Midea, one of China’s largest appliance manufacturers, wanted to identify growth opportunities in the domestic consumer market, while focusing on people’s cultural beliefs around health and well-being. During the course of the project, IDEO found that Midea could play a key role in building a healthier nation.

The team set out to design potential future products for Tong (“through, whole, and to understand”) that are built around the basic themes of eating, breathing, and being: an easy-to-use, hassle-free herbal tea dispenser, an air balancer that improves and balances the quality of air in the home, and a body-balancing mobile phone app that encourages users to rebalance their body condition where needed, through movements created with the Chinese philosophies of well-being in mind.

The Tong project was featured extensively in the press, and opened further conversations with Midea about creating new value and extending into new markets.

Put food on the table or keep the furnace running on a frigid day? It’s an unfortunate choice many low-income families in Flint, Michigan, face.

To help customers in Flint and other Michigan towns stay on top of their utility bills and better understand the relationship between their energy consumption and the resulting costs, Consumers Energy partnered with IDEO and utility assistance provider The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) to create an innovative pilot billing program called Clear Control in late 2013.

The pilot was designed with three major human-centered changes to the traditional utility experience:

• Instead of monthly bills, participants received two bills per month. Shorter billing periods allowed for smaller, more frequent payments, helping customers match available funds with their ability to pay.
• Daily text updates on energy usage and bill amounts kept consumption top of mind.
• Consumers Energy offered personalized, in-home audits to help customers make low-cost, high-impact changes to their energy bills.

A year later, the results of the pilot are energizing. Clear Control participants accumulated no new debt, while the control group owed $300; pilot customers used 20 percent less electricity, reducing their bills by $200 per year; and 95 percent of participants paid their bills in full and on time, compared with 35 percent in the control group. The utility company simultaneously benefited by avoiding arrearages, late-payment fees, and shutoffs. Consumers plans to incorporate Clear Control lessons into its overall energy assistance program design and development moving forward.

"It’s no longer ‘me’ against ‘them’—now it’s ‘us,’" said one Clear Control participant.

In 1980, Apple asked IDEO to develop a mouse for their radical new computer, the Lisa. Previous attempts at mouse design, by Douglas Englebart and Xerox PARC, yielded results that were too expensive and hard to make. The Apple mouse needed to be more reliable and less than 10 percent of the cost of the earlier versions.

To start, the design team created a cheaper, much-improved mechanism that would operate the mouse, and found that a complex, plastic "ribcage" would hold the pieces together. The team similarly tested and refined the mouse’s other key components, from the audible and tactile click of the button to the rubberized coating on the ball. A record turntable spun for days, logging “mouse miles” to check the reliability of the electromechanical assembly.

The resulting mouse proved mechanically and economically sound and was changed only slightly when adapted for use with the first Macintosh computer. The basic mechanism design is used in virtually all mechanical mouses produced to date.

Food is the heart of most cultures. In China, one of the oldest cultures in the world, food is central to family gatherings and celebrations. It’s what binds people, a tangible way of showing love and respect. But in recent years, the Chinese food industry has suffered from concerns around safety.

Two siblings, Harn and Anmao Sun, set out on an ambitious venture: to create a trusted source of food in China and, by setting an example, to instigate a movement around conscious farming practices. The American-born entrepreneurs launched Hunter Gatherer, a restaurant and retail food space built around a transparent supply chain, from farm to table to grocery shelves. The venture is based on growing and serving what they call real food: The ingredients are chemical-free and come from known and trusted sources—food they’d eat themselves. The purpose of the venture is simple: to serve people real food that is their right.

Having studied and worked in the US, Harn and Anmao grew accustomed to browsing farmers markets on Saturday mornings or picking up a burrito at Chipotle. But when they returned to China, they were unsure about the safety of the food they were eating.

“In China, you wouldn’t go to a food stand, because you’d be concerned about the ingredients,” Anmao said. “You can’t take the safety for granted.”

Hunter Gatherer’s very existence challenges bedrock assumptions about how food is produced in China. A long and depressing list of scandals—milk contaminated with melamine, pork produced from diseased pigs, used cooking oil repackaged and sold as new—has rocked the public trust.

“In China, agriculture is going through a huge change,” Anmao said. “In the US, agriculture operations are regulated. Farmers’ practices are regulated. If they use pesticides, there are limits because these farmers understand that once a certain threshold is hit, additional pesticides will not yield more crops. But in China, pesticide use came about 30 years after the US and Europe, and because of a lack of full understanding, farmers in China incorrectly operate under the assumption that more pesticides means more crop yields. Also, with over 250 million farmers in China, it becomes immensely difficult to properly regulate everyone.”

New Ventures

Harn and Anmao wanted to restore trust in the simple act of eating in China, and they came to IDEO to build a scalable business based on that vision. This was essentially a startup, a shared commitment between IDEO and Hunter Gatherer.

“I’ve lived in Shanghai for the past seven years, and as a relatively active and health-conscious person, I’ve had to invest quite a bit of time in finding food that I trust,” said Charles Hayes, managing director of IDEO Shanghai. “That investment has been both in the time it takes to research the sources of ingredients but also a literal investment in paying a high price for imported food just for that extra peace of mind.”

Anmao and Harn took up residence in the IDEO Shanghai offices to incubate their business. Together with IDEO designers, they tested packaging, cooked countless meals, and found ways to introduce unfamiliar ingredients to Chinese consumers. They discussed different concepts of lunch and dinner, and how notions of freshness in Chinese culture might affect cold-storage systems. In IDEO’s prototyping kitchen, the teams tested all manner of different foods, flavors, colors, mixes, and price points, and they brought consumers in to try them out. IDEO designers, along with the founding team, also worked on the brand and positioning of what would eventually become the Hunter Gatherer enterprise—its location, human resources, and marketing strategies.

As the restaurant concept came together, finding the right food sources had to be addressed. Traditional agriculture couldn’t be trusted; organic certifications were available on the black market, and safety protocols around chemical use were nonexistent. Anmao and Harn decided to invest in their own farms. They met with farmers, asked questions about their methods, and walked in the fields to see for themselves. Eventually they settled on two plots of land outside Shanghai and began developing more than 80 different crops to be used in the restaurant.

From Seed to Table

When it came time to find the right space for the first location, Anmao and Harn discovered an open, airy storefront on Anfu Road in Shanghai’s tree-lined former French Concession area. They designed and built a retail space and kitchen, and along with IDEO designers, they trained the staff and organized workflows. The staff set the tables with Mason jars filled with flowers, hung photographs of the farmers who grew the food, and put up a sign that showcases the percentage of vegetables coming directly from the Hunter Gatherer farms, already more than 70 percent in less than a year after opening.

Customers can shop for fresh vegetables, locally sourced and imported canned and jarred goods, bins of cereal, freshly made smoothies, artisan sauces, and exotic chocolates. Upstairs, they can feast on delicious dishes in the homey restaurant.

Reviews have been glowing. One customer raved about the machine that grinds fresh nuts. Another loved the open space, the “good vibes,” and the refreshing cucumber water. Young people go there on dates, and families return for the delicious menu variety.

The convivial space has blossomed into more than just a restaurant and grocery store. It’s become a gathering place of sorts, both for the community and for partners who share the same vision. Farmers and food purveyors are invited to showcase their products at seasonal events and to mingle with customers and share recipes and stories.

“Hunter Gatherer has come to symbolize a kind of lifestyle the Chinese people have been looking for,” said Eugene Lin, an IDEO business designer. “A place they can enjoy hanging out with friends, as well as a movement and mission they can stand behind.”

A Digital Future

This is just the beginning of the venture. The plan is to open 40 more locations throughout China. But the vision for Hunter Gatherer’s growth is bigger than brick-and-mortar restaurants—where the business will truly scale is in the digital space. Eventually, the plan is to launch a Hunter Gatherer online grocery store from which anyone can buy food grown from trusted sources.

“We have to create trust with the consumer. It’s the most difficult and most valuable thing to do in China, especially with food,” Anmao said. “Our brick-and-mortar locations will establish that increased trust. Then we can go online and grow the idea to the rest of the country.”

Will Hunter Gatherer have a hand in changing the way that the world’s most populous nation thinks about food? Its principles are already spreading, from neighboring farmers adopting more sustainable planting methods, to a growing market for products like wine.

But the true sign of success will be almost invisible—the moment when an increase in demand will result in safe food for everyone and when real food becomes commonplace.

Two years ago, I ordered wood, frets, a few parts, and a couple of guidebooks. After watching hours of instructional YouTube videos, I built a mold and got going.

I’m entirely self-taught. I learned mainly by doing, common sense, and from my experience building models as a product designer. There’s a violin maker next to our office who helped me understand old techniques like hot-bending wood, working with hot hide glue, and using and sharpening wood hand tools.

I’ve finished two guitars, and I’m working on a new one now. I do all of my work on them in our IDEO Munich workshop. The first took about 140 hours to make, over six months. The second one took less time. (A professional builder takes about 40 to 60 hours, for reference.) You can’t rush it and there’s not much room for iteration—it has to be right the first time. I sign the inside of each soundboard so people know where and when it was built, in case someone takes them apart after I’m gone.

I build off a 1930s plan by CF Martin, a German who emigrated to the US in the late 1800s and founded the famous Martin Guitar Company. He invented the American steel-string guitar. The model is called OM (Orchestra Model). It was the biggest guitar made at the time, and was for playing in orchestras and, of course, without amplification. I find its shape beautiful, and it has a fine voice. It’s still built today. It has passed the test of time, I guess.

My latest build is European: a gypsy jazz guitar like one played by famous jazz guitar inventor Django Reinhardt. Created by an Italian guitarist named Maccaferri, it was produced by Selmer, Paris, from the 1930s to the late 1940s. I love that genre, and this guitar has a unique sound.

With the shift to a management position, I’m turning my design skills more towards consulting and away from product design. I miss the focussed work that goes deep, spending time on one project, and having a tangible result after hours of work.

Guitar making gives me all of that. It is extremely rewarding. The result of your work becomes increasingly evident, and at the end you can make music on your own creation, while other guitarists can enjoy what you’ve built. It is an exercise in learning, prototyping, craft, and design.

Guitars have been a love affair of mine since childhood. I was surrounded by music at home: My father plays guitar and taught me to play my first chords. Since I am an avid tinkerer, craftsman, and maker, it was a logical step to build them myself.

This toolkit guides you through design thinking so you can start coming up with solutions to everyday challenges within the library. Design thinking, or human-centered design, is all about starting with people—the users that visit your library.

IDEO has been using similar methods to envision new products, services, spaces, and experiences that bring them to life. IDEO created this toolkit specifically for the library setting and is looking forward to seeing how you might create impact by seeing your work through a fresh perspective: the design thinking lens!

Learn more here.

Design Thinking for Libraries is an approach to improving libraries through creative problem-solving.

Apparently I’m not the only one. Aya Jaffar’s exploration, “Introvert at IDEO”, reveals that I am healthier and far less freakish than I ever could have dreamed. As an intern, Aya took on the task of asking her fellow IDEOers how they embrace their introversion in such an extroverted environment.

IDEO is filthy rich with fascinating people. Every week we have stimulating lunch-hour talks and raucous happy hours. Our office is the ultimate embodiment of an extroverted workspace. We think out loud! We brainstorm together! We eat in teams! We have walk and talks, just like in The West Wing!

That’s all well and good for about half the population. But the best work cultures make space for those of us who seek occasional refuge from the chatter.

Here are a few comforting things I learned from Aya’s “Introvert” piece:

There's a spectrum
Carl Jung was a pretty smart fellow. He suggested that everyone falls somewhere on the Introvert <---> Ambivert <---> Extrovert scale, so none of us are purely one thing or another. Big Bird? Michelle Obama? Your bus driver? Probably all extroverts with introverted traits. Just like me.

Introverts recharge with solo time
Introverts aren’t shy! They’re exhausted and they need to step away from others to think things out or recharge. That’s also why they have monstrously large noise-cancelling headphones on. Always.

They've got skillzzzzz
While extroverts’ positive qualities are easy to identify and praise, we should be quick to notice the greatness and strengths of introverts too. They are world-class listeners, thoughtful synthesizers, and often gifted at lifting others up. They also thrive when working independently so they can get just about anything done if you leave them alone for a bit.

Introverts need thoughtful workspaces
While our colorful, collaborative work style might suggest otherwise, our office actually considers introverts more than we know. We have phone booths built for one, the hushed Lighthouse workroom, enclosed project spaces, and breakout couches that allow anyone to focus in a way that works best for them. Plus, IDEO expects us to manage our own space and schedule, allowing us the freedom to work from home on occasion without ever being judged.

So bring on that big dinner! And some wine! And a cheese platter!

You’ll find me in the bathtub, gearing up for tomorrow.

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Hi. My name is Tal. I have to go home and hide in a bathtub. That’s not exactly a socially acceptable thing to say at a client dinner, but as an introvert in extrovert’s clothing, the thought has scurried through my head many times.

OpenIDEO is an open innovation platform where people from all corners of the world collaboratively tackle some of the toughest global issues through launching Challenges, programs, and other tailored experiences.

A Challenge is a three-to-five month collaborative process that focuses attention on the topic and creates a space for community members to contribute and build off each other. This approach is modeled on IDEO's design thinking methodology.

You can learn more about it here.

Active Challenges

Beyond the Bag Challenge

The Beyond the Bag Challenge, launched in partnership with Closed Loop Partners and leading retailers, seeks to identify, test, and implement innovative new design solutions that serve the function of today’s single-use plastic retail bag. Winning Ideas are eligible to receive a portion of $1 million in funding, participate in a Circular Accelerator program to receive further assistance in scaling, and access testing and potential piloting opportunities. Find out how you can be involved in the Beyond the Bag Challenge and sign up to receive email updates‍

‘Agents of Change' Atopic Dermatitis Challenge: Navigating Uncertainty

The ‘Agents of Change' Atopic Dermatitis Challenge: Navigating Uncertainty aims to find creative ways to help people with atopic dermatitis navigate through the ambiguity surrounding the condition with confidence while building awareness and empathy among those around them. Sign up to receive email updates and join the Challenge starting on September 14 to help change the way people think and feel about atopic dermatitis.‍

The Food System Vision Prize

The $2M Food System Vision Prize is an invitation for organizations, institutions, companies, governments, universities, and other entities across the globe to develop a concrete and actionable Vision of the food system that they aspire to see in the year 2050. Together, we’re seeking answers to the question How might we envision regenerative and nourishing food futures for 2050? $2M will be distributed to the Top Visionaries, who will be eligible to receive a prize of $200,000 each.

Intrigued? Read about the many ways to be involved in the Food System Vision Prize and sign up to receive email updates.

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.