Only 20 percent of American homes are protected by security systems, and most of these systems are installed after a break-in. ‍

Home security veteran SimpliSafe hoped to convince the other 80 percent of home-dwellers to invest in preventative technology so the break-in never happens. The company approached IDEO to refresh and simplify the look and feel of its connected products to reach this wider audience and help them feel safe.

Interviews with potential customers revealed insights that informed the new design. Families told the researchers that existing security systems are expensive, bulky, and hard to install and use. Instead, systems should be unobtrusive, but responsive to your needs. They should react appropriately in emergencies, while also protecting your privacy.

Responding to those requests, IDEO overhauled the design and interaction of more than a dozen SimpliSafe products, including a wireless, touch-to-wake keypad; easy to install sensors; and a smart home base that acts as the brains of the system. Additionally, IDEO designed SimpliSafe's first step outside of the home—a video doorbell that can be used in tandem with the namesake home security system or on its own. Making the system enjoyable and intuitive to use means families are more likely to use it consistently—and correctly.

The team developed a consistent design language across SimpliSafe’s physical products, user interface, and digital presence. That clear visual language lets you know what each component does right out of the box; for example, the glass break sensor looks like a human eardrum that might actually hear a window shattering. The design also reduced the size of entry sensors by four times, while improving their range and battery life. Tapered backs and swept-front surfaces for all of these sensors help them blend into your home. The new system’s clean, understated appearance instills confidence without stoking fear of what could happen.

SimpliSafe’s keypad and base station guide you through setting up the system with voice feedback, while gentle LED lights and sound cues let you know at a glance that the system is armed correctly and you’re in safe hands. The system is also equipped with multiple layers of backup, so you don’t have to worry if the power or Internet goes down.

And the system responds intelligently, tailoring the way it reacts to match different scenarios. For instance, it sends a gentle reminder if a window is left open but a police response if a window is broken in. The design team also incorporated a first-of-its-kind privacy shutter on the system’s security camera so families can opt out of being recorded at home.

SimpliSafe launched its redesigned security system in early 2018, replacing the company’s two previous generations of products at the same price point. Already, the revamped system has cut the number of support calls from new customers.

In June 2018, venture fund and private equity firm Hellman & Friedman acquired SimpliSafe in a deal that valued the company at about $1 billion.

With a record number of applicants, stiff competition for top students, and a desire to make classes more diverse, college admissions teams are feeling the strain. Bowdoin College in Maine, one of the top liberal arts schools in the U.S., received more applications for the class of 2022 than for any other in its 224-year history.

Whitney Soule, Bowdoin’s Dean of Admissions and Student Aid, saw her staff at risk of burning out. On the advice of Bowdoin’s president, Clayton Rose, she invited IDEO to embed at the college and help design a new way of working. The IDEO team studied Bowdoin’s workflow and zeroed in on the application process as an area ripe for redesign.

By observing how Bowdoin counselors read applications, IDEO learned what drove their decisions. Mindful of how their choices could impact young people’s lives, counselors prioritized a meticulous reading of each application. But this thorough approach meant they often engaged in redundant work or delayed making final decisions.

IDEO designers translated their insights into a book for staff, featuring watercolor portraits of the admissions team and a clear articulation of their values—from integrity to inclusion. The book was IDEO’s promise that introducing a new reading process wouldn’t mean sacrificing Bowdoin’s personal touch.

Then, the designers and counselors ran A/B tests using real applications from past years, unwinding long-held beliefs about how they “should” be read. Soule and her team experimented by adjusting timelines and other factors that determine when and how applications move from a first read to a second read to a committee discussion.

Soule gave her team explicit permission to toss their typical playbook. Seeing their own process with fresh eyes, counselors realized they could be more confident in their expertise and tweak their workflow to meet changing demands.

A/B testing proved that some variables had little effect on the team’s final admissions decisions. With that in mind, IDEO redesigned the reading process and included a system called “magic sort,” which helps parse groups of applications based on a new set of counselor assessments in order to route each to its next round of reviews more efficiently.

The IDEO-Bowdoin team put the revised technique to work right away, processing 300 new applications from the annual QuestBridge program for low-income students. Counselors found they were able to make equally valid decisions while cutting the amount of overlapping work they faced by 40 percent, compared to years past.

Working with IDEO challenged us to change the way we work together—and we learned a new method of problem solving that we continue to use. We are better equipped to elicit creativity, then channel it into the practical implementation of new solutions. It’s been transformative!

WHITNEY SOULE, DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AND STUDENT AID, BOWDOIN COLLEGE

The new reading method let staff cope with a growing volume of applications, while balancing the need to evaluate individual students with the need to think holistically about the makeup of Bowdoin’s student body. Counselors adapted the technique to the rest of the year’s admissions cycle, including early-decision, regular decision, and transfer applications.

To extend what her team learned to other departments, Soule has led several design thinking workshops across campus. Her success as a leader has mirrored the growth of her team and the college; by empowering staff with new tools and the freedom to experiment, Soule and Bowdoin are leading by example in the evolving world of higher education.

For half a century, Swarovski has crafted iconic chandeliers dripping with the brand’s signature crystals. With the rise of new interface technology, the company came to IDEO for help to design the chandelier of the future.

IDEO designers set out to create beautiful, emotional experiences by layering technology onto Swarovski’s lighting offerings. Whether it’s setting the tone for a sophisticated retail experience, creating subtle ambiance at a romantic dinner for two, or providing true quality light to read a book, the team considered how a chandelier can enrich personal moments throughout the day.

Swarovski and IDEO assembled a multidisciplinary group, including industrial and UX designers, brand experts, and engineers to quickly vet, build, test, and refine their ideas.

Designers from IDEO and Swarovski worked together to completely reimagine the crystal chandelier.

Together, the team designed a new tech-infused chandelier and family of other light fixtures. At first glance, the chandelier resembles a simple, sleek metal disc. But when you turn it on and peer inside, an endless number of crystals swirl far into the distance—an Infinite Aura.

The Infinite Aura collection also includes pendant and wall lights. The team developed a mobile app that proactively modifies light settings based on the time of day, and also lets users customize their experience—including adjusting brightness and color to set a personal mood, or “Aura.”

Unlike most fixtures, Infinite Aura doesn’t just give off ambient light; families can also benefit from high-quality functional light, directed downward to help them focus on a task or diffused upward and downward to create a subtle ambiance. In a similar way, the chandelier can expertly illuminate a library, hotel lobby, or concert hall.

The new lighting line adds greater functionality and emotional resonance to today’s smart buildings, while retaining Swarovski’s timeless elegance. Infinite Aura debuted in Frankfurt, Germany in March and will be available internationally in fall 2018.

More than half of Americans don’t have the cash to cover a $400 emergency expense like a car repair or trip to the hospital. Taking that reality to heart, American Family Insurance, a Fortune 500 company that offers auto, home, business, and life insurance, was seeking a way to make an impact by helping people earn and protect—not just insure—the things they value.

American Family approached IDEO with an ambitious goal: to innovate in a way that would help working families—many of them existing American Family customers—who need a financial cushion in case of the unexpected. This new mission fell in line with American Family’s overall orientation toward increased social responsibility, including committing to a liveable wage for all employees, helping with student loans, and providing college scholarships and tuition reimbursement for employees’ children.

In early discussions, American Family thought people might need budgeting tools, but from the very first research interview, a different urgent need emerged: people needed a way to shore up their savings enough to protect against unforeseen needs. This same story came from numerous places. In Tennessee, the IDEO design team sat in the kitchen of a working single mom of four, who explained how her lifestyle was built around her extremely constrained budget. She couldn’t afford childcare, so she’d organized her home to allow her 11-year-old to watch the younger kids: partitioned snacks, timers on the TV, chore charts on the fridge. She managed her budget meticulously, it was clear, and she didn’t need new financial tools. What she really needed, she said, was extra income cushions so a surprise expense like a doctor’s visit or stretch investment like a kid’s basketball uniform wouldn't derail her plans. Like many of the people the team visited across the country, she didn't want to take on debt; she wanted extra work and the dignity and peace of mind that comes with it.

Could we, the team wondered, offer people who already have jobs the extra hours and income they need in a way that reduces, rather than exacerbates, the stress they already face? Would employers get on board?

The short answer was yes. Today’s businesses depend on on-demand work, including seasonal warehouse and retail shifts. Typically, companies look to temp agencies whose model is built on staffing with the goal of permanent placement. Moonrise enables companies to tap into a workforce that's already employed, allowing them the benefits of passive recruiting (reliability, consistency), but for short term work.

Knowing innovation was the path to growth, American Family took a chance by embracing a radically new brief: Create a service to help families living on the edge bridge the gap between the size of their paychecks and the size of their dreams. The result was a new business venture called Moonrise.

When customers told us that having an easy way to earn extra money could improve their lives, we were compelled to pursue a solution. Moonrise is a business with a human-centered mission. We’re proud it’s part of our American Family.

Jack Salzwedel, Chairman & CEO, American Family Insurance

The Moonrise platform lets workers sign up for shifts with partner organizations through a simple text message interface, and get paid as soon as their shifts are done. Employers who sign up to partner with Moonrise can list open shifts on the platform.

“Moonrisers” are W-2 employees of Moonrise, not contractors, so they don’t have to pay self-employment taxes. They also get personalized business and comment cards to take to job sites, making their interactions with employers feel more professional. In this way, Moonrise helps workers not only build a buffer against unexpected bills, but also explore new positions and fields—and perhaps even land new full-time work with Moonrise partners.

To test the program in real time, IDEO and American Family assembled 11 Moonrisers, six employers, and a team of designers and programmers to work out kinks in the platform. During a one-week live pilot in Wisconsin, Moonrisers finished a combined 28 work shifts, earning an average of $121 each, while IDEO designers worked behind the scenes to keep the process running smoothly.

Based on the success of the pilot, American Family created a new startup company called Moonrise, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of American Family. Moonrise launched to the public in the Chicago area in 2018, with plans for an eventual nationwide rollout. Moonrise signed Enterprise Rent-A-Car as its first employer and actively matches workers in Chicago with shifts, while continuing to build more corporate partnerships.

Since launching in 2018, over 7,000 people have applied to become Moonrisers, more than 7,000 shifts have been fulfilled, and over $500,000 has been put into the pockets of hardworking Moonrisers. Additionally, Moonrise will be expanding into 3 additional states in 2019.

IDEO and American Family Insurance interviewed customers of The General—a division of American Family—about how they budget to make ends meet. In this conversation, customer Chandra told designers how $62 could be the difference between breaking down and breaking even for her family.

It’s not always easy for established companies to innovate, especially outside their core business. But innovation is a high priority for American Family. Creating an employee -centered startup like Moonrise solves an urgent problem and distinguishes them from their competition. Together, American Family and IDEO identified a pressing human need and built a program from the ground up to meet it.

Throughout all those years, from the machine shop to the digital shop, regardless of the technology we’re using or the problem we’re trying to solve, what has really gotten things done is ingenuity and creative thinking—especially in the face of dire cost and time constraints. A little bit of luck never hurts either.

So without further ado, here are my four favorite workarounds of my last decade and a half at IDEO.

2001: Using an Oscilloscope to save the sunroof

The challenge: The sunroof in your car is an invitation to luxury—catch some rays, feel the wind in your hair. The problem is, when driving at certain speeds with the sunroof open, a distinct and unpleasant booming noise can occur, making the experience rather less glamorous. The sound, a quick, repetitive thumping, is called “buffeting.”

Carmakers couldn’t figure out what to do about it. A luxury automobile company hired IDEO to find a way to make it stop.

IDEO’s workaround: My colleague Thomas Enders and I borrowed a brand new Mercedes-Benz and went for a ride! We brought along an oscilloscope (or “O-scope”) to measure the frequency and intensity of the sound waves of the buffeting effect at various speeds. With Thomas at the wheel, I held the O-scope, connected to a barometric sensor. This way, we were able to measure what was happening every time the buffeting started up.

What we discovered was that closing or opening the sunroof a small amount would change the dynamic of the air space in the car, and the buffeting noise would stop. So we designed a circuit that could detect buffeting and automatically adjust the opening of the sunroof to get rid of the annoying noise. Cruise on, in unimpeded luxury!

2002: Turntable-testing stylus materials

The challenge: Handspring, a company that produced hand-held PDAs (remember those?), looked to IDEO to find the best, most durable material to use for their stylus pens. We narrowed it down to a few polymers of various densities, but we had to figure out how to effectively test the materials for wear and friction over time.

IDEO’s workaround: We bought an $8 record player at the local Salvation Army, and replaced the needle with the various materials we were testing. Then we started it up and used a tachometer to track revolutions and measure distance and speed. Now we can brag about our DJ skills.

2012: Making the functional fashionable with paracord

The challenge: We worked with Vodafone and fashion designer Richard Nicoll to create a purse that could charge a mobile phone, while also being stylish enough to work the catwalk at the London Fashion Show. Part of the design was a small charm that hung outside the purse and flashed LED lights to signal incoming calls and text messages. We needed to find a coating for the charm that would protect the LEDs without being a fashion faux pas.

IDEO’s workaround: While we were brainstorming materials, I looked down at the bracelet I was wearing. It was made of paracord, commonly used for the strings of parachutes. Paracord is extremely durable, and it’s sold in a plethora of colors and patterns. We ordered a few strands online and found that we could remove the sheathing from the outside of the cord. We dressed the charm’s electrical cord with the sheathing from paracord, and voilà ! It gave the high-tech handbag a clean look and feel that was fit for the catwalk.

2013: Cooking circuit boards in a toaster oven

The challenge: Today’s electronics can be minuscule, and that means soldering up a printed circuit board (PCB) by hand can take forever. People who build a large number of PCBs use reflow soldering technology, but the necessary equipment is extremely expensive.

IDEO’s workaround: We decided that, given the type of rework electronics we do, it would be a good idea to tap into the mindset of the DIY community. Taking a page from their book, we bought a standard toaster oven. We fired it up and tested different temperature profiles and various types of solder paste, and soon came up with a working reflow soldering system.

Illustrations by Ina Xi

In my 15 years at IDEO, I’ve had a hand in roughly 130 projects. Some of the technologies I’ve worked on have become obsolete, like component research that required dozens of part catalogs (now, we just use the Internet). Many, though, have become the foundation for newer technologies, like discrete components, which were developed into MEMS sensors. And some, like the first Olympic torch to use LEDs rather than a flame, have been the very first of their kind.

IDEO New York developer Francis Tseng is—in his spare time—searching for a solution to the problem by exploring its root: the relationship between content and code. Tseng received a grant from the Knight Foundation to develop Argos*, an online news aggregation app that intelligently collects, summarizes and provides contextual information for news stories. Having recently finished version 0.1.0, which he calls the first “complete-ish” release of Argos, Tseng spoke with veteran journalist and documentary filmmaker Jason Cohn about the role technology can play in our consumption—and comprehension—of the news.

How would you describe to my mom, who just got her first smartphone, how Argos works and why it’s useful?

I’d say that it collects all of the important news and tells you exactly what you need to know about it. Instead of tracking separate publications, it pulls in new articles from a variety of different sources (right now, just a few major publications) and condenses everything into a set of bullet points. Argos uses a technique called “hierarchical agglomerative clustering” (HAC) to organize news stories. HAC takes each individual article and compares it to every other article, and comes up with a number representing how similar they are, on a scale of 0-1. If the similarity is above some threshold—say, greater than 0.7—the articles are considered to be talking about the same event, and they are grouped together into “event clusters.” The same HAC clustering technique is then applied to the event clusters to organize events into “story clusters.”

A sentence ranking algorithm generates a summary of each event cluster by analyzing the text of every article in the cluster and assigning an “informativeness” value to each sentence. It then takes the top five highest-ranked sentences and forms a summary. Right now I have a very simple version implemented, but the long-run focus will be on improving these core algorithms that do the heavy lifting.

Are journalists necessary anymore? Have I been replaced by an algorithm?

I personally don’t think that journalists will be replaced, at least not for a long time. Someone still needs to go out and do the research and the original reporting to get the information that the algorithm uses, which seems like the hardest and most valuable part of journalism.

It seems like some new tech applications derive from the recognition of a new technical capacity, which you then look for novel ways to use. In other cases, it begins with the recognition of a need, and you look for extant technologies that provide a possible solution. Which way did you approach Argos?

Both. I’ve always had a fascination with artificial intelligence, and that fascination has probably made me more sensitive to problem areas where AI approaches could be applicable. Personally, I find information overload, especially when it comes to keeping up with the news, really anxiety inducing and overwhelming, and I think because I was already familiar with some of these text processing techniques, it made sense to try applying them to this particular problem.

I’m glad you brought up information anxiety and overload. I think it’s a huge barrier to understanding the news today. There is so much information and analysis, but I don’t trust any of it, and I don’t know how to begin to get to the bottom of what’s really happening. Do you think Argos, or technology in general, can be an aid in this problem?

That's a particularly good example of the fact that there are different kinds of information overload. There’s one that is just about having too much information, but there’s another that is about figuring out which information you can trust. In general I would say technology has the potential to salve these kinds of anxieties, but it can just as easily do the opposite. More than anything, I hope Argos reduces the problem rather than adds to it, but one of the big failings I’ve felt with this first version is that it doesn’t accomplish that; it ends up generating more noise. Based on the feedback I’ve gotten, I'm looking at new designs and reevaluating techniques in order to rectify that.

What did you learn through building the first version that will influence the next one?

When I originally conceived of Argos, I was (and probably still am) naive about the extent of the issues that plague digital journalism. The more I looked into it, the more problems came up. Initially, the idea was about reducing information overload, mostly by supplying missing context to stories. But after completing this first version, I think that reducing overload and providing context might be really big and different issues. So right now I’m trying to determine how—and if—they can be solved simultaneously.

You mean because providing more context increases—by a lot—the amount of information a news consumer requires?

Exactly. The other main goal was increasing the understanding one got out of reading the news, which is what context is supposed to help with. But that’s kind of useless if all that information ends up driving people away from reading the news in the first place.

What changes are you planning for the next version of Argos?

In the first version the design was focused more on providing an experience similar to a traditional news publication or news reader. The app was organized around different feeds, or streams, presented as full-screen images with the title and summary of each event.

One issue was that the design wasn’t distinct from other news readers—you can’t really tell from looking at it that it’s offering anything different from a traditional RSS reader or news application. And it’s really hard to expect that every news story will come with a nice big image. Also, though, I think that in approaching the app as a traditional news publication, I missed the point of what I was trying to accomplish. The feedback I've gotten has helped me understand that Argos can have a more useful and unique place in being kind of a “daily scan” of the day's news events. So the new designs are more akin to brief updates about events around the world, to provide people with an entry or starting point for reading more and getting involved in discussions.

And you give them avenues for digging deeper into contexts and definitions?

Yes. The original source material is there to read, and context is optionally provided. You can choose to read more about the event itself, or about the people, places, organizations, etc. that are involved.

What about the issue of bias? As journalists, we’ve always had to be wary of our sources. And as consumers of news, it’s always been a good idea to assume that someone with an agenda is feeding reporters their information. How does Argos handle biases and opinions that are embedded in a story?

The issue of bias in journalism is one of those big problems that cropped up when I looked more closely at what I wanted Argos to do. It seems like a perennial issue. One potential solution is that, if you sample a large enough set of publications, bias might “average out,” so that any summary that is formed from their aggregate has less bias than any individual article. I don’t know if that works in practice though. My cop-out answer would be that Argos isn’t really trying to solve the problem of bias, but personally I hope that one day it can. Looking at the history and associations of the author who wrote the piece could actually be a very good technique. In the new version of Argos, I want to incorporate more community dialogue around the events and stories. In my experience, a lot of these issues about bias—being as complex and nuanced as they are—are best hashed out by individuals discussing them.

I think I have to disagree with you on that! My feeling about web comments on news stories is that they rarely shed much light relative to heat.

It is very difficult to pull off correctly. A lot of comments devolve into knee-jerk shouting matches. Occasionally, though, I’ve found something really insightful. On Reddit, sometimes experts will come in and succinctly explain things, and every once in a while you see a very levelheaded discussion about a story. I think the potential is there, but it’s hard to get it right.

One thing I’ve been focusing on is that I’m trying to get my hands mostly on reporting that’s coming from the field. The rest is just analysis, which, in my opinion, is more susceptible to ideological influence.

Yes! I have been thinking a lot about how to incorporate grassroots and community reporting. I’m dissatisfied with Argos’s current approach of relying on major publications, but it’s just easier at this stage.

Do you need to have content licensing relationships with news organizations to harvest the data or can you just… borrow it?

It’s possible this usage of the content falls under the terms of “fair use.” All the original articles are cited, and I’m hoping that these high-level summaries can interest people in reading the original posts. Since things are still quite experimental, I’m not worrying about the potential legal consequences now, but at some point I will want to talk to the publishers.

It seems to me that one really useful type of story for Argos is something like the lost Malaysian airliner. There was a big burst of real news when the plane disappeared, and then there was an endless cycle of conjecture and empty reportage with very little actual “news.” If you were following that story on Argos, would you avoid being updated every five minutes to discover that they still haven’t found the missing plane?

Yes, if the clustering algorithm works well enough, it should be able to recognize that these articles are talking about exactly the same thing as the ones from last week, so it’s not a new event.

It would be nice if cable news worked like that.

Maybe with Argos it will!

*Argos is a personal project of Francis Tseng's and is not affiliated with IDEO.

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Digital journalism has evolved to a point of paradox: we now have access to such an overwhelming amount of news that it’s actually become more difficult to understand current events.

Generative art, or art derived from computer code, is a relatively new format, in which the artist-programmer realizes a vision or idea by defining parameters and commands. But making generative art is, in many ways, just like painting or any other classical fine art.

When you create a painting, you start with an inspiration and sketch it on paper. You then prepare your oils, brushes, and canvas, and you refine the painting until it’s just right. I follow a similar process with generative art. When something inspires me, whether it’s a contour map in a geographic magazine, a chart representing a mathematical formula, or the various mechE tools in my father’s workshop, I sketch it on paper and jot down the keywords that best describe it. Then, I sit down at my computer and compose the code (using the Python programming language) that will “paint” the right “brush strokes.” I run the code to generate images on my computer, and go through multiple iterations until the code outputs the shapes, colors, opacities, and shadows that perfectly express my original idea.

I leverage the power of my computer to generate the artwork. Where a classical fine artist would pull out their oils and brushes to express colors and shapes, I do the same with parameters. For example, I defined a palette of colors for painting waves like this:

As if the computer was a hand holding a brush, I tell it how to paint by defining command codes, like draw_wave:

Delightful randomness

While most of the parameters in my code are set statically, I have also added an algorithm that allows certain parameters to be generated randomly, so the visual elements of the image change randomly within a defined range. This way, the final product is unpredictable; I’ll never know exactly what image will be generated.

This function returns a float number randomly ranging from 0.1 to 0.7:

The random parameters are not only unpredictable, but also non-reiterative, so these images cannot be recreated—they are completely unique.

Algorithm as art

Computer graphics are based on mathematics, so when I paint with code, I am exploring and visualizing the beauty of structure, abstraction, and complexity in mathematics that most of us don’t get to see in our daily lives. It often happens that when I play with a new algorithm and see the images it generates, I'm inspired to develop them into artwork, as was the case with Tsunami, below. The inspiration for this series came while playing with an algorithm named Cornu Curve, which generates a fantastic visual effect of crazy waves. From the same code, I made six different images using a combination of a hundred curves in varying opacities and shades of blue.

Unlimited complexity

Creating art with code allows me to make complex images that I could never have made by hand, such as All Seeing Eye, below. It is composed of millions of lines and hundreds of layers, and each line has its own shadow, blur, and opacity.

My goal was to use the complex texture to create the visual effect of catching or entrapping the audience in the “eye.” The computer is an exciting tool for creating art like this, which requires repetitive, intricate work. A piece of generative artwork composed of millions of shapes can be drawn in just a few minutes. Rendered by hand, the same piece might take a human ten years to accomplish.

Like a painter selecting the perfect tool, I used the following piece of code to define a “brush” with just the right characteristics to create the lines I wanted:

Then, just as a painter would use a specific gesture to create a certain visual effect, I used the following code to tell my computer how to hold and draw with the brush I created:

Functional designs

The exciting thing about generative art is that it is not only beautiful, but also usable. We can create new patterns and unique fabrics for the fashion industry, or we can move beyond two-dimensional creations and use generative art to make sculpture, furniture, and even architecture.

Creating art with code, I’m constantly making new discoveries of exciting visual possibilities. Computers have revolutionized countless aspects of human life, and now, generative art has the potential to revolutionize artistic expression, opening infinite space for innovation.

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By day, I code mobile apps and design digital experiences. In my free time, I create art. I recently began exploring both at once with generative art, a sublime combination of computer programming and graphic art.

Wild ideas emerged: a Hug Deli, where patrons might order Ninja Hugs off the menu; a mystery bar, serving up a drink chosen by the previous guest. The big idea was to get people out of their “thinking minds“ in order to freely create.

And that brought us to Fauxtobooth.

A riff on the classic photobooth we all know and love, this version is completely handmade and doubles as a creative confidence booster—forcing people to draw on a deadline.

How it works

The subject takes a seat inside the booth, facing a mirror. Thirty seconds after pressing a button, the subject receives a slip of paper through a slot below the mirror with—whoa!—a hand-drawn sketch of his or her face on it.

Um, how exactly did that work?

When the host brings the subject around to the back of the booth, the inner workings of the machine are revealed: table, chair, paper, Sharpies. The subject was actually posing in front of a two-way mirror and now it's his or her turn to take on the role of fauxtographer—of capturing the next unsuspecting subject.

How it's made

To make a full-scale prototype, you’ll need some foam core and tape. A crude model will help you get a sense of the dimensions and how long it would take to build. The massive black exterior offers an opportunity to advertise your offer. We used vinyl decals for our slogan: “Automatic portraits while you wait!“

Enlist friends: Building a Fauxtobooth takes a village (who likes to cut foam core alone anyway?).

Glue together pieces of foam core to provide structural integrity, and attach the parts using industrial strength velcro, making it possible to easily deconstruct and transport the booth.

Finishing touches

A few key elements bring the Fauxtobooth to life: a two-way mirror, a giant red “Start” button, and graphic flourishes:

• Two-way mirror: The artist can see the subject, but not the other way around. Position the Fauxtobooth under direct light on the subject’s side (you can also use a spotlight), and make sure the curtain is closed on the other side to completely conceal the artist.
• “Start” button: Program an Arduino to keep time (we used an interval of 30 seconds). When pressed, the button lights up for 20 seconds; for the last 10 seconds it blinks and counts down. This serves a dual purpose: the subject knows to hold still for their portrait and the artist knows how much time they have to complete the portrait.
• Graphics: IDEO designer extraordinaire Njoki Gitahi loves bold, vintage signs, and playful, typographic compositions. She took inspiration from Lou Dorfsman’s “Gastrotypographicalassemblage.“ The team vinyl cut and applied the graphics—a tricky process, but well worth it in the end. The white lettering creates a dramatic display against the black backdrop.

What we learned

Once we narrowed in on the Fauxtobooth concept, we realized that (1) you can capture the gestalt of a person in a very short time, (2) people have fun with it, and (3) the collection of images make for an awesome display wall. Here are a few other things we discovered along the way:

• Get back to basics. Building with common materials like foam core, tape, and Velcro reconnects you to basic skills and tools. And the analog experience charmed the pants off people.
• Velcro is your friend. Not only is the sticky stuff forgiving if you don’t get the alignment just right on the first try, it also allows you to disassemble and reassemble structures on location. Consider it the new duct tape.
• Fine-tune light and sound. We were able to position the subject’s side of the booth under a light and keep the artist’s side relatively dark. Check your space ahead of time and use a spotlight if necessary. Also, as the party heats up, the sound of the Start button may be drowned out. Turn up the volume!

Your turn

Up for the challenge? We put together a handy manual so you can learn from our mistakes. If you do build a Fauxtobooth, we’d love to hear about it. Send us a few (real) photos!

Download the replication manual and vinyl graphics

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There was a lot of work to be done. IDEO's New York studio was to host an event to celebrate Tom and David Kelley's new book, Creative Confidence, and whatever we designed had to reflect their ideas. Pressure on, we brainstormed over lunch—tools and sticky notes spread out across the largest room in our office.

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.