As the curtain parted on moooi’s 2022 exhibit, the audience was treated to a multi-sensory performance unlike any other: four synchronized robot scent diffusers telling a story through dance. As the robots—called Piro—swayed and dipped to the beats of a custom-designed soundscape, it was easy to forget the performers were made by a team of industrial designers and engineers in San Francisco.

The work expressed a future vision for what it means to humanize technology. Rather than design technology to make our lives more efficient, what if instead we designed technology to make life more beautiful?

For twenty years, moooi has seduced the world with bold, imaginative design. The firm, named after the Dutch word for beautiful, made its name by designing furniture and home goods that appeal to an interest in pushing the edges of form as much as function. Moooi came to IDEO looking to create an exhibit for the largest furniture fair in the world that might provoke the audience to imagine a world where design’s primary function was to inspire joy.

“Defy Gravity”: one of several experiential “worlds” moooi created for the 2022 Salone del Mobile. Each room had its own scent, soundscape, color, and digital experience.

Our process started by going wide. We presented 20 potential conceptual designs to the team, one of which moooi founder Marcel Wanders lovingly referred to as the “farting pet,” a robot scent diffuser that could walk around the home.

A scented smoke ring lingers in the air after Piro’s final crescendo.

From there, a team of IDEO designers enlisted the support of Catie Cuan, a choreographer who specializes in human-robot interaction, and Dutch sound design firm KLOAQ, to refine the concept into a four-minute performance piece.

Piro learned to mimic balletic human gestures.

The final result was technically involved: four robots moved independently, controlled by custom electronics and software designed to mimic the movements and grace of ballerinas. But in the performance itself, the complex mechanics disappeared, allowing the audience to experience not just what technology can do, but how it can make us feel.

‍

What happens when a designer and a classically-trained choreographer collaborate? Attendees of Salone del Mobile.Milano, the largest furniture fair in the world, got to see for themselves.

To build a climate-resilient future, we need an all-hands-on-deck approach across industries and organizations, as well as the leadership and collaboration of frontline communities themselves. 

To that end, IDEO and CSAA Insurance Group worked together to unite nine partner organizations, including Aon and the Environmental Defense Fund, to launch an open call for solutions to help communities prevent, prepare for, and recover from climate-related disasters. The goal of the Challenge was to surface actionable and scalable ideas that experiment with new technologies, models, and partnerships, then provide innovators with the support and funding they need to get their ideas off the ground and into the hands of frontline communities.

IDEO set these entrepreneurs up for success throughout the submission process, holding one-on-one conversations with participants, sharing constructive feedback on potential solutions, and developing their ideas and skill sets. The team also hosted workshop and panel sessions to grow community bonds and provide expertise on critical topics, including assessing climate risk and storytelling for impact. Hundreds of ideas came in from around the world, ranging from harnessing the power of AI, to building resilient infrastructures, to democratizing access to climate data, and more.

Once all of the ideas were in, a cohort of judges with a wide diversity of work and lived experience screened for concepts that were relevant, impactful, novel, community-informed, and equitable. At the end of the Challenge, the team chose 13 winning concepts with high potential for impact and partnerships, including Reef Rocket, which seeks to fabricate natural biocement reefs that reduce coastal flooding and erosion, and BurnBot, which is working to prevent wildfires by conducting controlled burns at scale.  

For these winning entrepreneurs, the end of the Challenge is just the beginning. Now, they are equipped with critical early funding, as well as a cohort of climate entrepreneurs, along with mentorship from IDEO, CSAA, and the other organizations. It’s a big step forward as they introduce new forms of equitable and transparent data, promote the voices of BIPOC communities, and bring to market new technologies that will protect and support frontline communities through this ongoing crisis. 

Read the Challenge Impact Report to learn more.

In the US alone, climate-related disasters cause $120 billion in damages annually. That figure is five times greater than 50 years ago, and projections are $2 trillion by the end of the century.

Nearly 90% of counties in the US declared a natural disaster over the last decade.

418

submissions

13

winners

$1M

in prizes

Every year, the NSF provides around 30 teams with up to $750,000 and a year’s worth of coaching, training, and collaboration to develop solutions for research areas like sustainable ocean use or combating fake news. Over the course of nine months, the teams learn how to uncover insights about human needs and design durable solutions for end users. But many of the scientists and experts in the program felt stretched by the idea of putting the needs of end users in the mix with their scientific testing—something few of them have been trained to do in their previous work.

To make that process feel more achievable, the teams built out prototypes and received guidance on refining and pitching their ideas along the way. IDEO joined the project as an innovation partner, facilitating hands-on workshops and creating “Science TV” episodes that could help the program reach a broader audience, deepening its impact now and in the future.

To help grantees get vulnerable, and evolve their ways of working, IDEO sent grantees to improv training  so that they could learn to build off each other. The team also took them to magic shows and on ghost tours in downtown San Francisco to learn the value of compelling storytelling in their work. The fun was part of the plan—gelling as a team and building relationships meant participants could make mistakes in front of one another. Being wrong doesn’t come naturally to academics, but it’s a key part of the design process, and a crucial part of solving complex problems .

Each year, a select group of teams move onto the next phase of the “coop-etition,” receiving up to $5 million in additional funding. And all of the participants leave with valuable new skills they can use to break out of their own silos and create human-centered, ground-breaking solutions for the rest of their careers.

When the NSF launched the Convergence Accelerator and made the radical move of bringing together teams from different disciplines, these academics, scientists, and industry partners didn’t have a shared language to move their ideas forward, and needed a structured approach to coming up with new solutions.

164

trained research teams

$200M

in federal support granted to AI-driven innovation, quantum technology, food security, sustainable materials, opportunities for people with disabilities, and more

IDEO and The Earthshot Prize built a nine-month Fellowship program and a five-day, in-person retreat to give Finalists the best shot at reaching the Prize’s ultimate goal: to scale the solutions that will repair our planet this decade.

To build out the new Fellowship, IDEO took a deep dive with the previous year’s Finalists to uncover where they needed critical support. This research revealed that the Finalists needed more ways to leverage the Earthshot platform, connect with potential partners to help scale their ideas, and build community with each other. The IDEO team then used those insights to create a set of recommendations The Earthshot Prize team could implement to create a more supportive and structured experience. Ideas they took forward included assigning a designated “Leap Advisor” who could provide guidance and assistance for each Finalist, as well as an advisor from the Prize’s Global Alliance Network who could partner on specific growth initiatives, like scaling product design, or policy change. 

Next up: the design of the retreat itself. Together, IDEO and the Earthshot team had three goals for the cohort’s week together in Windsor: focus on new forms of leadership and movement building, spur action through storytelling, and foster community.

The team developed the curriculum with leaders from Google X and Speed & Scale, alongside startups like UPSIDE Foods. They designed moments to build community, like paired walks and a chocolate-making workshop where Finalists could get to know each other away from the noise of meetings. 

Photographers captured the event to create assets for Finalists to use when pitching their ideas, and Finalists honed their storytelling skills. But what most remember is the magical moments of coming together as a cohort of next generation climate leaders who will help each other make an impact on the problems facing our planet, long after The Earthshot Prize has concluded.

The problems facing our planet are enormous, spanning industries, borders, currencies, and regulatory environments. Meaningful solutions will require leaders who can work across those lines.

30

climate solutions accelerated in first two years

1. Waste Land

“A social documentary framed around art. Brazilian artist Vik Muniz spent a couple of years at the world’s biggest landfill, and created art with the people whose job it was to pick through the garbage. This is an inspiring example of how you can take waste and transform it into something beautiful and meaningful.”

Waste Land Trailer

2. Iris

“Iris is a fearless and fiercely creative 95 year-old fashion icon and businesswoman. The film highlights her life, her creative pursuits, and her lust for a life drenched in accessories. She has inspired my take on interior design and fashion—there are no rules and if you love it, it works.”

Iris Trailer

3. Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang

“Famed for The Ninth Wave, an installation commenting on China’s environmental policies, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang works with everything from taxidermy to fireworks. Sky Ladder documents Cai Guo-Qiang’s biggest dream yet: to build a ladder to connect the earth to the universe.”

Sky Ladder Trailer

4. Alive Inside

“Memory is inherently creative. Every time we reflect and look back, we use creativity to reimagine our past life experiences. But what happens when we lose our ability to remember? This film shows us the power of music, creativity, and imagination to bring back the memories of those who have been living without them.”

Alive Inside Trailer

5. Herb and Dorothy

“A charming look at a mailman and a librarian—Herb and Dorothy Vogel—in New York City who love (absolutely love) art. The Vogels live frugally, and over the years have filled their small, one-bedroom apartment with one of the most important collections of minimalist and conceptual art. Not only did they buy the art, they also built relationships—in many cases close friendships—with the artists. The documentary chronicles their lives as collectors—we see how they see, we see how they remember each work of art, and we hear from the many artists inspired by the Vogels' deep appreciation. You can't help but smile watching these two gallery hop or huddle in their tiny kitchen packed with art.”

Herb and Dorothy Trailer

6. Jiro Dreams of Sushi

“A lovely documentary about the spirit of the shokunin (craftsman) and the inscrutable Jiro. It’s inspiring to see the amount of time and effort that can go into the creation of great sushi. This movie is good for anyone who loves food, travel, and culture, and is also a great reminder of the power of craft.”

Jiro Dreams of Sushi Trailer

7. Eames, the Architect and the Painter

“The documentary illuminates how Ray and Charles Eames fused craft and thinking in their design process. It also chronicles the transformation of their work from furniture and products to ideas and communication, as they tackled larger and larger problems. There are many parallels with how IDEO's work has evolved over the years as we have honed our craft.”

Eames, the Architect and the Painter

8. American Movie

“Wisconsinite Mark Borchardt has dreams of making the ultimate psychological horror film on a micro budget. American Movie is an all-access look at his gritty and creative attempt to make his lofty dream a reality. It's a uniquely human documentary that's inspiring and entertaining for anyone who's ever been consumed by creative confidence.”

American Movie Trailer

9. Sans Soleil

“Sans Soleil is a genre-bending documentary about the limits of memory and how it affects history and current events. Chris Marker invites us into the scaffolding of his grand design, provoking us out of circumspect craft. “Frankly, have you ever heard of anything more stupid than to say to people…not to look at the camera?” Age has only increased its relevance.”

Sans Soleil Trailer

10. Bill Cunningham New York

“Way before Instagram, Bill Cunningham was the original street style photographer. This documentary paints a portrait of Bill and his quietly-obsessive creative pursuit that spanned half a century. Watch this this film to be inspired by this great human being's purity of passion and commitment to his craft.”

Bill Cunningham New York Trailer

11. Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time

"This 2001 documentary follows Andy Goldsworthy as he makes art with nature, painstakingly assembling leaves, sticks, rocks, or blocks of ice to create beautiful, ephemeral sculptures. Not only is this the most calming movie you can imagine, it is also inspiring. It reminds me that there are opportunities all around us to create meaning and beauty, if we only have the vision and the persistence to make them real."

Rivers and Tides Trailer

12. A Ballerina's Tale

"Dance, to me, is a grossly under-appreciated art form. It takes a great deal of trying, failing, and perseverance. It's strikingly similar to the world of design in many ways. I love this documentary because it tells the story of Misty Copeland, a black ballerina. There's a lot of history there, as black dancers were often overlooked (and still are) for not having the "typical" ballet body. It makes her rise to the top of this extremely selective world that much more powerful and inspiring."

A Ballerina's Tale Trailer

Thanks to Sally Clark, Piper Loyd, Maura Cass, Chris Hill, Brett Brownell, and Mark Del Lima. Illustrations by Matt Avallone.

We all know that going out into the world and witnessing other peoples' lives is a powerful source of inspiration. But what about when you don't have time to get out in the field? Sometimes a documentary is the next best thing. We asked IDEO designers to nominate the documentaries that they find most inspiring.

I grab things that remind me of a loved one at any point during the year, then stash them in a box. By the holidays, I'm usually in fairly good shape, and it's fun to see what I've collected. It is like a pre-Christmas, as I forget what's in there! Early in December, I take stock and make a shopping plan based on what I already have.

I decorate for Christmas before I go out of town for Thanksgiving. Sure, it's oogey to jump the gun, but I'm grateful to come home to a winter wonderland, and it diminishes the time crunch and stress during my favorite time of the year.

Our family tradition was always to take down decorations on the Feast of the Epiphany (1/6), so this gives me permission to enjoy the season into January. Before taking down decor, I take pictures, so the following year I can look at how I did it before. It helps me feel less overwhelmed: I can either try new things or reconstruct favorite arrangements from years past.

—Katie Gorman

Surprisingly, a ton of yoga places are open on Christmas day. Last year, I took a yoga class on Christmas day in the afternoon. It's actually so great and magical to be giving yourself that space when you are SUPPOSED to spend the whole day with family.

—MADELINE ARMSTRONG

Honey! And no, I'm not calling you a name. Honey is a Chrome extension that automatically looks for discount codes for you, then applies them during your online shopping checkout. Saving money is fun!

—Magen McAfee

We use Elfster to facilitate our secret santa within the family because we can't be together to draw paper names like we used to.

Whenever they have a promotion, I order free 4x6 prints from Shutterfly, then tape them to handmade construction paper cards to send out at Christmas. I buy things at extreme discount as early as October and leave the original price tag on for gifts.

—Anonymous

I usually use the holidays to have some great food with my parents. And this is what happens when a product designer is afraid to fail at cooking steaks—a quick prototype of an Arduino sous-vide cooker. Happened to me last Christmas…

—NICKI SCHAEFER

For my husband and I, our gift to each other is permission not to buy gifts for each other. Once a year, we buy a piece of "anniversary art" together, and we get all year to shop for it. Other than that, it's nice to opt out of the consumerism that can cast a shadow on the holiday season.

—Denise Burchell

This year, we've decided to just make donations instead of buying gifts for our immediate family. For our extended family, everyone draws names, so we each only have to give one gift.

—Mollie West Duffy

(And a few from me!) My son is three years old and needs nothing—he’s got more toys and books than he knows what to do with. Whenever anyone feels they must give him a gift, we point them to a link that allows them to give directly to his college savings account. What better gift than to give to his future education? Ugift529.com.

Also, the gift of dinner out is awesome, but dinner with babysitting is amaaaazzzzing. UrbanSitter—our go-to for our favorite sitters—offers gift cards for childcare. Add an Uber gift card to make the whole night complete!

—Katie Clark

I'm traveling to my partner's home city this Thanksgiving. Her parents are very traditional so we'll be in separate bedrooms for the holiday. I plan to purposefully forget to pack things like socks so that we have an excuse to go on shopping excursions together to reconnect.

—ANONYMOUS

‍

If you’re from a family that’s as opinionated and politically diverse as mine, the holidays can be an interesting time, to say the least. (I have been using this New York Times piece to prepare—wish me luck!) Even gift-giving can be fraught in these uncertain times, so I reached out to my fellow IDEOers for their favorite holiday hacks. From “forgotten socks” to Arduino-cooked steaks—they ginned up some gems.

‍

What were you trying to accomplish in the redesigned space?

Jenny Winfield (JW): Business travelers are usually required to work their hardest when they travel—they need to win a pitch or clinch a deal. The stakes are high. So we came up with a concept we call “Ignition,” a new meeting and working space in the hotel lobby that makes it easy to work while on the road. It combines new spaces for group creative thinking or heads-down work, a work-friendly menu of healthy food options, a new staff member to handle business needs, and digital tools providing on-demand services.

Last January, we were ready to test our concept live. Per usual, we would be there in person for a few weeks to do interviews and gather observations, but we also thought we should measure how our new solution performed when we weren’t there. That’s where the sensors came in.

‍

How did the sensors help you make your case?

JW: The pilot was split into two phases in each location. First, we gathered data for the baseline—testing the lobby in its initial form—then the redesigned space. We wanted to make sure we improved on all fronts—not just sales metrics, but also, traffic through the space, and the number of people using each type of space.

What kind of equipment did you use to build your sensor setup?

Miha Feus (MF): We used cameras to measure foot traffic and activity across different areas of the space, as well as sound sensors to gauge the volume level and infer the atmospheric buzz. And we also used seat and proximity sensors to measure occupancy and dwell time on different pieces of furniture. The actual sensing components (pressure and proximity sensors, and microphones) were off the shelf, but we built the brains for the sensors and the communication platform to gather the data from around the space wirelessly.

‍

How did you rig up all the sensors, and what software did you use to record that data?

MF: Most of the sensors were held in place with double-sided tape. We taped cameras overhead and sound sensors on the ceiling, and placed seat sensors under seat cushions. All the data from the sensors was sent to an Arduino Yun, which served as a hub, routing the data via Wi-Fi to a Parse Database. The Arduino Yun also retained a local copy on an SD card, in case there were any Wifi issues.

To analyze data from the cameras, we used a software tool called Camlytics. It was able to capture the number of people passing through the space automatically, without the need to record visual data. This way, we didn’t infringe on people’s privacy.

‍

The proprietary hardware we created around the sensors was also built with privacy in mind. All the sensors only had transmitters, which means they couldn’t be hacked remotely. But even if someone had gained access to them, the chips and transmitters we were using were unable to process and transmit sound data at a level where someone could listen in on a conversation. The seat sensors worked similarly. The data we were getting only told us whether they were occupied.

JW: Ethically, we are committed to protecting our participants, whether they are explicitly taking part in our research, or they happened to wander into it. In any case, our main goal was to capture overall usage levels, so there was no reason to map or track specific users.

What was the hardest part about making this sensor system work?

MF: The most challenging thing was to design something that can run unsupervised for weeks on the other side of the ocean, something we’ve never done before. But we also had trouble with our “huddle spots”—bespoke pieces of furniture we created for this project. Because they were hard plastic stools without cushions, we couldn’t use pressure sensors to measure their use. Instead, we had to rely on proximity sensors, which are power hungry, and not the most reliable.

‍

What useful takeaways did you learn from the sensor data?

JW: The new concept was definitely popular. We had a 79% increase in people coming through the space in our first test site.

Okay, so more people walked through your space but did they stop?

JW: The number of people who sat down in the space went up by 80 percent, predominantly at times when those areas are usually very quiet (the early afternoon, for example). So not only did we increase use of the space, timestamps in our data showed that we did it at a time when it used to be empty. That, combined with data that showed food orders were being made at a time when the regular restaurant was closed, was a great selling point.

The sensors also showed us that the average dwell time in the huddle spots and nooks—spaces designed for four to six people work together—was 20-35 minutes, which confirmed our idea that these pieces should be used for quick perches and catch ups. It sounds simple, but it was huge. It not only meant that the design of the space itself was right, it also confirmed the importance of having drinks delivered within a 5-minute window, or having technology that empowers users to make an order in less than 1 minute. If visitors only hang around for 30 minutes, everything has to be really fast.

What’s the most exciting potential for sensors in future design research?

MF: As data collection methods and analytics tools become easier to use, we’ll use them as prototyping materials, much like we are using foamcore and hot glue at the moment.

JW: The ability for us to learn about user behavior remotely is most exciting to me, given that it’s something we haven’t been able to do before. With sensors, remote research can mean much more than learning how people are using a digital tool that we built. Being able to track patterns and see how people naturally interact with our prototypes (both physical and digital) when we’re not there is huge. Then it's about looking at the resulting data in creative ways and telling a more nuanced story about the type of impact we expect our ideas to have out in the world.

‍

Recently, at IDEO London, we’ve started to think more creatively about how to collect and use data for research during the design process. It’s easy to track user behavior when we work on digital design projects; the tools are built in. But what if we had those capabilities outside the digital space? On a recent project, design researcher Jenny Winfield and interaction designer Miha Feus found a way to collect user data in a physical/digital prototype, by using sensors to evaluate a redesigned hotel workspace for Crowne Plaza hotels. Here’s a little bit about how they did it, and how approaches like this one could change the future of design research.

I took this picture during my morning ferry commute along the Thames. As you can see, it's raining. (It rains in London a lot.)

I'm standing where the passengers get off the boat. The ferry was designed with a drainpipe to funnel rainwater off of the boat, but the water lands on passengers as they disembark. I guess the designers were thinking more about the boat than the people on it.

Conveniently, there is also a Costa coffee shop on the boat. So someone removed the base of a paper coffee cup, and stuck the cup on the pipe. This small fix extended the drainpipe, keeping the passengers dry. Brilliant.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‍

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.