In 2017, IDEO acquired longtime partner Datascope and integrated the company’s data scientists and engineers. Datascope team members aren’t just passionate data scientists; they’re human-centered designers who happen to work with data, as illustrated by successful collaborations like this one:

If Procter and Gamble (P&G) were a city, it would be the size of Boulder, Colorado. The company employs more than 100,000 people in 70 countries. Its research and development team is made up of more than 20,000 specialists working across locations, languages, and areas of expertise, from cleaning chemicals to paper products to over-the-counter medications.

P&G approached Datascope to help the company connect these researchers to one another and the rest of the organization. In working with P&G leaders, Datascope found that the company needed a better way to access and leverage employee expertise. Managers routinely got requests from researchers looking to work with others in their subject areas, but didn’t know how to identify the right partners or set them up for fruitful collaboration.

Datascope gathered internal data, including unstructured research data on the scientists’ interests and who they partner with most often. The team used that information to develop two new systems that bridge the gap for P&G researchers and managers. The first is an internal search engine that lets managers quickly find and connect the right experts across P&G offices worldwide. The second is a data visualization tool that highlights subject areas ripe for more collaboration among experts and research teams, who may already be asking similar questions. This intelligent tool can surface relevant, timely information managers need to connect their teams.

P&G already had a practice of collecting information for product research, but it wasn’t until Datascope came on the scene that the company took advantage of large, multi-layered data sets and made them more intelligent, so leaders could expand P&G’s expertise through new global partnerships.

In 2017, IDEO acquired longtime partner Datascope and integrated the company’s data scientists and engineers. Datascope team members aren’t just passionate data scientists; they’re human-centered designers who happen to work with data, as illustrated by successful collaborations like this one:

The second a smartphone debuts, buyers, bloggers, and journalists begin writing comments and reviews—and users start troubleshooting. Motorola Mobility wanted to tap into this river of data, but didn’t have the right tools to collect and respond to it.

Motorola’s design, engineering, and service teams hoped to identify product problems early, address them quickly through customer support, and ultimately fix them in future releases.

So Datascope built a custom engine that aggregates and analyzes feedback from hundreds of millions of phrases and internet references, drawn from consumer sites, user forums, news coverage, social media feeds, and product reviews. The tool parses key, product-specific information and routes it to the right Motorola teams: hardware, software, connectivity, and interface design, to name a few.

The analytics and visualization engine not only studies product performance in real time, but it also uses algorithms to gauge customers’ emotional reactions: Do they like the phone or hate it? Do they have complaints? Are they recommending it to friends?

Datascope’s tool translates all this data into simplified to-dos that are sent to the correct service and repair staff before user issues can mar a product launch or even the company’s reputation. And as engineers discover more about how a phone performs in the real world, they learn how to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

The tool proved valuable as soon as it launched in 2012: When Motorola released the RAZR M smartphone, customers had a hard time figuring out how to use wifi and voice features at the same time and lodged complaints online. The engine recognized the pattern of complaints and alerted Motorola's customer support team, which was able to post responses with clear instructions in every relevant forum, turning a potential customer satisfaction problem into a positive interaction.

Motorola continued to use the engine to address issues in later releases of the RAZR M. The advance warning made engineers’ lives easier, while better handsets and software made for a more seamless customer experience. Improvements were also evident in the RAZR M’s well-reviewed next generation, the RAZR MAXX.

Based on the tool’s success, Motorola used it to improve the company’s supply chain and product development process. And beginning in 2014, with the Moto 360 smartwatch, Datascope’s analytics engine has been used to gauge performance and public sentiment not just for new smartphones, but for Motorola Mobility’s entire line of products.

For most parents, ensuring their child’s proper nourishment is a top priority. But that’s not always easy, especially for parents on the go. Plum Organics, an organic baby food company, set out to solve that problem by providing families with pureed fruits and veggies in pouches, making it easy for them to feed their babies. Plum approached IDEO for help designing a non-pouch package that could showcase the vibrancy of the ingredients within.

By conducting research and in-person interviews with families, Plum set out to ensure that the new product was both desirable and functional for parents and their babies. By joining families in their homes, IDEO was able to gather essential insights that helped inform prototypes and the final design, like the fact that nothing can replace the feeling of making an intimate connection with a child through spoon feeding; that baby food is often wasted if a parent can’t remember how long a product has been in the fridge; that families struggle with how to spoon-feed their children on the go without making a mess, and that both parents and retailers were concerned that baby food jars don’t stack securely on shelves.

With those insights in mind, the team designed a transparent bowl that allows consumers to see the natural color of Plum’s vibrant, organic food. A resealable lid makes it easy for parents to store food between feedings, and the container includes a feature that allows them to track the day that they opened the pack to ensure that they don’t end up throwing away perfectly good food. Lastly, the new package is easily and safely stackable and includes a divot in the lid for parents to rest a spoon on, making for a much cleaner and more sanitary feeding experience.

Baby Bowls for Plum are now available at retailers nationwide and are a natural evolution for the brand, helping Plum continue to provide high-quality, organic baby food for consumers and their children, even if they’re eating on the go.

Accessing our genetic code is as easy as spitting in a tube, but how can we benefit from all that DNA data? IDEO surveyed more than 1,000 Americans about the gene sequencing services they want. "Give me things I can act on,” one respondent said. “Give me advice, action plans, apps, and tools. Information is just air until I can put it to use." As it turns out, tools that can translate our genetic information into better life choices—to improve our health, chart our family history, or even find an effective exercise routine—are hard to come by.

Inspired to organize and apply the wealth of genetic data in all of us, Helix envisioned the first online platform for products that offer insights based on a person’s unique DNA sequence. The startup’s founders approached IDEO to help them get to launch by identifying their future market segments and designing their brand and product offering.

Helix sequences all 22,000 of your genes from one saliva sample—sent in a mail-in kit—and hosts a marketplace of products developed by trusted brands and innovative developers that explore your health, ancestry, entertainment, family, fitness, and nutrition. Similar to the Apple app store, Helix lets you pay individually for the products you want and is a platform for developers to launch new offerings over time. After you've provided a DNA sample once, every product in the Helix store is made available to you on-demand. So, as new products are launched and new discoveries are made in the field of genomics, the data from your original sample is all you’ll need to keep exploring your personal genetic insights.

IDEO engaged a range of users, including early adopters of at-home genetic tests and “quantified self” enthusiasts, and surveyed potential Helix customers across the country. That qualitative and quantitative research validated Helix’s “app store” business model and provided key insights into the products people were most interested in.

Through the partnership, Helix uncovered what users need most from a genomics company:

• to prioritize the accuracy and privacy of DNA test results
• to encourage a sense of discovery and exploration of our genes
• to celebrate each individual’s unique qualities

A team of ethnographers, data scientists, and designers at IDEO helped direct the startup’s brand approach (including its name, Helix) and crafted a blueprint for how the company connects with customers and presents its product. The Helix store launched in July 2017.

Our DNA used to be a mystery—something we guessed at by observing our parents. Now, easy access to our genetic code—and the tools to truly understand it—arrives on our doorstep.

Practical is good. But when you are applying to your dream job, being practical is not enough. Cover letters may seem like an extra step, but for those of us on the other side, they’re a way to cut through the noise. I might see 300 applicants for a single job. A cover letter helps me understand the people behind these pieces of paper, and who might really make a difference in the role.

Maybe candidates feel too much pressure to write the perfect cover letter, so they skip it. To that I say, don’t let perfect be the enemy of great. And don’t miss an opportunity to show a company who you are and what you bring with you.

Here are five tips to help you write a compelling, well-crafted cover letter, with excerpts from real letters that helped IDEOers get in the door.

1. Explain why this position makes sense for you now in your career

If you’re shifting industries, or looking for a role with more responsibilities, your qualifications might not be obvious based on a resume or LinkedIn profile. Remember, this isn’t about selling yourself; this is about sharing yourself.

Here's a good example:

I am interested in the recruiting coordinator role because I believe that I have the best skillset and mindset to navigate the different elements of this position, and I am very interested in growing in a career in HR.

My experience in office coordination and operations management has taught me that my workplace passion is in people operations and support. My favorite phrase to dish out is, “Don’t worry about it, I got you.” My goal always is to set people — employees, visitors, friends, strangers — up for success. Whether that means labeling which drawer has paper clips and which has paper towels, or directing questions to people who have the answers, or ensuring that new hires have all they need and more waiting for them on their first day. I strive to be a bridge between teams to help members get what they need to get the job done well, and I am passionate about finding ways in which we can improve that entire interaction. I geek out over creating, improving, and discussing process and ways we can make interactions more human.

2. This is an introduction, not a manifesto

Aim for two paragraphs (if you end up with one or three it’s okay). There is no rule that says cover letters need to be lengthy to lend insight into your background and your interest in the role. On the flip side, the two sentences that state the obvious—you’re applying to such-and-such company and that you hope for an interview—aren’t really cover letters. If this is your go-to move, ask yourself why you’re applying to that role and if you are really interested in it or qualified for it? Because those are the same exact questions the recruiter is asking.

Here’s a pithy explanation of who a candidate is, and what she wants out of a career:

I’m half Scottish, half Chinese and have lived and worked across seven cities in three continents in the past 10 years. I have the unique ability to imagine the world from multiple perspectives. I’m a leader, a dot connector, and a storyteller. I’ve been looking for an opportunity that combines my unique interests in design research and education, and would look forward to hearing more about the team and projects and share how I can contribute.

3. Show some personality in your writing

Try to strike the right balance between being sincere and being authentic. A sincere cover letter gets the reaction, “Wow, they really mean everything they say.” An authentic cover letter gets the reaction, “Wow, they didn’t hold anything back.” Cover letters can have a blend of both—just remember that this is a first impression. When in doubt, stick with sincerity.

Here’s how one successful applicant explained his background, and his values:

So as I sit here in the airport terminal waiting to board, I wonder about the question of my own destination. After honing my expertise in insight-led branding, I want to bring it to a greater range of projects for a company that would allow me to make a positive difference in the world. I feel like my experience with junior designers, my advocacy for design as language, and my commitment to collaboration would help me to be an asset for a brand that shares these goals. After all, that’s what all of us are looking for, to invest our time in brands with which we share the same values.

4. Keep it focused

Sharing a portfolio or summary of past work is not the same as a cover letter. If you want to get visual with images, graphics, charts, and artwork that’s great, just make sure it is in service of communicating why this role, and why you.

This is the entirety of one successful cover letter:

I’m a scientist, a writer, an educator, an artist, and an avid autodidact. What makes me an effective educator is that I have a genuine and self-motivated thirst for learning and for sharing that information with others. My experiences create a design process that is equally as analytical as creative, as researched as inspired, and as concise as expressive. On my nightstand right now, I have The New York Times, Popular Mechanics, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, The Economist, and US! Weekly. It’s a mixed bag, but it’s the best way I can show you that very few things escape the reach of my curiosity. Welcome to my brain:

This image complemented the message of the above cover letter.

5. Address it to the correct company

Yes, this sounds basic, but—believe it or not—this mistake happens all the time. It’s perfectly normal to have a cover letter template you enjoy using—just make sure to tailor your cover letter to the role and organization. And always proofread. (For the companies and roles you’re most excited about, have two other people proofread.)

Here’s how one applicant showed us—in an opening sentence—that they knew a lot about IDEO and the work we do. (Creative Confidence is a book written by David and Tom Kelley, partners at IDEO).

Dear IDEO hiring team,

I put down Creative Confidence on a cold, March Toronto day with a profoundly different perspective on what it means to do meaningful work.

These are all important points to fold into your cover letter, but remember, what matters most is that you show a little personality. After all, we want to hire you, not your resume.

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Let it be known, I love cover letters. For applicants, they’re the best way to express thoughtful excitement for a job. For recruiters like me, they’re the best way to learn about the motivations and aspirations behind an application. But much to my dismay, these days, there’s a common belief that cover letters are superfluous compared to the more practical resume or LinkedIn profile.

Creative Confidence has inspired thousands of people to adopt a creative mindset and apply it to the diverse real-world challenges they face. In this series, we’ll share some exercises from the book that can help you approach your challenges from a new perspective.

Creativity Challenge #1: Push yourself to think divergently and creatively

Actively engaging in exercises that foster divergent or unconventional thinking can encourage the generation of ideas. When you are searching for innovative solutions on your own, mindmaps can be a powerful way to come up with ideas or to gain clarity about a topic of exploration. They are extremely versatile, and we use them all the time. From coming up with ideas for a family vacation to identifying home projects to tackle over the weekend, mindmaps can be used for all sorts of problem solving. They help you chart the recesses of your mind surrounding one central idea. The further you get from the center of the map, the more hidden ideas you can uncover.

Tool: Mindmaps
Participants: This is usually a solo activity
Time: 15-60 minutes
Supplies: Paper (the bigger the better) and pen

Instructions

Step 1: On a large blank piece of paper, write your central topic or challenge in the middle of the paper and circle it. For example, you might write “A great dinner party for friends.”

Step 2: Make some connections to that main topic and write them down, branching out from the center as you go. Ask yourself, “What else can I add to the map that is related to this theme?” In the dinner party example, you might write down “everyone in the kitchen” and “make your own sundaes” as two avenues of thought. If you think one of your ideas will lead to a whole new cluster, draw a quick rectangle or oval around it to emphasize that it’s a hub.

Step 3: Use each connection to spur new ideas. For example, under “make your own sundaes,” you might write “have dessert first” or “cook at the table.”

Step 4: Keep going. You are done when the page fills or the ideas dwindle. If you are feeling warmed up but not finished, try to reframe the central topic and do another mindmap to get a fresh perspective. If you feel you’ve done enough, think about which ideas you would like to move forward with. After drawing the mindmap shown here, David threw a big dinner party in which guests changed tables after each course, enabling them to talk to everyone in the room. Each challenge presents an opportunity for innovation.

Tips from the field

Generally the first set of ideas that branch from the center will feel cliched or obvious. That happens to everyone. Those concepts were in your head and were just waiting to be captured on paper. As the map progresses, however, your mind will open up, and you’ll likely discover some wild, unpredictable, dissociative ideas.

As you experiment with mindmapping, you may find it valuable in all sorts of creative endeavors. As David’s former colleague Rolf Faste used to say, mindmapping can:

1. Get you started and help you overcome your fear of the blank page.
2. Help you look for patterns.
3. Reveal the structure of a subject.
4. Map your thought process and record the evolution of an idea. (You can trace it backwards later in search of new insights.)
5. Communicate both the ideas and the processes to others, so that you can guide them on the same mental journey.

You may be wondering when a mindmap is better than an ordinary list. Lists are great at keeping track of things we don’t want to forget. But the to-do list assumes we know what we want to put on it, whereas, at the start of a mindmap, we don’t yet know where it’s going to lead us. Mindmaps are good at facilitating divergent or unconventional thinking; lists are good for capturing the best answers among the thoughts you already have. Mindmaps help to generate ideas. As such, mindmaps are particularly useful early in the creative process. Lists are better later on, when you want to capture the ideas you’ve generated and are looking for a best solution to pursue. Each of the chapters of Creative Confidence started as a mindmap. Later they evolved into lists of stories and ideas that we wanted to weave together. When you are trying to create something new, use mindmaps to generate ideas and lists to capture the best ones. Together, they can be a powerful combination.

This post is the first in a series of exercises taken from Chapter 7 of . Purchase the book for more on how to use creativity to solve problems.

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Everyone is creative. This belief runs through everything we do at IDEO, and in 2013, it led my brother David and me to write a book that would help others—even those who don’t think of themselves as “creative types”—to unleash their creative potential.

In our practice, we believe that cities are catalysts for innovation—every citizen and developer shares responsibility for the city in which they live, and equally shares the potential to bring positive change to that place. Here are six things we can’t stop thinking about redesigning, from the humble sidewalk, to the decentralized workplace, to the way we build our neighborhoods.

Bridging Physical and Digital

My smartphone upstaged my city. I no longer need to walk to the bank, stand in lines, wander through stores—I can do it all faster online. The majority of physical spaces we used to rely on have lost their initial purpose, become underutilized, abandoned and some—like the mall and big box stores—out of business. What should be located in these spaces? How should banks represent themselves in a physical world? What is the future of the service-based businesses?

I’d like to discover a way to reconnect physical and digital innovations, and make these obsolete spaces useful again with shared ownership models and disruptive technologies. I’d love to see more sustainable and flexible business models around “micro-leases,” square footage-based ownership, and so on. The digital era has opened a fantastic opportunity to reshape our relationship with physical spaces, collaborate more, and integrate the architectural world into the discourse around innovation.

— Kateryna Romanova

The Way We Create Buildings

The more cities I visit, the more I realize how similar most of them are—and not in a good way. As an architect, I always find the lack of variety disappointing. The problem begins with the way we construct buildings. Automation has been taking over the construction process, and although there are positive features of this new approach, it leaves out the nuance of human input, which is key to diversity and uniqueness in the built environment. As construction technology marches ahead, I would love to find a way to amplify the voices of the people who will eventually use those buildings, documenting their opinions and needs during the design process. If we can connect the two, then the resulting buildings will be as varied as the people they house.

— Matt Avallone

Sidewalks

Sidewalks are our doorstep to the city. They are a meeting ground for the public—they provide space for eating, exercise, and rest; they house wildlife, foliage, and even micro-businesses. As our cities evolve to be less car-centric and more people-oriented, I would like to envision a continually active role for this diverse strip of land we call the “sidewalk.” In the face of climate change, sidewalks could become permeable strips of land that enable more resilient flood response. They could become extensions of our cultural institutions and art museums, drawing them out of their building envelopes. Sidewalks turned into green belts could convert concrete jungles into urban oases and productive farms. Sidewalks are two-dimensional strips of democracy, and because of their scale, they can serve as a key variable in how we prototype our urban life.

— Nicholas Pajerski

Bringing the Future Forward

Despite the emergence of fast-moving technology that constantly challenges and changes the way we live in our environment, we still mostly design and build in the same old ways. We can dream up all the amazing spaces and experiences in the world, but if we don’t evolve how they truly come to life, we are bound to fail, and our designs will always be stuck in the “future.” If we could find a better way to close the gap between the conceptual ideas of designers and the reality of the user, we’d have a better chance of transforming the lived experience of urban environments.

— Haemi Chang

More Playful Cities and Streets

Play! In the last year, I have started chasing and capturing playful moments in the streets— from graffiti, to a group of kids playing in the water from a broken pipe, to lovers dancing on a street corner. This journey of capturing playfulness in the streets made me more aware and even obsessed with the idea of how we can design the right conditions for playfulness in the city. Why playfulness? Because playing means engaging, engagement brings care. If we are more caring and careful about the streets of the cities we live in, we might build stronger connections for healthier communities. Being playful on the streets requires courage, builds trust, allows for discovery, create communities. Playfulness is fundamental to our social nature, so it’s a useful framework for thinking through how we can build stronger cities and communities.

— Nazlican Goksu

The Car-Centric City

Cities are becoming denser than ever, yet while density forms the perfect conditions for alternative transport, cities are still designed primarily with automobiles as the top consideration. If we were to design first for walkability and safer cycling experiences, we could inspire and incentivize individuals to choose car-free options for getting around.

Designing walkable cities is not limited to creating more sidewalks—a paradigm that still puts drivers first. Walkability requires a serious reconsideration of an entire transportation and urban infrastructure, putting people first and cars second. We need to consider infrastructural changes at multiple scales and from multiple perspectives: creating denser, more mixed-use walkable neighborhoods; optimizing for green public spaces for gathering over sprawling parking lots; better integrating bike storage and building protected bicycle lanes; dispersing art and street lighting throughout major walkways to encourage people to walk more; and lowering speed limits in pedestrian-dense areas to ensure safer, more enjoyable walking and cycling experiences.

— Courtney Song

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Members of the environments design team at IDEO are constantly thinking about the ways we shape cities, and the ways cities shape us. Innovating around established and out-of-date spaces, new forms of retail, the future of living, and mobility is part of our daily lives—and something we don’t turn off when we head home for the day, or even when we go on vacation.

For one, creating keeps you inspired, giving you something to cling onto during those moments when the daily grind gets you down. It also forces you to push your edges—creatively, mentally, maybe even physically. By exploring your own creativity on your own terms, you’re bound to uncover new ways of thinking and working that will serve you in more ways than one.

Not sure where to start? Soak up some inspiration from IDEO designers whose side projects keep them sharp and creatively engaged.

1. If you want to learn a new skill...

IDEO New York’s Alex S. calls himself a “digital alchemist”—in other words, he loves making weird stuff on his computer. When he decided to teach himself 3D coding, he embarked on a slightly unsettling but majorly entertaining side project to create an online, 3D dance floor for his virtual colleagues to get jiggy with it.

READ: How I Taught Myself to Code in 3D

2. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and make something…

In his role as a design director at IDEO Cambridge, Michael Hendrix spends his days thinking big (and staring at screens). To keep his fingers nimble and his mind open, he started a simple yet satisfying side project: Making a paper collage every morning.

READ: I Chop Up Faces Every Morning and So Should You

3. If you’re looking to start a business on the side…

Kim Powers spends her days designing the experience of working at IDEO San Francisco. Two years ago, Kim and her husband purchased an abandoned dry cleaners and transformed it into a coffee shop—and the journey turned out to be directly relevant to her work.

READ: Thinking About Starting a Side Business? Read This.

4. If you want to find a way to mash up your passions…

Legal designer Sean Hewens has a taste for the absurd. On one hand, he’s a fictional mapmaker, and on the other, he brews his own beer. Sean’s side project manages to combine those seemingly unrelated hobbies into what he calls “the ultimate beer drinking experience.”

READ: What Brewing Beer Taught Me About Design

5. If you'd like to build your kids something special…

When she’s not designing software at IDEO Cambridge, Ashley Holtgraver is busy raising her newborn son. To help him grow up healthy and unscathed by the pressures of today’s digital world, she used her programming skills to build her son a “Slow TV.”

READ: Why I'm Building a TV For My Baby

6. If you want to get involved in your community…

Jacob Waites spends his days designing for emerging tech with IDEO CoLab, but on the side, he’s a founding member of Foremost, a creative collective intent on bringing culture to small town Florida. Together, the collective gutted an old gas station and transformed it into a community art center.

READ: How We Turned an Old Gas Station into a Community Hot Spot

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At IDEO, we’re passionate about our jobs—and everything else. Our writers, designers, and researchers spend their spare time going after everything from beer making to starting their own businesses, making toys to writing stories. Why? Because big, small, physical, digital, experimental—no matter what we create, we know it’s valuable.

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.