Obesity exists at the complex intersection of a clinical condition and a cultural force. Clinically, it comes with a diagnosis and treatment plan. Culturally, it is influenced by beliefs, identity, and self-worth, making it deeply personal and often taboo. Families, healthcare providers, and experts tend to avoid the fraught “o-word,” opting for euphemisms instead. For families on Medicaid, these challenges are even more pronounced. Award-winning health-tech startup Clarity Pediatrics, together with designers from IDEO, IDEO.org, and with support from Rise Together Ventures, sought to uncover the obstacles to healthier lifestyles and create a free report for US pediatricians who want to bend the curve on the childhood obesity epidemic.

Research with kids and parents on Medicaid in Dallas, Texas, and California’s Bay Area, along with interviews with healthcare providers and experts across the country, uncovered stories of stigma and frustration. Parents spoke of the daily challenges of balancing multiple jobs, sourcing affordable healthy food, and finding time to make necessary lifestyle changes. They described rushed pediatric visits that left them with unclear next steps and feelings of blame. Provider conversations echoed these struggles, noting time constraints and limited follow-up options.  

Ultimately, food had become a daily torment for these families. Eating was unavoidable and also one of the few affordable indulgences low-income parents were able to provide. Once kids left their own homes, they were surrounded by unhealthy temptations, making it feel impossible for parents to maintain control. The popularity of costly new weight-loss medications and surgical procedures added another layer of complexity for families who had been underserved by—and therefore distrustful of—America’s healthcare system. With so much of the responsibility placed on parents to self-direct care, inequities deepened, adding to the burden of families already at a breaking point.

To design a path forward, IDEO and IDEO.org mapped a family’s needs before, during, and after pediatric visits. This work revealed critical parts of the journey where families needed more support: recognizing early signs of obesity, navigating provider conversations, and sustaining healthier habits at home.

These insights informed a theory of change framework that provides actionable guidance for stakeholders involved in obesity care. Grounded in three opportunity areas along the patient journey—building awareness, confidence, and capacity—the framework highlights how trust, dignity, and systemic support can lead to lasting outcomes.

IDEO and IDEO.org also developed 10 user-centered concepts spanning digital, physical, and service offerings to reduce stigma and empower families to sustain healthier lives. These ideas address dignified diagnoses and structural inequities, among other pressing issues. Complementing these concepts, IDEO created a short documentary of a mother discussing her family’s experience navigating childhood obesity to help pediatric providers—many of whom have had very different lived experiences from the families and patients they serve—better understand the realities of the daily struggles of many families on Medicaid.

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Designed for the public good, the interactive website and free downloadable report, Reimagining Childhood Obesity, contain research findings, design recommendations, and a theory of change framework. The goal: provide practical, actionable guidelines for pediatricians, educators, healthcare organizations, and innovators to meet families and kids where they are and support them as they move toward a healthier future.

21% of US children are obese. 40% of Latino youth are either overweight or obese.

26% of kids on Medicaid experience childhood obesity, compared with 11% on private insurance.

525,600 minutes: Total time per year parents spend caring for their children. 17 minutes: Average time a pediatrician spends with a child during their annual exam, a small window to address a complex chronic condition such as obesity.

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user-centered ideas to help pediatricians reduce the stigma of childhood obesity in an accessible report

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opportunity areas for building trust with young patients and providing family support

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With its reach, Acer saw an opportunity to power positive choices in the billions. ‍

But new products and services won’t succeed if consumers don’t want them, no matter how sustainable they are. A few years go, the Harvard Business Review’s report, "The Elusive Green Consumer," found that about two-thirds of those surveyed said they wanted to buy brands that advocated sustainability. But only a quarter actually did.

Meanwhile, the market for climate era products is only growing: In 2022, Forbes found that nearly 90 percent of the Gen X consumers they surveyed said they’d be willing to spend more on sustainable products, compared to just over a third two years before. The desire was only higher among Millennials and Gen Z; they just didn’t like what was on offer.

To drive sales and growth, and meet its sustainability commitments, Acer needed to capitalize on desirability, deepening the connection between Acer’s sustainable options and consumer needs, lowering the barrier to purchase. To that end, Acer and IDEO created the Acer Climate Lab, a cross-organizational team and initiative, to launch the company on a transformative journey to deepen the connection between Acer's conscious technology and the realities of people's lives and needs across four strategic areas.

Together, the combined team conducted extensive research to better understand consumer attitudes and behaviors toward sustainable products, and identified everyday areas where Acer’s conscious technology might be able to have the most significant impact: living, working, moving, and learning.

• Living: Envisions homes as hubs of energy efficiency and climate resilience, leveraging technology to optimize energy use, enhance air quality, and enable proactive climate management. These concepts include technologies like smart energy systems, adaptive air solutions, and integrated home management platforms explore how technology can support sustainable daily living.
  
  
• Working: Reimagines the workplace with flexible, sustainable technology solutions that prioritize resource optimization and circular practices. Concepts such as Acer Loop could provide a subscription-based model that ensures access to the latest technology, supports remote work, and reduces electronic waste through effective recycling and rehoming practices.
  
  
• Moving: Focuses on the transformation of urban mobility by integrating technology into systems that promote sustainable transportation. Concepts could include e-mobility hubs that highlight how urban spaces could offer seamless access to shared, low-emission travel options, reducing reliance on traditional carbon-heavy methods.
  
  
• Learning: Explores pathways to sustainable education by imagining environments where technology supports circularity and accessibility. This includes ideas like refurbished devices for students, repair and reuse programs, and educational spaces designed with climate-positive principles, nurturing eco-conscious habits in future generations.

Together with Red Peak and Sid Lee, the team launched the culmination of the work at COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, positioning Acer as a pioneer in climate positive technology. The exhibit included immersive experiences and interactive displays demonstrating how Acer's sustainable solutions seamlessly integrate into everyday life. Visitors could engage with scenarios depicting sustainable living, working, moving, and learning, emphasizing the practical benefits of Acer’s innovations.

Acer's journey through the Climate Lab project underscores a commitment to sustainability that goes beyond mere compliance. With this new cross-business team tackling the real-world barriers faced by consumers, Acer is paving the way for a more inclusive, sustainable future. This initiative not only aligns with global climate goals, but also sets a precedent for the tech industry, demonstrating that with the right approach, sustainability and innovation can go hand in hand.

In a survey, 65% of respondents said they want to buy brands that advocate sustainability, yet only about 26% actually do. 

Nearly one in two consumers say they either don’t know what information to trust, or that nothing can influence how much they trust a business’s commitment to sustainability.

1 cohesive strategy

for climate era products across 6 different fields

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With the introduction of generative AI, Ethiqly and IDEO saw a unique opportunity to help teachers, by cutting down the time it takes to provide each student with feedback on their writing assignments. But to get there, they had to learn from the experts themselves. To kick off the project, the team headed into the classroom to co-design with students and teachers.

One of the first problems they discovered? Traditional methods of grading essays are laborious and inefficient for high school teachers, who are already notoriously busy and overworked. What teachers really wanted was to spend time giving each student the personalized feedback that helps them grow. Meanwhile, students really struggled to get started on their writing assignments, overwhelmed by looking at a blank page.

Together, the team started to think about how it could harness AI to make personalized instruction more accessible for all students, helping teachers provide better feedback at scale, and giving students the support they need to not only get started on their writing assignments, but improve their work. 

With insights directly from students and teachers, the IDEO team built working prototypes, allowing them to beta test the product in schools, and demonstrate value to investors. They also developed a brand identity and style guide for launch, which came to life in a pitch deck, landing page, and other brand expressions.

The resulting product is a sophisticated blend of AI technology and user-friendly interfaces that empower teachers and inspire students. The goal isn’t just to get to a finished essay, but to assist students in developing critical thinking skills. Ethiqly's tools help students organize their thoughts and get writing by providing contextual prompts and suggestions—without doing the work for them. And the AI assistant supports teachers by suggesting comments based on evaluation criteria they have set, and teachers choose which feedback is relevant for their individual students. Students never see it without teacher approval.

As one teacher told the team, “With leveraging AI more in education, there’s this fear that it’s deprofessionalizing the field or it’s a direct replacement of a teacher in a classroom. I think it gives us meaningful data, so that we can actually teach the way that we want to in order to support our students.” Now, Ethiqly is in use in classrooms in 25 countries, positively impacting students across the globe.

Teachers know 1:1 interaction is key to student success, but an EdWeek survey found only 46% of teachers’ time is spent teaching, while 25 hours/week goes to other tasks like grading and making lesson plans.

25 countries…and growing

Ethiqly’s reach in classrooms around the world

Designing a piece of a city, like a park, doesn’t start with a blank slate. There are always traces of the past and the present, and the lived history of its residents.

To create a full picture of that story, the IDEO team built workshops for the community centered around questions about the unique experiences of living in Frisco. They invited them to reflect on the communities they grew up in, the city of today, and the public spaces that have played formative roles for them. 

From their answers, a common value emerged: heritage. Frisco is a rapidly growing city, with residents whose families have lived there for centuries living side-by-side with more recent neighbors from diverse cultures and ethnic groups. Participants shared a vision of Grand Park as a unifying, shared space, a backdrop where many families can form foundational memories in Frisco.

Next, IDEO brought in multisensory design prompts to help participants further conceptualize the park. How did they want it to feel, sound, and smell? In the built-up, suburban city of Frisco, residents imagined a space that was less planned, enabling guided wandering and exploration. They also hoped that the park would inspire loved ones and descendants to feel a sense of curiosity and wonder.

At the end of workshops and sessions with community groups, the IDEO team took Polaroids of participants, asking, “What’s one word you want to describe Grand Park in the future?” Those words informed the collective vision that IDEO delivered to the city of Frisco, which included spatial concepts, user journeys, and branding for the park, all designed to showcase its unique landscapes. In January 2024, Frisco City Council approved the vision statement, and officials expect to break ground in the second half of 2025.

The population of Frisco is growing rapidly; its population is up 516% since the year 2000.

At more than 1,000 acres, Grand Park in Frisco is even larger than Central Park in New York City.

Less than 1% of Blackland Prairie soil remains in the region, and some of it is in Grand Park.

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Frisco residents were engaged in the process, from City Council members to high school students

200+

respondents shared anonymous feedback on what they imagined the park should be

I met him in 2005, when he became the art director of my crafty, grassroots Berkeley magazine, ReadyMade.

In the years that followed, we laughed and wept through one of the most fruitful creative collaborations of our lives. Then, in 2011, George strapped on a jetpack, waved goodbye to publishing, and lit out to start his own eponymous juggernaut, McCalmanCo. Aside from his fertility as a creative director, illustrator, and artist, 2020 was a year of honing “Observed,” his column for the San Francisco Chronicle, into a razor-sharp instrument of cultural commentary. One of his pieces shares the backstory behind his exhibition, “Tell Me Three Things I Can Do/Return To Sender,” a collection of bold, typographic renderings of messages he received from white acquaintances in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. I caught up with George in January, 2021, to hear more about an eagerly awaited new project: Illustrated Black History: Celebrating the Iconic and the Unseen, due out from Amistad/HarperCollins in October, 2021.

In one sentence, who are you?

A polymath trying to simplify his life.

What do you do? How did you learn it?

Too many things for this format! I’m a fine artist, illustrator, art director, cultural critic, editor, writer, and professor of graphic design. I also run McCalmanCo, a design studio that does branding for companies, books, and individuals. I learned all of those things through magazine military training. I started at the peak of magazine publishing in New York and left right at the sunset in San Francisco.

One story that sums up that experience was my very last day atEntertainment Weekly. I put in an all-nighter designing the cover story on Heather Locklear at Melrose Place. I had already cleared my desk, but I needed to be there to get it done. I came in at 8 a.m. and left at 8 a.m. the next morning. I said to myself, I never want to do that again. And I never did. San Francisco offered a version of that life without ever getting to that level of insanity.

What are your 3 favorite possessions?

My home is filled with art that my friends have created. This year represents the most time I’ve spent at home, and I realized I’ve constructed my home as an altar—a totem to both friends who have passed and those who are living. So, my entire home is my favorite possession. Also, my studio. And my friendships.

What does a typical work session look like?

Communication. A lot of communication. Because every day is atypical. What is consistent in how I approach anything I do is I try to make sure I have a perspective on what I’m doing first. Whether I’m starting an illustration, painting, doing a shoot for a book, if I don’t know what I’m doing, I stop. I’ve stopped meetings, conversations, illustrations, I’m always like, Wait what am I doing, who am I talking to? It makes everything I do better.

How do you get over creative block?

If I’m having difficulty it has to do with everything outside the creative process. It’s an emotional or somatic block. When I listen to my emotions or body, all the information is there. If my body is tired, I won’t draw for a week, rather than powering through. I am prolific because I’m tuned into the lessons I’m getting from my emotional or somatic state and I don’t challenge those things. But this is not something I knew when I was younger, only in the last 10 years. I think back and my body was sending me all those signals all along.

What was the last item on your to-do list?

I’m directing a photo shoot for Bryant Terry’s new book, so I’m currently organizing a zoom call with the team. The truth is that I’m never not working—I’ve fused my personal and professional life. I learned that from James Lord and Roderick Wyllie of the landscape architect firm Surfacedesign. They are a couple who are very different people, but inseparable. They move through life with no break between work and life—they will work through a glorious dinner and while traveling—but it’s not work that’s breaking them, it’s work that’s energizing them. That joyfulness in treating their work like it’s their choice rather than their burden inspires me.

How do you see the world in 2078?

I think the U.S. will still be a messy, unsatisfying experiment. The pandemic has transformed much of this world and it will be years before we see how that’s manifested. Two words thrown around a lot are hope and optimism. That’s a very American position. I don’t really think in those terms. Do I believe we are going to make progress? Yes. But we live in a country where people don’t want the progress, so we have to figure out how to live with those who don’t think treating people of other races equally is a good idea, or that paying for the health care for everyone is a good idea, or that letting people who enter this country become citizens is a good idea. How do we reconcile these polarities? It’s not optimism or pessimism, it’s just work. My white lady friends say “I’m so hopeful now,” and I think, how wonderful for you, what a luxury that you get to be hopeful.

What's your number one bucket list item?

I’m doing it! To write and illustrate and design my own book. Much of Black history is reduced to 10 people, but the book I’m working on tells the story of 400 years of American history through the eyes of 150 Black pioneers. Their biographies are historical allegories in that you’ll see how the Black community, unlike the white community in this country, is very much a continuum of our ancestors passing down knowledge. It’s a contemporary telling, devoid of the dryness of historical writing. It’s celebratory of the sacrifices that some of these pioneers of business, film, art, writing and science made to enhance our ideas of democracy and justice. I’m treating them like they’re the Avengers. I hope everyone reads it. It’s a gift you can send to your slightly racist cousin, your republican father, and your apathetic aunt. I want it to be read by students and teenagers and 80-year-olds and also by those who don’t care about Black history.

Who are you creative crushin' on lately?

A short list of iconoclasts who are in their own lane:

• Bryan Stephensen of the Equal Justice Initiative
• The illustrator Lauren Tamaki
• New Yorker food writer Bryan Washington

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George McCalman wasn’t always a multi-hyphenate. The art director-writer-illustrator started out as a traditional graphic designer, earning his stripes through the “military training” of New York magazines in the aughts.

To think back on how we “prepared”—as individuals, organizations, and communities—is a lesson in hindsight. Who could have imagined the new vocabulary, behaviors, and habits we’d all acquire in one short year?

In New York and New Jersey at that time, more than 280,000 people traveled each day on the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) train, one of the region’s most important public transit systems connecting New Jersey and New York. Squeezed into metal cars, commuters scrolled through headlines suggesting that an unremarkable trip across town might be unwise, if not dangerous. Transit agencies scrambled to establish new guidelines and produce communications to keep riders safe, but the virus was outpacing people’s capacity for behavior change at this scale and speed.

By April, the pandemic had gained a threatening grip on the New York City region, and PATH ridership had fallen off by nearly 95%. Stay-at-home orders took effect, and daily commuters hung up their office attire to the sound of sirens cutting through vacant streets. It wasn’t clear at the time how the disease spread, and how safe mass transit was. All the while, essential workers continued to pass through stations and trains each day, and their lives were on the line.

Transit operators have many contingency plans, but this unforeseen crisis required quick action: at PATH, leaders quickly implemented safety protocols such as overnight train cleaning, and posted signs and messages to let riders know what was being done to protect them, and what new behaviors they'd have to adopt to make sure those protocols actually worked. Everyone’s cooperation was essential, yet not all forms of communication are equally effective.

Try, try again

Inside The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which operates PATH, one small department specializes in thinking about innovation within the institution and—critically—in how riders engage with the system. The Office of Continuous Improvement (OCI) had already been exploring and applying design thinking strategies when they decided to call IDEO to see how a more immersive, design-led approach could yield quick, effective solutions to the challenges COVID had delivered to the PANYNJ systems.

Lisa Dewey-Mattia, who heads the small OCI team, initially connected with IDEO Director Randy Plemel to develop a plan for an immersive, rapid collaboration that might yield some new ideas for communicating with PATH riders and facilitating behavior change. “It was a time when everyone in every industry was trying to figure out, how do we adapt?” Dewey-Mattia recalls, “We had this conundrum with regard to customer confidence and safety, and the physical design of our space. We were asking ourselves, how can we best meet the needs of the agency and our riders right now?” The small team worked remotely to workshop the highest-value, shortest-term problems identified across the whole Port Authority which could fit in a two-week sprint. Plemel remarked, “The OCI team has deep connections across the Port Authority’s different units. Designing for PATH riders and operators allowed us to focus on the most acute issue—confidence in using the system—and the learnings could be transferred to other Port Authority units like the airports and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.”

Large transit agencies aren't typically known for rapid innovation, but the only clear approach to such an unprecedented challenge was a willingness to experiment. When IDEO team members joined OCI and other subject matter experts from across the agency, the product they were working toward was not yet defined. What PATH leaders were looking for was an outcome: all riders wearing their masks properly, maintaining social distance, and heeding public messaging. How to get there wasn’t yet clear. “At that point in time, what we needed was to be able to simplify our communication to our customers. We didn’t need fancy or clever,” says Clarelle DeGraffe, the Director and General Manager of PATH, “But there’s also fear of backlash from customers that it’s too simple.”

With lockdowns and distancing preventing on-the-ground research, the team had to nix in-person interviews and spontaneous conversations, instead establishing remote communication that still yielded candid, comfortable interaction. “This was a very different project for Port Authority,” explains Morgan Keane, DeGraffe’s Chief of Staff. “So much was produced over two weeks’ time, and it was really driven by people being able to collaborate with each other, even remotely.” What became clear was that riders and workers needed to feel confident and safe on the train. Boosting confidence depended on communication strategy.

Over two weeks, IDEO and PATH staff immersed themselves in a design sprint to come up with nine concepts for solving their core challenges, from masking and safety information, to operational changes to the trains, to touchless payments. The large sprint team reviewed these concepts with a panel of advisors at PATH and the greater Port Authority, then pared them down into a series of three prototypes, which hinged on the critical behavioral mandates of COVID: 1.) Stay masked up; 2.) Maintain distance where possible, and; 3.) Practice compliance with stated guidelines.

Live prototyping in a high-stakes environment

PATH and OCI approached Port Authority leadership and asked for permission to use one of the smaller train stations as a place to test ideas. At Grove Street Station in Jersey City, signs went up alerting riders that they’d be seeing some changes around the station, and QR codes on the posters invited real-time feedback as riders passed through. “At every point our customers really understood that we were doing proof of concept,” says DeGraffe, “And that turned out to be positive. Our customers took it as a reassuring indicator that we were looking to pilot new things to keep them safe, and they appreciated us looking outside the box.”

The most successful prototype was a “mask-up zone” at the station entrance, where riders could pause, outside the flow of travelers, to properly cover their faces before descending to the platform. People immediately adjusted their flow through the station to make use of this preparation area. IDEO Senior Design Lead Jeff Kessler, who led the PATH collaboration, points out that the most enduring concepts are the ones that can survive many rounds of doubt. “There’s a balance between protecting new ideas as they emerge and letting them take enough criticism to improve and work. Ultimately, the concepts that survive rounds of testing should improve the long-term operations of the system.”

Down on the platform, a concept designed to keep people apart didn’t prove as effective. Riders provided feedback that they didn’t want to comply with signs directing them where to stand while awaiting the train. Yet, many added, they were reassured to know that new safety measures were under consideration.

That insight led PATH to think beyond posters and signs, to what other means might be used to disseminate their messages. One team member, noting that there’s limited space for signs on trains, was inspired by the “I Voted” stickers people don on their shirts on election day. “Why not be a little cheeky and make stickers to hand out along with free masks? That way passengers themselves become communicators of the message.” The idea was relatively cheap to test out, and it was a sign to riders that the agency was thinking about their well-being.

Although the train is part of many people’s everyday lives, DeGraffe says it still comes as a surprise to some that train operators and leadership are truly listening to what they have to say about their experience. “Everyone thinks of it as their own little train,” says DeGraffe of PATH’s rider culture. “They post things to Twitter about their experience and we respond.” That personal, human outreach has the benefit of building trust and connection between riders and their transit system—a better way to foster adherence than by cracking down on non-compliant individuals. DeGraffe points to the increased tension around police interaction during this time. “We’d rather give out a mask than a summons.”

Lessons for the future

More than a year after COVID first rolled into New York and New Jersey, ridership on public transit hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, but residents are slowly resuming routines and vaccination rates are raising a little hope into a shaken city. At PATH, the spirit of exploration and willingness to prototype have remained. In late January 2021, PATH announced a new diplomatic corps called the Mask Force Ambassadors, “a group of volunteers whose daily mission is to help keep riders masked, socially distant, and able to travel in the safest possible environment.” On those volunteers’ bright yellow t-shirts and in large lettering around the stations, riders see the simple message developed during the IDEO sprint: “Mask On. Ride On.”

PATH Chief of Staff Keane reflects on how similar adaptive responses have appeared in other areas of the city, and where she sees the impact of institutions that are slow to change and accommodate their communities. “During COVID, the streets are being taken over for outdoor eating, distanced interaction, bookstores with takeout windows. It’s interesting to think about new ways to do things,” says Keane, “And it’s important to test for the extremes: Say okay, can a really old person do this and a child do this? Can you get from an underground station to an outdoor plaza while pushing a stroller? The way to really bring this home for people is to have them walk through with a different perspective.”

That constructive empathy is exactly what Kessler hoped for from the PATH and IDEO collaboration. “This was a moment when if we got the nuances right it would keep people healthy and taking care of each other and giving each other respectful space on the train,” he says, noting how bravely PATH stepped into experimentation as a new route to safety. “It’s a good thing for design to be working on.”

Illustrations by Ran Zheng

In January 2020, news of COVID-19’s approach was building like a looming storm. That the pandemic was coming seemed clear, but when it would arrive, where it would appear, and how bad it would be, nobody could yet predict.

COVID-19 has fueled a whole new waste stream, putting additional plastics and other material into the environment and harming ecosystems, animals, and human communities as a result.

At the same time, those masks and gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are critical to slowing the progression of the pandemic and keeping our front-line workers safe. They’re disposable, yet they’re indispensable—presenting us with a difficult tension between our immediate public health needs and the long-term repercussions of this massive waste problem. Gloves floating in the ocean like seaweed threaten already endangered marine species and pollute the world’s tap water, in time delivering new risks to human health.

But an apparent lose-lose situation like this can also become a rich opportunity area for human-centered design. How might we design PPE that is effective at keeping people safe without polluting the environment?

One source for models and inspiration lies in another realm entirely: coffee shops. By exploring other industries—a design tactic known as analogous research—leaders can get inspired by how others have addressed similar questions. Looking to analogs allows designers to move beyond their expertise to see issues with fresh eyes, building new levels of understanding to their present design challenge.

The to-go cup has a lot to teach about disposability, desirability, hygiene and convenience; and as a consumer product, it’s seen more sustainability-minded innovation than medical disposables. By looking at the ways the coffee cup has evolved, we can gain new insight for understanding what is possible in the heavily regulated, fast-paced, and high-pressure world of medical supplies, where safety and sustainability are both paramount.

Next-generation solutions for the humble to-go cup

As a product, the disposable cup has gone through several eras of change relative to design and behavior. Initially, to-go cups enabled convenience and efficiency. But nearly all of the to-go cups that exist today are made of a combination of materials that make them next to impossible to recycle or compost. They were designed without any thought to where they would end up after being used, aside from the landfill or incinerator.

Environmental concerns then sparked a movement encouraging consumers to bring their own reusable cup. Committed environmentalists were willing to do this, despite the personal compromise on convenience, but the trend failed to scale and meaningfully reduce waste. Some cups are now made of materials that can biodegrade or be composted, but both processes are difficult to achieve at a global scale due to cost and lack of access and infrastructure.

In 2018, OpenIDEO launched a design challenge to invite new ideas for material and processes that could lead us into a more sustainable era for to-go beverage containers. The NextGen Cup Challenge represented a new horizon for sustainability that goes beyond the product to offer a vision for a system and business model where circularity is the driving principle. Contrary to the linear “take-make-waste” model of manufacturing that has characterized industrial products for centuries, a circular economy designs waste and pollution out of the value chain, keeping products and materials in repeated use, and regenerating our natural systems.

The NextGen Cup Challenge asked the question: How might we design the next generation fiber cup to be recoverable on a global scale, while maintaining the performance standards we know and trust? The Challenge, managed by OpenIDEO, was part of the NextGen Consortium, a global initiative convened by Closed Loop Partners and founding partners Starbucks and McDonald’s. The 12 winning solutions—categorized into innovative cup liners, new materials, and reusable cup service models—have the potential to turn the 250 billion fiber to-go cups used annually from waste into a valuable material in the recovery system.

When we see masks and gloves in the gutter, we can imagine a similar trajectory for innovation. But there’s a different set of barriers—psychological, regulatory, supply chain, and safety—to contend with. The question becomes: How can we apply circular design principles in the healthcare industry to enable a more robust and resilient supply chain of PPE, which can be safely reused to become regenerative rather than wasteful? Based on the learnings from the NextGen Cup Challenge, we see two rich areas for design: redesigning PPE products to be sustainable and adopting a systems-level perspective.

Redesign or repurpose the product itself

The NextGen Cup Challenge sought manufacturing and material innovations and technologies that improved the existing to-go cup, making it more valuable at the end-of-life, whether through recycling, composting, or biodegrading. For consumers, baristas, and retailers, these new ideas would require little behavior change—they offered the same convenience of the single-use cup, just made of something new and more sustainable. SoluBlue, for example, is a winning NextGen Cup Challenge solution that produces plant-based, food-grade, and non-toxic materials that quickly biodegrade after use, and can replace some forms of single-use plastics.

The same concept is hopefully being applied to PPE: Recently, the Canadian government announced two business challenges for the private sector that offer funding for PPE that won’t end up in landfills. One calls for businesses to develop compostable surgical masks and respirators that can be mass-produced for healthcare workers. The second challenge seeks technologies for "efficient and cost-effective" PPE recycling, which can transform potentially contaminated PPE into "valuable materials that can further be used in manufactured products.”

If Solublue can make a cup that biodegrades after one use, why couldn't we do the same with a face mask or a pair of gloves? Furthermore, as we consider redesigning PPE to be safe and environmentally-friendly, there is not only an opportunity to redesign the product, but to extend its value to other products. Binish Desai, for example, is an entrepreneur and environmental activist based in New Delhi who is transforming used PPE into bricks for homes and factories. Desai installs bins outside of apartment buildings and retail shops to collect used masks and gloves, then leaves them untouched for 72 hours. The gear is then sanitized, shredded, and sanitized again. Lastly, the sanitized scraps are mixed with paper sludge and a binding agent to form various brick molds.

Good intentions must be coupled with systems thinking

Sometimes the product alone—or a byproduct of it—can’t solve the problem. We’ve had the technology to produce a compostable cup or mask since long before COVID-19. But as demand for PPE outstrips supply, it becomes critical to consider the system surrounding the product to enable recoverability and reusability. In neglecting to design for how a product fits into the larger ecosystem, we risk exacerbating the issue. When items are improperly disposed of (for example, when a compostable cup is recycled, which is common) it can contaminate the entire bin, dumpster, and truckload with byproducts that devalue the actual recyclable material. This sometimes results in full batches of recycled materials being removed from the recycling line and sent to landfills due to a single incompatible cup, as it has potentially contaminated the entire collection.

New solutions need to be designed in tandem with new infrastructure, or designed to work within the existing system. Muuse, a NextGen Cup Challenge winning idea, created a platform for reusable cups that works within restaurant networks with the goal of eliminating single-use waste. Before the pandemic, consumers could “borrow” a cup from one of Muuse’s cafe partners, such as Equator Cafe in San Francisco, by scanning the QR code on the cup. Within the designated time period, the customer returned it to any of Muuse’s 40 cafe partners in San Francisco. Muuse inspected and cleaned the cups, and collected late fees through tracking technology, seamlessly integrating into the way the restaurant system operates.

Muuse can offer inspiration for redesigning PPE to be both safe and regenerative. Most people know that doctors wear sterile gloves during surgery. But fewer realize that surgeons can be particular about the gloves they use (e.g. latex, non-latex, nitrile, vinyl). In design research, we’ve noticed that some physicians prefer specific layered combinations of gloves, such as latex over non-latex or vice versa. When we look at other trades, many professionals have their own pair of reusable, personalized gloves, like welders, chefs, and athletes, that are sustainable, help them excel in their craft, and keep them safe.

How might we enable this for doctors? What new innovations—in reusable design but also in the washing and sanitation procedures that already exist in hospitals for bedding or scrubs —might achieve safety and waste elimination, while also enhancing physician desirability and performance? To support frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic, Ford pivoted to produce face masks, shields, and ventilators using the same air filtration technology the automaker uses to produce the ventilated car seats found in F-150 trucks, putting their existing materials towards an urgent global need. Taking a cue from Muuse, what if a new system was designed to enable frontline workers to return these masks to hospitals, and hospitals to then return them to Ford? This reusable system would be keeping key materials in use in both the auto and medical world.

A future that is designed for both sustainability and safety

Alarming photos of masks and gloves scattered on sidewalks and washed up on beaches are a reminder that COVID-19’s impact spreads far wider and deeper than we yet realize. The virus and its reverberations have touched every aspect of life on the planet. But human safety does not have to come at the expense of environmental damage and climate change.

Design encourages us to look to unlikely analogs, like the unassuming and ubiquitous to-go cup, to be inspired to create a world in which safety and sustainability can co-exist, offering protection to all.

The landscape of litter has shifted over the past year. The pandemic has made disposable masks and gloves as commonplace as plastic bottles and cigarette butts on city streets.

In between refreshing our local COVID-19 dashboards and the U.S. election map, we’re proud to have produced another year’s worth of Octopus stories. Thank you for stopping by to read our design blog. Below are the 10 stories you loved the most in 2020. And here’s to a calmer, kinder 2021.

IDEO Designers Share the Best Creative Advice They've Ever Received

There’s no shortage of inspirational quotes, but meaningful, personal advice can change a career and a life. A preview of some of the creative advice IDEOers shared in this piece: “A bad movie is better than an unfinished movie,” and, "When you feel stuck, draw a card and do whatever it says."

4 Ways to Work Together When We Can’t Be Together

Sometimes while watching TV episodes filmed before the pandemic, I get pangs of fear when people shake hands or stand less than six feet apart. Everything has changed in the last 10 months or so. This story contains early ideas on how to navigate design work during a pandemic. A question we’re still asking from this piece: “As designers, how do we design our way through this?"

24 More Things We Want to Redesign

Applying for a job. The news. Hot dogs. IDEOers want to redesign those, plus 21 other things.

How a Kid's Perspective Improves Design Research

Whether your design research is happening in a boardroom or at an amusement park, author Ben Swire argues that adding a kid’s perspective can produce better design outcomes. Although this piece is about his daughter, he is not biased at all.

4 Reasons Warm-Ups Will Fundamentally Change Your Work

Olivia Vagelos is IDEO U’s resident warm-up expert. Not only does she have an entire database of exercises, but she also designs them on the spot. Her firm belief is that every meeting deserves a warm-up—read the piece to learn why.

How Would You Reimagine Learning? 5 Visions for Our Post-COVID Future

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed an estimated 1.6 billion students out of the classroom. As teachers adjust to this remote reality, OpenIDEO asked a question: “How might we adapt to remote learning while also using this moment to radically reimagine what we need our education systems to be?” This story shares five ideas to shape this future.

10 More Documentaries That Will Spark Your Creativity

Devin Peek is a visual connoisseur, so you can trust her documentary recommendations are well-vetted. (She even saw one of these at its premiere!) This post shares 10 more documentaries to spark creativity; her first post, from way back in 2016, is one of the Octopus’ most popular of all time.

4 Exercises That Prove Listening Matters

It’s noisy out there. Drawing from Krista Tippett’s work, author Allison Press designed and adapted four exercises that dive deep into the transformative power of listening.

How Quitting Plastic Got One Designer Thrown in Mall Jail

There are some surprising benefits to quitting plastic: IDEOer Shuya Gong saved money and produced less trash. On the flip side, she almost got thrown in mall jail, so take on the no-plastic challenge at your own risk.

5 Tools to Design for Digital Confidence

Every single day, one million people use the internet for the first time. IDEO’s Jason Fund and George Joseph share a set of tools, created alongside Google and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to help designers build digital services that work for everyone—even if your user is touching a smartphone for the first time.

In last year’s top 10 stories post, my colleague Saige wrote, “We can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store.” Upon reflection, I probably could’ve used more time to prepare for what the last 12 months delivered.

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.