Master Kong (known internationally as Tingyi Holding Corporation) is number one in market share in both instant noodles and ready-to-drink teas, with over $10 billion USD in annual revenue. While China has a rich tea culture, most sugar-free bottled tea on store shelves markets itself as “healthy” and “tasty.” Wanting to set itself apart from the competition by uncovering new consumer needs, Master Kong reached out to IDEO. Together, Master Kong and IDEO immersed themselves in modern Chinese tea culture and built a new, premium, sugar-free bottled tea brand that resonates deeply with contemporary tea drinkers. ‍

During research, the combined IDEO/Master Kong team took a two-pronged approach to uncovering new opportunities: industry exploration and consumer research. The team visited various tea-related businesses, from traditional tea houses to modern beverage shops, as well as “third place” tea spaces outside of home or work. They also conducted in-depth, in-home interviews with consumers with various levels of interest in tea, delving deeply into their daily routines to better understand their lifestyles and any emotional or functional needs related to tea.

The team discovered that the essence of Chinese tea culture resonated with contemporary consumers’ longing for authenticity, simplicity, and physical rejuvenation in their fast-paced lives. This insight presented a unique opportunity for Master Kong. Instead of positioning its new sugar-free tea brand as merely a “healthy alternative” to other beverages,  it could spark a meaningful connection to tea culture, seamlessly integrating into various moments of modern life.  

Armed with this insight, IDEO designers and dozens of Master Kong beverage team members participated in a series of immersive, hands-on tea innovation workshops. Teams of experts from R&D, marketing, supply chain, and other company departments temporarily set aside their job titles to explore, iterate, and refine dozens of new tea concepts that were commercially viable, feasible for mass production, and aligned with consumer needs. The cross-departmental collaboration allowed for a broad mix of perspectives, experiences, and expertise, enriching the innovation process.

The co-creation sessions led to a new sugar-free tea product and flagship brand called Cha De Chuan Ren (“Descendants of the Tea”), which celebrates fine, origin-sourced tea and the passion and dedication of tea farmers. The novel concept resonated strongly with consumers and was validated during subsequent rounds of quantitative market testing, ensuring its relevance and market potential.

Cha De Chuan Ren launched with two signature flavors: Tieguanyin (green tea) from Fujian and Pu’er (black tea) from Yunnan. The unique mottled bottle design pays tribute to traditional handcrafted glass containers and the handiwork of tea farmers. The tactile paper label, which features Jia Ma-inspired woodblock illustrations of local tea fields and tea farmers’ hands, nods to the artisanal craft of tea making and the source of the tea inside.

“Descendants of the Tea” debuted on Tmall in April 2024. It claimed the top spot on the commerce site’s Tea Beverage V-List in August and September. Offline, it launched in FamilyMart convenience stores in May and has since expanded nationwide. The new brand received a 2024 Red Dot Award for “Brands & Communication Design.”

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“We are honored to collaborate with IDEO, a global leader in innovation, as our strategic partner. ‘Descendants of the Tea’ is not just an exceptional product but also a tribute to the rich heritage of tea culture. Only by continuously integrating culinary traditions with innovation can we sustainably meet consumers’ true needs.”

Richard Chen
‍CEO, Master Kong (Tingyi Holding Corporation)

“Innovation is incredibly fragile. If even one leader is unsupportive or hesitant, the culture of innovation can collapse. I always encourage my team to take risks, as long as they’re not high stakes. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? At the very least, we’ll have a fair chance at creating something new.”

Wei Hong-Chen
‍Chairman of Master Kong Beverage Holdings Co., Ltd.

Sugary bottled teas were once very popular in China. Today, rising consumer demand for healthier beverage options has expanded the market for sugar-free tea.

#1

on Tmall’s Tea Beverage V-List, August- September 2024

2024 Red Dot Award Winner

‍for Brands & Communication Design

Twenty years ago, carrying a single-use plastic water bottle was a status symbol—no more. Growing awareness of the negative environmental impact of plastic pollution, combined with the adoption of healthier lifestyles and social media influencer trends, has made reusable water bottles “it” accessories for on-the-go consumers. While brands such as Stanley, Yeti, S’well, and Hydro Flask own the under-$100 market, fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, and Prada have etched out a new and growing market for high-end bottles that appeal to discerning, trend-conscious young people looking to perfect their hydration habits.

Spotting an opportunity to disrupt the predominantly utilitarian water bottle market, Steinmann partnered closely with IDEO, tasking the team with developing an industrial design that perfected the tactile and sensory user experience, from drinking and carrying to disassembling and cleaning thoroughly. The collaboration deepened over time, with Steinmann and IDEO working together to develop the high-level engineering concept, the OKAPA logo mark, and packaging ideas.

Key user-centered features of the OKAPA bottle include a medical-grade German borosilicate glass interior for superior taste of hot or cold beverages with no lingering odors; a Swiss-engineered thermoplastic lockable and leak-proof tilt cap that can be easily operated with one hand when driving or doing other activities; and an ergonomically shaped mouthpiece for a pleasurable drinking experience. Precision-engineered for maximum longevity, the inner glass bottle is suspended via a shock-absorbing system inside a bead-blasted, extruded, and anodized aluminum outer shell. Eight modular parts come apart easily for either a quick or thorough cleaning.

At its core, the OKAPA bottle elevates an everyday ritual through meticulous design and uncompromising engineering. Launched in January 2025, the new bottles are available in eight contemporary colorways curated by renowned color and materials specialist Beatrice Santiccioli (BSD), including Misti Pinku, Goldie Samba, and Fetishe Noir, among others.

In the US, the reusable water bottle market is estimated to increase from $10.2B in 2024 to $14.1B by 2031, with 69 percent of Gen Zers owning at least one. Customization trends, such as personalized design and branding, are anticipated to boost the market, ripe territory for disruptive startups such as OKAPA. (Persistence Market Research)

Once a practical accessory for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, reusable water bottles have gone mainstream. Yet none check all the boxes in terms of purity of taste, hygiene, durability, functionality, and beauty.

8

modular pieces ensure hygienic cleaning is quick and easy

100%

recyclable materials in each bottle

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s mission is to interpret and conserve the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science. Over its 110-plus-year history, its offerings grew to include everything from a quarterly magazine, popular websites and apps with millions of users (Merlin, eBird), partnerships with outside organizations, and the world’s largest database of photographs and audio recordings of birds. This abundance is a testament to the passionate enthusiasm of its employees. Still, it confused potential members and led to siloed internal efforts, preventing the Lab from advancing its urgent collective vision. “Birds and biodiversity are in peril,” said Executive Director Dr. Ian Owens. “We must take radical action with a coherent vision, united voice, and purpose.”

IDEO began by helping the Lab better define its audience. While primarily composed of people passionate about birds, IDEO discovered its larger audience was nature lovers interested in biodiversity, bioacoustics, conservation, and science. From there, IDEO created a brand strategy and architecture focused on helping the Lab streamline its efforts under the “One Lab” brand. The brand architecture visually articulated the relationship between Cornell University, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the Lab’s many products and offerings. IDEO designed a comprehensive brand identity system to work across mediums, including a simplified logo system, new colors, type, graphic language, voice and tone, and key messaging.

When the Lab’s design team began implementing the new branding elements across its website and many digital products, it became clear that the organization also needed IDEO’s help in creating tools to facilitate cross-department collaboration. To better understand the day-to-day nuances of the organization, IDEO designers worked out of the Lab, co-creating a brand activation playbook. The playbook, launched in 2023, contains recommendations for new cross-functional working groups (partnerships, visual identity, and brand voice), as well as exercises and interactive tools designed to build trusting relationships, gain alignment, foster collaboration, and manage change at scale.

Post-collaboration, the Lab has applied the new brand across its website, apps including Merlin and eBird, Living Bird magazine, email and newsletter templates, and its line of merchandise. A new internal brand guidelines site has become central to employee onboarding, while new working groups are helping to bring down barriers between teams and spur collective action. Like a flock of birds, the Lab now sings one collective song.

The Cornell Lab’s 300+ scientists, professors, staff, and students were passionately dedicated to their individual team’s unique conservation projects, but segmented internal systems could stymie their collective impact.

1 brand

unifying 300+ employees and 8 departments

Founded in 2008, Ascend Public Charter Network prides itself on providing “rich, joyful learning experiences that unlock lives of boundless choice” for its students, 93 percent of whom identify as Black or Latinx. The organization is also proud of being Black-led: 78 percent of staff and 80 percent of the executive team are people of color. Using co-design and joy, IDEO held a mirror up to Ascend’s core optimistic spirit during a moment of anxiety and change, helping its new CEO, staff, students, and parents reflect a dynamic, collectively imagined vision.

While the project’s goal was serious, the combined team centered the collaboration on bringing back fun, beauty, and imagination to those who could use it most: educators. Through engaging interactive activities, the IDEO team invited principals, PTA members, student council representatives, and board members to join “organizationally sanctioned play” moments like creating collaged vision boards and writing poems about Ascend’s impact. These interventions helped burned-out educators escape the day-to-day tasks of running schools and dream expansively about Ascend’s future. The team also solicited written, visual, and audio stories, asking community members to describe Ascend at its very best.

Stitching together submissions from 551 students, 75 parents, and 16 staff members, the co-design sessions resulted in a powerful new purpose, mission, and values, as well as a vibrant visual language and activation tools to bring Ascend’s vision of a “dope,” “unapologetically Brooklyn” charter network to life. The joyful, eye-catching visuals are embedded throughout its 17 Brooklyn schools, staff recruiting and training materials, and digital presence.

Shortly after the collaboration with IDEO, Ascend received an unsolicited  $11 million donation from MacKenzie Scott's foundation, Yield Giving, the most significant gift the then-14-year-old institution had ever received. The pivotal funding will allow the organization, with its bold new “grown-up” vision, to focus on becoming the school of choice in Brooklyn by 2027.

In the summer of 2021, one in four K-12 teachers was ready to quit. Pandemic stressors and increased curriculum scrutiny were to blame, according to a 2021 Rand Survey.

In 2022, 44% of K-12 workers reported burnout, the most of any US professions the time, according to a Gallup Poll.

Pandemic exhaustion and leadership turnover left Ascend’s new CEO eager to align staff around an exciting new vision.

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$11M grant

Ascend received an $11M grant from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation a few months after the collaboration

1 collective vision

to guide a network of 17 schools

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To monitor how use cases have shifted over time, we developed a social listening tool to scrape AI hashtags on TikTok, creating a visualization of conversations and communities.

In the spring of 2023, much of the positive sentiment around AI was associated with productivity-related hashtags—activities like homework and writing. By October, AI music became its own distinct community, and hashtags for AI fanfiction, AI anime, and memes grew. Our most recent scrape in early 2024 showed us that AI is shifting from a predominantly solo activity to one centered on community. Hashtags like #aiart and #aiartcommunity are growing in size and in connections, suggesting that AI-generated art isn’t created in a silo—people are sharing their experiences.

In just a matter of months, Gen Zs have evolved their use cases to align with their priorities—sharing their passions and connecting with communities in playful and imaginative ways.

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AI companies are also moving fast. The race to create the most impressive and jaw-dropping AI products is adding frenetic urgency, and companies are spending millions of dollars on development resources, then quick-launching new products with the hopes that they will be well received. Often, launch is the first time companies are able to test out their products in the real world. 

We are seeing rapid technological progress, but also backlash against irresponsible designs and technologies that have real potential to clash with human values and cause harm. We believe AI has potential for revolutionary experiences and capabilities that improve the ways we live, connect, and play. But we also believe this future requires a foundation of trust and responsible design. 

To that end, we are experimenting with a different way of developing AI products—one that doesn’t compromise speed but also aligns with human values. By designing experiential prototypes that mimic real-world scenarios, we can create tight feedback loops that get us better user feedback, sooner. These prototypes are run in contained settings where we can look for unintended consequences. (Picture two people with paper scripts, role-playing what it feels like to interact with AI in a particular scenario.) We don't need to build the technology needed for the experience to work—our first step is to test for emotional value. That way, we focus our development resources on building the most impactful and responsible products and experiences possible.

In an earlier phase of our research, we used the results of our social listening experiments to work directly with members of Gen Z between the age of 13-24,  talking through potential product concepts and gathering their reactions. This time, we’re going deeper, prototyping products that have AI taking on different personalities and roles with a group of Gen Zs who are coming of age, gaining life skills, and forming their sense of identity as AI is also taking shape in our society. With their help, we’re learning how to build future AI experiences that center their values and needs. 

Growing up with social media, members of this generation have already felt the potential impact irresponsible technologies can have on their mental health and relationships, and they have a critical eye for both opportunity and responsibility. While they are strong proponents of the products and brands that they believe in, they're also not shy about making their voices heard when products clash with their values systems.  

In this series, we will put eight AI prototypes to the test. By leaning into immersive research tools like experiential testing and imaginative playtesting, we are focusing our learning objective on measuring how these young people feel when they are using AI products, and how the products would impact their perception of themselves and their relationships. For us, understanding the value of the product in the context of the user’s life, their value systems, and relationships is a crucial step that helps us identify the features and technical capabilities that are worth investing in. Join us as we dive into new prototyping methods for designing and testing the edges of what future users really want from AI.

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Parts of the images in this article were created/altered using generative AI.

The ways Gen Z is using AI are evolving almost as fast as the technology itself.

 It’s a way to optimise and improve inefficient and wasteful processes and accelerate emissions compliance—and it’s a great one. But when we leverage AI to shape demand for sustainable solutions, it's also an incredible collaborator.

After all, design is about integrating perspectives, and doing it in a systemic, inclusive way. AI can give us the ability to make our eyes and ears go further while managing exponential complexity. Paradoxically, it can even make us more human centred by making it feasible to access and include more user, employee, and community perspectives. 

At Economist Impact’s recent Sustainability Week in London, we discussed how this approach can succeed, but only when CEOs see sustainability and innovation as one interrelated competitive advantage—and bring them together with a shared remit, adequate bandwidth, and complementary skills. AI can then act as a powerful accelerator, helping to create solutions that meet climate commitments and business objectives. 

Unlocking nature’s perspective with data

This was the case in our work with H&M, which allowed us to delve into its data warehouse as part of its aggressive pursuit to be climate positive by 2030. The fashion giant was dealing with a problem that so many clothing manufacturers face: Traditional supply chain models make it very hard to predict the demand for a specific item of clothing several months in the future. Siloed teams along a supply chain made solving that problem even more complex.

By leveraging machine learning, we were able to incorporate the perspectives and needs of those teams and create an algorithm that could better predict demand and shorten the interval between sales and production. H&M didn’t just reduce excess inventory (and therefore waste), but also better anticipated which products might sell out. The result: In a pilot programme, which has since been scaled more widely, the company improved sales of specific lines by a third while reducing stock by a fifth, a change that was better for its bottom line, and the environment. 

Nature doesn’t appear on balance sheets, and yet most businesses depend on it.

With advances in AI, gains like these can come faster and be more complete—particularly if we take that kind of approach a step further and use nature metrics to train AI models. One of the best ways to approach this is to think of nature as a critical part of your infrastructure and start measuring it as you would any other element. Nature doesn’t appear on balance sheets, and yet most businesses depend on it. In most cases, that data—metrics around land use, water regeneration, forestation, net biodiversity gain, etc.—is available, but simply isn’t being collected and put to use. That means one of the chief perspectives we should consider, that of nature, isn’t being voiced. AI can provide the vocal cords.

Tequila companies, for instance, don't include information about the health of bat populations in their investor reports. But as bat conservationists will tell you, without bats to pollinate agave, there's no tequila. Imagine how bat conservation and food security would improve if tequila manufacturers started tracking bats’ habitat loss and used AI to spot trends, monitor for diseases, or determine effective and cost-efficient conservation strategies.

Solve for desirability down the chain

The data that powers AI is crucial, but it’s just part of the equation. The quality of the output depends just as much on the quality of the prompt. AI can act as a growth engine if we ask it to do so: to behave as a collaborator and surface the needs of more stakeholders in order to help designers create innovative, desirable products with better user experiences. And amid the race to net zero, desirability is key. 

Mature technologies like electric vehicles (EVs) and photovoltaics (PVs) can help us curb emissions, but their “hockey sticks” are already showing signs of fatigue very early on in the race. The European EV market was almost flat in 2023, and PVs’ growth is forecasted to slow in 2024. What is going on?

We have been pushing the supply side—tech and regulation—without paying enough attention to the desirability side. PVs are still more expensive at the moment of purchase and cumbersome to install and use. It remains much easier to just pay your monthly electric bill and let the energy company worry about powering your home.

Ease was a major consideration in our work with Sage, a multinational accounting and business software company. Its visionary Chief Sustainability Officer and innovation team knew that the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) it serves often don’t know how they’re going to reach net zero, and lack the resources to do so. Yet, in the UK alone, they account for about 50 percent of business emissions. Together, we developed Sage Earth, an AI-powered platform that uses Sage’s deep accounting insights to calculate its customers’ emissions, both direct and indirect, easing their transition to net zero.

To achieve scale, we need people to adopt green products because they are better, easier, and more exciting, not because they are green.

To achieve scale, we need people to buy green products because they are better, easier, and more exciting, not because they are green. We need to be more demanding about the quality of the sustainable products and submit them to the same standards as any other product. AI can help us on that journey.

Recently, a fashion retailer described to us the challenges of using recycled cotton, which has a rougher texture. Trying to make T-shirts that maintain the same level of softness as those made from first-use cotton is impossible. Gen AI can use data about existing materials to formulate new ones, consider how to make them more regenerative, determine their best applications, and explore which users those products will most resonate with. 

And there are many more users to design for in a regenerative world. To make our world more circular, we must consider all the humans that follow the first user: the second user, the person who will repair the item, the person who will redistribute it, the third user. Everyone has to desire the resulting product; otherwise, it ends up in a landfill. Thankfully, AI can help us empathise more systemically, not just with the first customer of a product and the subsequent ones, but also with the communities that will be at the receiving end of those products. 

AI can help us empathise more systemically, not just with the first customer of a product and the subsequent ones, but also with the communities that will be at the receiving end of those products.

Think about the design for a new circular appliance, for instance. You aren’t always able to factor in the representation of local repair shops, local recyclers, and the whole ecosystem that will have to deal with the consequences of a new product landing in their community.

Now we can train GPTs that amplify previously-overlooked viewpoints, ask questions, and offer critique to the designers in ways that wouldn't be available otherwise. It provides us with more valuable real-world views and constraints and reduces the number of assumptions we have to make. 

AI shouldn’t substitute for human intelligence but it can do some of the heavy lifting: giving us artificial patience, artificial thoroughness, artificial persistence, and artificial long perspective.

AI can help us capture more of what it is to be human by feeding all the nuances, needs, desires, and concerns that different communities have back to us. It can help us find insights in more of the data nature holds. It can bust through our limitations and complement our shortcomings. AI shouldn’t substitute for human intelligence, but it can do some of the heavy lifting: giving us artificial patience, artificial thoroughness, artificial persistence, and artificial long perspective. It can help us ensure the best choice is the easiest one to make, helping us navigate to a crucial, often overlooked lever in the climate fight: desirability.

‍We discussed “How Organisations Can Use Artificial Intelligence to Boost Sustainability” as part of a panel at Economist Impact’s 9th annual Sustainability Week in London. This piece captures some of what was discussed and our broader thoughts on the subject.

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Parts of the images in this article were created/altered using generative AI.

Often, when we think about how AI can help us solve problems, we think of it as an efficiency driver.

Think back: Starting from the camaraderie of chat rooms in the '90s which created space for gay men to safely build community, to the social media boom of the mid-’00s that redefined global interactions, we've witnessed seismic shifts in how we connect with others and explore our identities. The proliferation of smartphones further catalyzed this transformation, embedding digital interactions into the fabric of our daily lives and birthing the attention economy that dominates today's tech landscape. Influencer culture cemented larger narratives that shape trends, fashion, and societal norms.The 2020s have centered Web3, XR, and AI in the global techno-sphere, creating new mediums for us to convene with others, rethink the design patterns of the past, and creatively express ourselves. 

As designers, we are often tasked with navigating the complex interplay between individuality and collectivity. The question becomes: How can we leverage technology to enhance personal expression while fostering a rich, diverse cultural landscape premised on care, understanding, and communal values? This challenge is not just about creating functional designs, but about understanding the broader implications of our work on the cultural ecosystem.

The good news? Technology is entirely made up, by humans, and all of it can be evolved.

When it’s done well

The positive aspects of this convergence are manifold. The spread of digital tools and platforms has led to an unprecedented explosion of creativity. Now, more than ever, global voices can find and scale messages, meshing our shared cultural fabric. 

Projects like Carne y Arena, a virtual reality installation that immerses participants in the harrowing journey of refugees crossing the US-Mexico border, exemplify the power of technologies like XR to foster understanding, transcending physical and cultural boundaries to tap into the human condition. In the installation, you take off your shoes, feel wind blowing against your skin, and then find yourself in the 360 sight, sound, and touch of the experience, thanks to VR and a body pack. 

As the director, Alejandro Iñárritu, explains, "My intention was to experiment with VR technology to explore the human condition in an attempt to break the dictatorship of the frame—within which things are just observed—and claim the space to allow the visitor to go through a direct experience walking in the immigrants' feet, under their skin, and into their hearts.”

4D experiences like Carne y Arena offer new, visceral ways of activating senses and emotional tones that we are far less able to access in 2D. VR is an incredible storytelling mechanism, and it can be an incredible tool anywhere we are designing for human experiences—like policy implications in government, or caregving in hospitals. Projects like this underscore the potential for design to bridge individual and collective experiences in meaningful ways.

Similarly, during Goliath: Playing With Reality, I immediately felt like every school curriculum should be filled with VR experiences. Through this VR-enabled, animated storyline, we delve into the life of Goliath, a person experiencing schizophrenia. Goliath's narrative highlights years of seclusion in psychiatric facilities and his journey toward finding community in online multiplayer games. The experience invites viewers into his mental world, showcasing the significant role digital communities play in fostering friendships and support, often beyond their initial design intent.

Project Common Voice by Mozilla stands as a beacon of how AI can be harnessed for cultural preservation. At its core, this project is a crowd-sourced database that gathers voice recordings from people around the world, aiming to share voice recognition technologies widely. By encouraging contributions in a multitude of languages, dialects, and accents, Common Voice plays a crucial role in safeguarding linguistic diversity. This effort not only supports the development of more inclusive voice recognition systems that can understand and respond to a broad spectrum of human voices, but also illustrates the capability of technology to support preservation of languages and dialects. In the broader context of design and technology's impact on culture, Project Common Voice exemplifies a commitment to using AI to respect cultural and linguistic diversity, thereby enriching the collective cultural landscape.

As a design tool, Common Voice pushed me to reconsider how AI can be used to design for inclusion at scale. The ability to plug in a service like this means that products can rapidly support more users in more contexts, removing some of the barriers and gatekeeping in many of our existing design paradigms for technology.

And as a final example: Someone close to me has long-term depression and anxiety. She found major collaborative iPhone games, like Clash of Clans, are a way to playfully connect with new people. For her, those friendships moved from online to real life, for life. She and her friends started to travel together—she even dated one for a while. Previously isolated, she ended up moving across the world, from the US to Europe, to live near her new friends. Her life has shifted for the better. She’s healthier, happier, and more connected in real life, as well as online.

As designers, we need to remember that the platforms that we design will be used in many ways outside of our intentions–for better and for worse. In my work at IDEO, I pay attention to how people make what we design their own; often, I fold those use cases in as the real value propositions, even if they are outside of the vision we start with as designers.

The flip side

The rapid integration of individual contributions into the collective domain has also caused irreparable damage. The accelerated pace at which personal expressions become part of the cultural lexicon compromises the depth and authenticity of cultural evolution. The risk of a homogenized, polarized, and defaulted monoculture, shaped by trends, algorithms, and the endless dopamine loops they feed, rather than organic self-understanding and cultural diversity, means that design needs to take on new values. The potential of powerful technologies to be used as surveillance arms means we need to put extra care and intention in how and what we build. The spectrum of ethical issues and social needs invite us to consider how we might use the mediums that come next–AI, XR, robotics, etc.–to preserve the richness of our personal, cultural, and social perspectives in a fast-paced digital world. That’s an opportunity for design.

As designers, we have a broader responsibility to the cultural zeitgeist. We need to advocate for designs that not only resonate on a personal level, but also contribute positively to the collective narrative. We are shaping the levers that culture will build and flow upon, and that’s a major responsibility. This dual focus on the individual and the collective calls for a nuanced approach to design, one that balances innovation with care, and personal expression with cultural nuance.

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Parts of the images in this article were created/altered using generative AI.

Over the past 30 years, technology has converged individual creativity with our collective cultural experience, reshaping our personal realms and redefining the broader cultural tapestry in which we all participate.

The toymaker came to us to figure out how to make the device safe and fun. We started thinking not just in terms of physical usability (though designing for tiny hands and making sure products can survive a drop on the ground is our bread and butter), but also about how we encourage healthy engagement patterns.

A lot of VR headsets are designed to be super sticky—so engaging that users don’t want to take them off. But when we design for kids, we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can create healthy interactions. We wanted the design of the View-Master to help children intuit when it was time to put the toy down. So, we decided not to include a head strap—or any other means of attaching the headset to little bodies. When kids felt their arms get tired or their eyes start to cross, they would know it was time to take a break.

Over the past four decades, the IDEO Play Lab has designed and licensed more than 250 toys and games, from classics like the Barbie Camper to the first set of Sesame Workshop smartphone apps for kids.

With every product, we think about how to design fun and engaging experiences that delight parents, entertain kids, and lead to success for our partners. But we also put a lot of thought into making design decisions that support healthy habits, and help kids—and their families—thrive. 

Here are a few examples of how we’ve navigated those design choices.

Designing for movement: Dusty Wing Control

Most of us have learned to use a joystick or a set of arrows to drive a remote-controlled toy or move a character around a screen. But when we set out to help bring the character “Dusty” from the popular Disney movie Planes to life in an action-oriented vehicle toy, we took a step back to rethink how littler kids would engage with it.

As we tested designs, we saw that small children not only struggled with small buttons and the spatial skills necessary to operate the typical remote control joystick, but also that there was no fun in sitting still and tapping buttons. Instead, during our design research sessions, kids pretended to be the characters: They went full airplane mode, hands stretched out, zooming around the living room, dodging furniture. 

Taking a cue from their play patterns, we put Dusty’s remote control mechanism in toy wing tips that fit on little hands, enabling them to interact in a way that is not only more fun, but also instinctive, better mirroring how they naturally play. Players drive Dusty forward by pressing and holding a controller button, enabling his propellers to spin. When they bank left and right, Dusty matches their every move. Dusty even calls out flying commands that they can perform together.  The toy is not just easy for them to operate; it also gets them off the couch and moving, playing the main character in their own stories.

Designing for confidence: Pictionary Air

When we set out to re-invent the classic drawing game for the digital age, we had to figure out how to bring the core interaction to life in a new way. During ethnographic research, we noticed that when players were under pressure, they would often stare at their drawings looking embarrassed, and hesitate to keep drawing. To get people out of their heads and back in the game, we designed a new interaction that keeps participants looking up and laughing with each other. We combined a light pen and a smart device’s camera to allow picturists to create life-size illustrations in the air in front of them, an early foray into AR for classic games. For another layer of fun—and another option for those with less confidence in their drawing skills—players could interact with their sketches to provide more clues, much like in charades. We also decided to make drawings disappear quickly after each round was finished, to lower the stakes for self-conscious players.

Designing for all ages: Twister Air

In classic Twister, the fun hits when players are frozen in contortionist poses, hovering and balancing over each other. Our challenge from Hasbro: What does Twister look like in the TikTok era? And how do we make it fun for everyone? As we tested out potential interactions, we observed that for younger kids and older adults (basically everyone but the teenagers), the choreography on most popular dances was a bit much to learn or to even attempt. While kids found it hilarious when parents messed up (you’ll see lots of dance flops posted online!), we also wanted to find a way to create a sense of achievement for all ages. We started looking for the sweet spot between silly fun and accessibility, stretching players just enough to make them feel challenged, but not too overwhelmed to keep trying. In our prototypes, we preserved the classic Twister interaction while building in opportunities for rockstar moments where players can flop or shine. The footage made for viral family group chat nuggets, helping everyone feel part of the fun.

Designing for development: Little People Klip Klops

Preschoolers love the action of cars zipping down racetracks. But typical matchbox cars move too quickly for their little hands and slow reaction times.  When we set out to create a similar action-oriented—but also character-driven—toy for Little People, we needed to figure out how to slow down the experience, without sacrificing the action. Through several rounds of prototyping, we built out Klip Klops, leveraging a very simple mechanism that allowed princesses on ponies to teeter back and forth down a ridged downward track. By centering  the “clip clop” sounds of the hooves and building out a multi-story castle setting where the princesses and their steeds would live, we created opportunities for kids to enjoy the intentionality of the movement and built in the space for layered storytelling, allowing little kids to practice multiple development skills at once.

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Navigating your own toy design journey, or trying to get your team at work to stretch its imagination? Get in touch at helloplaylab@ideo.com. We’d love to collaborate.

Almost a decade ago, when we were all exploring VR of the early aughts, Mattel set out to redesign its classic View-Master as an affordable VR headset for a new generation of kids.

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.