time as an Immigration Station carved with Chinese poetry to its service as the Cold War-era Nike Missile launch site. Angel Island even has an endemic mole, found nowhere else in the world, aptly named the Angel Island Mole. You can camp there overnight or just come for a day and finish your hike with a beer, a cheese plate, and live music at the Angel Island Cafe. Get on the boat!

3. Dub Nation

If you've heard of the NBA, you’ve heard of the Golden State Warriors. I know that loving the Warriors doesn't make me special, but my husband and I have been fans since long before they were considered a good team. (Read: we could actually afford tickets back then). Here are a few things that make this team inspiring:

• Head Coach Steve Kerr. This man has been through some of the most earth-shattering events anyone can imagine, and is still one of the most inspiring leaders in professional sports. To boot, he and his family are active in several sport-related nonprofits including Peace Players International. As I write this, he’s suffering from major post-surgical complications and his team’s response has been nothing short of tear-jerking.
• Point Guard Stephen Curry. If calm and collected had a name, it would be Steph Curry. His pregame tunnel shots alone are worthy of a few paragraphs, but I’ll just let you watch this (he does this before every game). You can catch a young Steph and his former-NBA dad in these clairvoyant 1990's Burger King commercials.
• Dub Nation. I'm a former college athlete who grew up in the football-crazed American south, so I thought I knew something about intense sports fans. Nope. Warriors fans (we call ourselves “Dub Nation”) are among the coolest humans I’ve ever met. I still love this 2013 article about jumping on the Warriors bandwagon. Some of it is still applicable today, particularly Steph Curry’s mouthpiece chewing, so it's not too late to jump on yourself.

Header image by Clem Onojeghuo.

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In this series, we ask IDEO designers to share the stuff they're digging right now—tools, books, music, sites, people, places—so you, too, can drink from the fount of inspiration bubbling up here. This week's guest star: Katie Clark.

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I took this picture last summer while I was back home in Istanbul. Summer in Istanbul is very, very hot. Sometimes the mercury in the city gets up to 113F. It’s pretty unbearable.

On toasty afternoon, I took this picture of a bunch of people capitalizing on the shade in a park to avoid the sun. At that time of day and year, the shadows defined the usable space within the park.

From a design researcher’s perspective, this picture says so much about how the sun and shade affect how we interact with cities and spaces. Sometimes design is all about constraints.

It’s a great reminder of all the factors to consider when we design for urban environments. Or a great reminder that nature is a designer, too.

Human-centered design requires us to observe human behavior with beginner's eyes, so that we can spot the innate ways people interact with the world around them. We call these intuitive and unconscious reactions thoughtless acts, and IDEO designers collect photos of them to inspire the invention of new products, services, and experiences.

I help organizations cut through complexity by shaping how they show up, through brand strategy, identity, and storytelling.

Working at the intersection of brand and business, I bring an editorial eye and a bias toward making—turning ideas into tangible experiences that people can understand, trust, and believe in.

My work spans government, healthcare, financial services, media, and consumer goods, from launching Gen Z-focused ventures to building innovation labs and reimagining legacy brands. I relish moments of ambiguity and enjoy translating across teams, perspectives, and priorities to move ideas forward.

I started my career in editorial and digital design, shaping cross-platform experiences and identity systems in publishing and agency environments. That foundation still shapes how I work today: I’m detail-oriented, collaborative, and overreliant on the Oxford comma. I hold a BFA in Visual Communication from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

For 25 years, I've asked the same question: Who does this design exclude—and what are we going to do about it?

My work spans human-centered strategy, inclusive design, and qualitative research, with clients ranging from Microsoft, Google, and Verizon to the National Science Foundation, and San Francisco Unified School District.

Before IDEO, I taught elementary school in East Palo Alto and spent a decade doing design work with social service organizations—where I learned firsthand what it costs people when systems are built without them in mind.

I am currently writing User Error, a nonfiction book about digital access and the design decisions behind it. I live in Oakland, California.

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My expertise spans brand, communication, and product design across tech, education, the arts, and social impact.

I believe great work demands both high-level vision and obsessive attention to detail, and only happens through collaboration.

I bring an inclusive, hands-on approach and a deep understanding of business, which enables me to consistently deliver excellence while always asking why.

Before joining IDEO, I worked at the brand firms Pentagram and VSA Partners. I began my career as a designer, leading teams at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Milwaukee Art Museum. I hold an MFA in graphic design from Maryland Institute College of Art and a BFA in communication design from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and have taught at some of the best design schools in the US.

I am responsible for IDEO’s long-term success in China and working with clients to use design as a tool to enable growth. Specifically, I have helped Chinese companies design holistic brand solutions through the development of their products, communication, services, and innovation teams, and I have helped multinationals expand their presence and influence in China.

I advise global leaders on developing China-led innovation and capabilities.

In over 15 years in IDEO Shanghai, I have worked on projects that use design to elevate the quality of the experience of healthcare products and services, streamline processes that increase productivity, create spaces and programs that promote and enable inclusive communities, and build next generation mobility solutions that are planet-positive.

Before joining IDEO, I worked at Philips Electronics and the Electrolux Group in Italy, the Netherlands, and Singapore on a number of breakthrough commercial products. I am a member of the Young President Organization in Shanghai.

Most AI products today are built for work—a space with clear problems and established systems. One founder noticed a gap: personal life is messier, harder to systematize, and mostly left behind by the AI boom. So she built Cue, a personal AI that lives inside iMessage and group chats, to go where the other tools haven't.

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In this episode, Becca Carroll, IDEO's Chief Strategy Officer, talks with Sida Li, co-founder and CEO of Shared Context Lab, about staying anchored to a human need while the technology around her keeps changing shape, why she treats her business model with the same rigor she'd bring to a product, and what it feels like to build a company at this particular, disorienting moment in AI.

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The conversation also gets into how Sida makes design decisions: the language Cue uses to describe itself, the tradeoffs behind building inside iMessage instead of a new app, and a real story about a business idea that didn’t pan out.

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This is the second in a two-part series profiling founders from IDEO's Startups-in-Residence program. The first conversation is with Johannes Seemann, founder of Sooner, on designing GenAI for the emotional side of money.

Most personal financial tools are built to run the numbers and optimize towards a budget. While that works for some, most people experience money as a lived relationship that does not neatly fit into a spreadsheet. Johannes Seemann and Becca Carroll discuss why money is emotional before it is mathematical, and what a human-centered approach to building a generative AI financial product looks like in practice.

Mina Seetharaman talks with Scott Shigeoka, author of Seek and Head of Curiosity Cultivation at the Eames Institute, about what distinguishes genuinely curious leadership from performative curiosity, how power dynamics shape curiosity, and why practicing curiosity can restore energy rather than drain it.

Mina Seetharaman talks with David Epstein, author of Inside the Box and Range, about why total freedom often produces average work, how leaders can design useful limits on purpose, and what organizations such as General Magic and Pixar reveal about the relationship between boundaries and creativity.