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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‍

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

Richard Chen
‍CEO, Master Kong (Tingyi Holding Corporation)

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

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

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

#1

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

2024 Red Dot Award Winner

‍for Brands & Communication Design

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

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

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

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

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

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

8

modular pieces ensure hygienic cleaning is quick and easy

100%

recyclable materials in each bottle

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

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

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

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

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

1 brand

unifying 300+ employees and 8 departments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‍

$11M grant

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

1 collective vision

to guide a network of 17 schools

‍

We headed there together—Keren to speak on a panel about raising AI kids responsibly, and Dan to meet with clients and partners and check out what’s coming in the world of media and technology.

What stood out most was the contrast between our panel discussion—where we focused on how AI can genuinely enhance kids’ lives in meaningful ways—and the exhibit halls, where much of the tech seemed designed to become the centerpiece of daily life. There were some promising ideas, like digital health assistants and travel concierges, but it was clear that many companies were betting on people reorganizing their lives around their products. That could be a tough sell for consumers, and one that leaves a big opportunity for companies to design technology that integrates into people’s lives, amplifying what they already value and care about.

Here were the most interesting things we saw, heard—and wished we’d seen.

Things we heard

Kids aren’t impressed by AI alone: While adults can go ga-ga over everything AI, Keren’s co-panelist, Joshua Garrett, COO of Readyland, astutely pointed out that though adults might feel an experience is magical because of a novel tech interface or capability, kids aren’t wowed by the flash if the experience itself doesn’t deliver. At the IDEO Play Lab, we often see that adults will try to figure out how to make a product work because they're too embarrassed to admit they don’t get it. But kids will tell you right away if something isn’t intuitive. Youth have also told us directly: They want a chance to learn how to form relationships with real people, not a chatbot that might stunt their emotional growth during their formative years. While these insights were focused on designing for kids and youth, the idea of novelty wearing off applies to any audience. During our panel, there was consensus: Just because something can be automated or replaced, doesn’t mean it should be. There are the human moments we should hold on to and protect.

Things we saw

‍Smart glasses galore (or wearables that go anywhere but your wrist): On the way out of the CES showroom we were overwhelmed (well, almost) by just how many versions of smart glasses there were, not to mention all the people in line waiting to try them out. The Xreal/BMW partnership was particularly packed, and won a bunch of “Best of CES” awards. We were particularly intrigued by Rokid’s approach to the device, which included a separate controller and ability to take off your prescription glasses (a big win for Dan!) and adjust the image quality in the lens. For now, it seems like the smart glasses market is still in flux, and popularity will be determined by how well these companies pitch something that fits different social moments (e.g. being the passenger of a car, sitting on an airplane, hanging out in cafe, walking down the street, just saying hi to a friend, etc). One thing that still felt way underdesigned? The audio experience and the relationship between the glasses and the audio devices you might already have.

‍Creator tech ISO heart: As with most hype cycles, buzz around the creator economy has risen and fallen many times over the past few years. Are we on our third spring? We saw plenty of “pro creator” tools that can empower users to do everything from quickly capturing human motion (inertia-based motion capture and animation—no room sensors needed) to importing image assets with nothing more than a bluetooth connection and to software developer kits (SDKs) that enhance immersive experiences. Before, only professionals could access these powerful tools; now anyone (with the budget) can build an immersive game. Still, amid all this progress, it felt very refreshing to have dinner with execs in the creative space who emphasized the need for human stories and heart. The challenge isn’t just making creation faster; it’s ensuring the stories these tools help tell resonate on a deeper level, connecting with audiences in ways that transcend the tools themselves. After all, it’s the heart in the work that keeps audiences coming back.

‍IP content flywheel: Some of the longest lines we saw at this very techy tech convention were for the The Last of Us proof-of-concept immersive experience and the Demon Slayer photo opp at Sony. The uptick in location-based entertainment (aka, experiences that let people live out their fandom IRL) is a good reminder that characters and connections are the thing. The tech was in service of the experience. On the other end of the spectrum of the storytelling medium, at the Variety Summit, we heard about how webtoons and anime—long popular in the Asian market—are now finding incredible traction in other geographies. It was somewhat of a full circle moment for those of us who were coming of age during the era of LiveJournal and lo-fi sketches. There’s something nostalgic and comforting about the quick drawings and the 2D experience of absorbing a story in that way that appeals to users in the age of high-speed and seamless experiences. It’s a good reminder that some experiences benefit from slowing things down.

Things we wish we had seen

‍Solutions to big human problems: We were really hoping to see some innovative approaches to some of the looming problems we’re eager to get working on—like decades (centuries?!) of under-investment in women’s health. (And we’re not talking about period-tracking apps, either.) There is such a large opportunity area here.
‍
We did really appreciate the AgeTech section, which was sponsored by AARP. Believe it or not, 2024 was actually known as “peak 65,” the year when the largest-ever number of Americans ever hit 65 at once. We need new solutions and interventions to support dignity and care in the aging process, improving not just the physical health experience, but mental and emotional health too. Some of the things we saw were cool and fun, like versions of classic games, tailored to audiences of different abilities, making it easier for families to connect. We’re hoping to see more solutions like this, that extend care beyond capturing health metrics, designing for delight and connection, which are important for longevity and joy.

Need help solving a problem in one of these opportunity areas? Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was a whirlwind of AI—in your kitchen! In your car! In your bedroom!—smart glasses, “pro-creator tools,” and new media experiences (see-through tv screens, anyone?).

As we move through the world in 2025, we have a long list of things we’d love to rethink, if only we had the chance. Here’s what’s risen to the top of our list this year.

PRODUCTS:

1. LED headlights make driving at night painful—and dangerous. Am I getting older and cranky? Yes! But that doesn’t change the fact that headlight brightness has doubled in the past 10 years, and the last time I checked, roads have not gotten darker. There are ways to keep ourselves safe on the road without blinding our fellow travelers.
—Will Notini, Chicago

2. Food storage lids and containers always seem to get separated, leaving mismatched pieces that feel impossible to pair. Containers rarely stack efficiently, taking up more space than they should, and any attempt at maintaining an organized and sustainable system seems destined to fail. How might we redesign everyday kitchen organization to turn common pain points into seamless experiences?
—Sindhura Sonnathi, San Francisco

3. Same. In addition to them getting separated and inefficient stacking, food containers never come out of the dishwasher completely dry. I’m constantly having to dry them with a towel and needing to get in those nooks and crannies to get all of the water out. The glass, ceramic, and metal dishes don’t do this. It’s just a nuisance. Let’s fix it!
—Shavon Gervasi, Cambridge

4. Assuming you’ve figured out what app the show you want to watch is in, you now get the joy of having to scroll through TV interfaces with long, flat horizontal “trays” down long flat horizontal pages. Sometimes there’s a bit of variation (Rectangles! Squares! Larger rectangles and squares!) but it’s easy to get lost, and hard to flip back and forth between things you’re interested in. I don’t miss my cable subscription, but I really do miss some of the things cable figured out how to do well.
—Dan Perkel, San Francisco

5. There must be a better solution than our current umbrellas. They're so inefficient and cumbersome to carry around. I always put off using one until I absolutely can't avoid it, and by that point, it often ends up breaking due to the wind anyway.
—Rita Nicolau, London

6. Many (most?) new cars have all of their radio functionality accessible only via touchscreen, which is 1) dangerous and 2) extremely inconvenient for your passenger DJ. Well-intentioned safety measures block smartphone syncing while the car is in motion (even when a passenger is doing the syncing instead of the driver), and many touchscreens require the user to navigate away from a map app in order to operate the music app or radio. Forcing all functionality to route through a screen is clunky and makes for a poor roadtrip experience.
—Meridith Halsey, Chicago

7. Compostable straws are better for the Earth than plastic straws! But, they get all mushy and disintegrate half-way through your drink. We can make something better.
—Nina Lampert, London

8. Why do white plastic fences exist? They’re a larger version of the white plastic bag. They are not good for the environment, they do not weather well, and you really can’t repair them like you can a wooden fence.
—Christina Abele, Cambridge

9. This might be more of a revival than a redesign, but I’d love to build a version of The Whole Earth Catalog (WEC) updated for 2025. First published in 1968, the original WEC was a compendium of product listings, how-to guides, and educational tools for those in the back-to-the-land movement, shaped by thinkers like Buckminster Fuller. We need a new version of that radical spirit. Whatever form it takes, a new WEC could offer practical resources, forward-thinking education, and hands-on toolkits with an eye toward sustainable living and ecological literacy.
—Beth Holzer, San Francisco

10. For so many people, financial decisions like planning, budgeting, etc., are group decisions—made with roommates, loved ones, spouses (former spouses!), parents, kids, and others. And yet due to a combination of regulations, conventions, and perhaps a bit of laziness, almost every financial product, service, or brand is oriented around a one-to-one relationship that people then have to hack or modify to truly use in a collaborative, group-first way. Does it really have to be this way?
—Dan Perkel, San Francisco

11. Streaming services don’t financially benefit most artists. How can we create more equitable, scalable systems for artists to make living wages?
—Ceci Gomez, San Francisco

12. When I was little we went to the store to buy a dishwasher and the display models all had glass fronts. I came BURSTING in the door to tell my mom that we were getting a dishwasher with a window. The disappointment I felt when it came with a metal front is an understatement. Why don’t they have clear glass doors?
—Molly Rolig, San Francisco

13. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) are tax-advantaged accounts that allow employees to set aside pre-tax money to pay for eligible medical expenses. And  my bi-yearly dental cleaning is solidly within the eligibility guidelines. However, after every dental cleaning, my FSA provider tracks me down asking for an itemized receipt to “prove” that the visit was covered—even though there’s nothing at the dentist’s office that I can purchase that is outside of that coverage. This doesn’t happen with any other eligible medical expense I incur; how is it still the case that paying for dental care gets constantly flagged as potential fraud? It’s a friction point that makes me not want to deal with FSAs at all. If FSAs are meant to promote preventative care, they should be designed to promote as seamless an experience as possible for the employee.
—Meridith Halsey, Chicago

14. Shower curtains are hard to clean, the metal rusts, the little hooks fall off, they make noise,  they are annoying to take down and put back up, and they aren’t easy to change out to suit your mood or time of day. Staying clean while keeping the rest of the bathroom dry could use some innovation.
—Dan Perkel, San Francisco

SYSTEMS:

15. Currently, the shareholder model of corporate governance requires the maximization of shareholder wealth, which has contributed to wage disparity, corporate greed, lowered local tax payments, lack of corporate social accountability, and inappropriate corporate influence on government legislation and policy. This could be redesigned so that, one,  shareholder wealth is only a part of the corporate mandate; two, corporate “freedom of speech” is curtailed; three, corporations have less influence over government; and four, corporations contribute more to their local communities and economies.
—Jeremy Sallin, San Francisco

16. In Capitalism, we have a system that is rewarding greed and nonstop growth, while that growth is now killing our planet. Something’s gotta give, y’all.
—Stuart Getty, San Francisco

17. Why are pedestrians, who are the most vulnerable participants in traffic systems, often deprioritized by cities and our infrastructure? Especially here in the U.S. At times when traffic is light (at night, for example), pedestrian crossing signals are red by default, while the signal for main thoroughfare for cars is green. What if all pedestrian crossing had a default state of “cross” instead? Also why do pedestrians need to request the right to pass by pressing a button? I’d want our cities to shift from car-first systems, to people-first and would love traffic lights to lead the way.
—Juho Parviainen, San Francisco

18. Why do I need to install a new medical app on my phone, every time I go see a doctor? Why must every practice have their own portal, their own system, their own login info, and their own interface? Even my doctor sometimes struggles to pull all of the inputs into a single place where they can see everything and give an accurate assessment and advice. How might we streamline the use of patient data into a format that’s truly efficient for physicians and patients alike?
—Shannon Vossler, Chicago

19. As cities face more extreme and frequent heat waves, our built environment is failing to protect residents—especially vulnerable populations like the elderly, outdoor workers, and low-income communities who often lack access to cooling. Temporary cooling centers and emergency response plans are reactive band-aids that don't address systemic issues in heat resilience. Traditional infrastructure (dark pavement, lack of shade, heat-trapping buildings) actively makes the problem worse. The complex interplay between urban design, social equity, and climate science demands innovative thinking beyond just adding more AC units.
—Nazlican Goksu, San Francisco

EXPERIENCES:

20. Meetings are the backbone of how teams align, make decisions, and move work forward—but too often, they’re baaaaad. Unstructured, dominated by a few voices, or overly reliant on agendas that prioritize activities over outcomes. This leads to wasted time, drained energy, and frustrated participants. By applying a designer’s mindset—clarifying objectives, prototyping small changes, and making discussions tangible—meetings can become opportunities for collaboration, alignment, and momentum instead of sources of friction.
—Matt Cooper-Wright, London

21. The behavior we let people get away with under the guise of “the customer is always right” never ceases to shock me. We subject service workers, in-store employees, and more to the worst side of human behavior all because we decided—what?—that paying money at a store lets you say whatever you want to the people who work there? I am a customer of various places, and I am rarely ever right (although you don’t see me screaming about it)! I’d love to see our executive class stick their neck out for their employees, who are their most valuable asset, and set stricter public standards for customers’ treatment of their staff.
—Andy Reischling, Cambridge

22. People used to associate travel with wonder and adventure. Now, people grit their teeth and steel themselves when making their way to and through an airport. Airports should not be malls full of stuff that no one really wants. Instead of having overpriced corner shops, what if we had libraries for books and items? Instead of a mall food court, what if we had places to recharge, refresh, and have a free healthy snack?    
—Dave Kim, San Francisco

23. Why is there so much beeping in hospitals? As a patient it is overwhelming. I am impressed that hospital employees can decipher all the beeps, emergency vs. non emergency.
—Christina Abele, Cambridge

24. Commercial flights have been around for about 110 years,  and we still have to be there two hours in advance for a flight that is in the air for the same amount of time. The boarding process where you’re forced to stand in an even smaller space for 40 minutes before they open the plane doors deserves a human-centered takeover.
—Justine Syen, London

25. While people come to the emergency department for a whole range of reasons, they tend to have two things in common: they are nervous (for themselves or a loved one) and they have no idea how long they’ll be there. Instead of uncomfortable chairs, a single TV blaring the news on high volume, and a sad nearly-empty vending machine, there are so many opportunities to design an environment that better accommodates the feelings of stress and uncertainty in the air. A little privacy would be nice, too!
—Jen Halls, Cambridge

26. Can we all admit we made a mistake and just get rid of self-checkout? Where I live, in Watertown, MA, there are several stores that have gotten rid of most of their staff in favor of self-checkout machines and, simultaneously, put crucial items (like toothpaste) behind a locked door. Because the store is so understaffed, you might be waiting—and I timed this—15 minutes for someone to come unlock the toothpaste for you. And the machines themselves! We are all human here. We sometimes make mistakes with machinery that we are unfamiliar with. This just slows everything down and we end up calling for help in the end, anyway.
—Andy Reischling, Cambridge

27. Why does renting a car at an airport still feel like traveling back in time to the early ‘90s? Surely we can do better now. I want a better rental experience and 100 percent electric fleet.
—Juho Parviainen, San Francisco

28. There’s nothing like a good road trip. It’s an opportunity to get to know the U.S.  and the people you’re traveling with in a new way. Improved ground transportation between cities is associated with greater employment opportunities for working professionals and economic growth for smaller towns. As autonomous and electric vehicle technologies improve, I’d love to design an intercity public transportation service run by electric, autonomous vehicles to promote travel between cities, towns, far-flung national parks, and more in a way that is fun and adventurous while also promoting stronger personal bonds and broader economic growth.
—Natasha Alani, Cambridge

29. With skyrocketing costs for labor and delivery as well as growing concerns around maternity mortality rates (particularly for people of color), it’s time to redesign the end-to-end experience for maternity care! I’d love to explore the rise of maternity care deserts especially in the shadow of recent changes in reproductive policy.
—Diana Tobey, Play Lab

30. There are so many reasons to redesign American elementary education, but ultimately kids need more movement and active learning. There are pockets of teachers that do this. But this doesn’t work for everyone and in my experience as a parent, I see and hear about kids who are not thriving in traditional classrooms. Certainly works for some, but not all, so let’s rethink it.
—Christina Abele, Cambridge

31. There’s so much anxiety, opaqueness, searching, follow-ups, making impossible decisions in the process of finding daycare for children. Why do parents get minimal notice (hours to days) on making day care acceptance decisions when providers can force families to commit thousands to secure spots and provide multiple months notice to leave? The equation doesn’t stack up fairly. How might we design transparent, fair, confidence-building methods to seek, select and find care for our children?
—Uvini Lokuge, San Francisco

32. Why does open enrollment have to be so confusing? I feel like I have to do advanced scenario analyses to compare healthcare plans and still honestly have no idea what my total health costs for the year will be. Can there be fewer options? Fewer acronyms? Some sort of feedback loop to tell you at the end of the year if you made the right enrollment decision?
—Jen Halls, Cambridge

33. I cannot praise our teachers and faculty enough for all they do—but the emails are hard to keep up with. The important information is often buried in the body of the emails, and because they’re often titled something like “week one” or “week two” they’re hard to search. Also—plot twist —some  information comes home on a print out and isn’t mirrored in emails, so don’t throw anything away! How can we help redesign school communication so that our beloved teachers can easily share a window into our children's lives that we can keep track of?
—Kristin Boer, Chicago

Need help redesigning a product, system, or experience of your own? Get in touch.

When you spend your life designing products, experiences, and systems, everything you interact with is an invitation to wonder, “what if…”

Many of our listeners wrote to us sharing their own questions about AI and how it can shape the future, and we wanted to answer them. Jenna Fizel and Savannah Kunovsky, Managing Directors of IDEO’s Emerging Technology Lab, sat down to provide answers.

How can we design for the futures we want to build?

Savannah Kunovsky: The most important thing is to take a step back outside of the hustle of how we are currently creating technology and think about what it is that you really are trying to accomplish. Then, it’s crucial to work alongside people who will be influenced or impacted by it, so that what you’re making is truly beneficial to those people.

Jenna Fizel: The current crop of AI tools are truly about being able to ask the right question in the right way, and you have to be very specific about your intention. I wonder if that new habit that we are all going to have to cultivate might change how we think about the future and how we define our present.

Do you think generative AI will enhance our collaboration, or replace it?

JF: A great question. There's a lot of inherent tension in collaboration, particularly in the way knowledge workers connect today, remotely and across time zones. We're already being pressured to work asynchronously, and that can be really challenging. Sometimes, understanding how to move forward without the input of my colleagues can feel scary or impossible. AI tools do provide the possibility of creative companionship. They offer a way to move forward not just more quickly, but more deeply, if they can take on the perspectives and skill sets of your colleagues. Now, of course, that can also go super wrong. The lack of reliability in a lot of these tools could be catastrophic. But I'm interested in finding ways for these tools to keep us connected even in logistically challenging circumstances.

SK: I hear a lot of people saying, “AI will never replace us,” or “AI is definitely going to replace this thing.” But there's actually just a lot of gray area, including partial automation or augmentation and just an evolution of the work that we are doing. All of that gray area is where I think the majority of our work is going to lie. It’s a much more nuanced conversation.

For the most part, the changes to how we work are not going to happen overnight just because a new tool comes out. Often, the change is actually a lot more gradual. In our practice, it's been incredibly important that we stay on top of new tools and understand how we might use them for our workflows and collaboration.

Can you speak about the relationship between AI usage and the perception of human expression as a key source of value creation?

SK: The ultimate question is, what will there be demand for? Will there be demand for quick-hit creative experiences – i.e. fast food creativity? Will there be demand for hand-crafted, human-made creativity? In my opinion, there always has been and always will be a need for both.

We might see that some lower-barrier forms of creativity become more accessible to more people, and advanced use of AI tools become more of a craft, pulling together multiple types of emerging technologies. So far, that’s the way I’ve seen a lot of artists use emerging technologies, by incorporating them as a new creative and provocative element to what they do.

JF: To me, creativity becomes how you can use and push the tools. The very obvious analogy is the adoption of the camera and photography, which set the groundwork for Impressionism and future versions of less or non-representative art.

But there’s also the creativity of the toolmaker. One of the things that really excites me about very large machine learning models is the design and the math behind how they work—a hugely creative endeavor.

So the idea that creativity is no longer valuable because AI can draw a picture or write a sonnet really sells short the concept of what creativity really is. Creativity is what enabled any of the tools that made those things to come into being to begin with. The idea that you would not value that kind of creativity, and therefore potentially miss out on new forms of technology, seems quite short-sighted. That would be like 25 years ago saying, “Our phones are great. We never need to invest in making new cell phones ever again.” And then none of us would have these small computers that we carry around in our pockets every day.

What can leaders or teams do now to steer their organization towards the AI tools and integration that make sense to them?

JF: One of the key steps is figuring out, what does actually make sense? And trying to do that in a way that isn't motivated by existing processes and power structures. And that's really challenging, right? Because these technologies are seen by a lot of people as a threat to the way that they currently do things—and potentially the way that they make money. And that is not to be dismissed.

So, the question is less about getting people to adopt new processes and tools than, how do we get people to actually see the potential upsides of new processes and tools? It's important to spend quite a bit of time on that question, involving as much of your organization from as many different levels of seniority and technical or non-technical expertise as you can.

SK: Some of our client work has focused on setting really good foundations for experimentation and adoption of new tools. When ChatGPT came out, we saw a lot of business leaders say that because there are big legal and ethical unknowns with it, nobody inside of the organization should use it until we figure out what it is.

We approached it differently, applying our human-centered design process to our own organization. We went to a bunch of different colleagues and asked them how they wanted these tools to fit into their work and what their ethical questions were. And then we created our guidelines. We actually have a full scorecard to help explain, legally, which tools you can use in which part of the design process, and with which types of data to keep everything secure.

We also created ethical frameworks, broadly educated the company on how to use them, and gave people the option to not use AI if they don’t feel ethically aligned. All of this is important, because whether or not you as a leader are proactively supporting the use of these tools, your employees are most definitely using them. And so it's better for you to support the evolution of your business than for you to say no, and then find out that it's happening anyway.

How do you keep up with emerging technology? What sources do you lean on, and how do you discover new trends?

JF: There are a few creators at the lay person level that I really love and that I think are full of value no matter your level of technical expertise: AI for Humans, which is a quite entertaining podcast, and The Neuron. If you want to look a little further into the research end of things, I really like this YouTube channel called Two Minute Papers. It’s focused more on visuals and simulation. There's also the AI hub, newsletter roundup of academic publications. I think it's also really important to keep an eye more broadly on what's happening in science and technology. One of my favorite accessible sources is Sean Carroll's podcast, Mindscape. He has scientists and researchers that span physics, biology, sociology, and philosophy. He features a real diversity of voices that bring up really interesting ideas that are currently in research and may impact our daily lives in the near future.

SK: The one thing that I would add is the thing I’ll get pushback for saying: I would also pay attention to sources that are not experts. These technologies have such potential to have large scale-impact. Lay people also have good, important, valid opinions about where technology might take us and how we've seen things like this play out in the past. So keep paying attention to the trusted sources, but also look around to discover the ways non-experts are using them.

Trying to figure out how to adopt AI tools to create the future of your organization? Get in touch. We’d love to help.

Late last year, IDEO U’s Creative Confidence podcast took a deep dive into the role of human-centered leadership in the age of AI.

But a purpose statement alone is not enough to guide your brand, organization, or team when you are making day-to-day decisions. You need a strategy to define your future and the path to get there.

Too often, we see organizations work tirelessly to fine-tune a single, perfect purpose statement, only to discover that when they roll it out, their teams don’t understand the choices necessary to fulfill the newly-minted purpose. Or, they jump straight from a lofty purpose into the nuts and bolts of annual planning and resource allocation without aligning on the key tenets that will direct their future.

Strategy is this essential middle step that gives purpose clarity, direction, and intention. If purpose is your grand, evergreen, motivating inspiration, your strategy is what helps you make daily decisions in service of that purpose. In other words, if purpose is your North Star, strategy is the trail up the mountain that gets you closer and closer to reaching it.

Whether you’re adjusting your strategy in response to a new purpose, or aligning a new strategy with your existing purpose, a design-led approach clarifies choices, increases stakeholder buy-in, and reveals opportunities. Here are three tips to help you get started:

Co-create to surface organizational wisdom 

When you’re engaging stakeholders across the organization to help bring your purpose to life in strategy, it’s critical to adopt a mindset of exploration and empathy. How are teams already living this purpose? What choices are colleagues already making that exemplify this purpose? How might this new purpose align with employees’ own goals and aspirations, and how could it help to fully unlock their collective potential? By engaging in collaborative interviews and co-design early and often, you’re tapping into existing internal wisdom and building connections that aid the adoption of the new strategy.

Recently, we collaborated with the leadership of an education organization to craft an innovation strategy. A new generation of senior leaders were excited about exploring opportunities for growth, while other leaders feared a new strategy would stray from their founder’s purpose. So, we took a three-pronged approach: First, we sat down with individual leaders to hear different perspectives, aspirations, and tensions. Then, we gathered the whole leadership group for a series of structured workshops. Each session started by reading the purpose statement, and using it as a guidepost for brainstorming and evaluating strategic directions. Finally, we enlisted small teams of executives to build, test, and iterate key elements of the strategy. By doing all three, we were able to help build equity that made it possible to implement the new strategy.

Evaluate the choices you made under your old strategy

Before you craft a new strategy, articulate the existing strategy using a framework like Roger Martin’s Playing To Win cascade. Looking at your organization’s past and present, think about when and where your organization has placed bets on a new market, audience, or offer. How have you historically created an advantage with your customers, and against your competitors? Then, with your new purpose in hand, re-examine these choices: What is aligned or misaligned? What is sustainable and what is vulnerable to growing competition?

We used this method when we were working with a specialty products conglomerate, helping them develop a purpose and strategy to embrace the needs of the climate era. This was a big undertaking that took several years of close collaboration across business units and executive leadership. To kick things off, and help everyone understand the status quo, we gave leaders 10 minutes, a blank Playing To Win cascade and a pen, and asked them to write down the major choices the company had made to get them to where they are today. Then we held a group discussion, assessing which parts of their current strategy and portfolio most aligned with their new climate-forward purpose—and which fell short. This exercise quickly exposed what needed to change and revealed new opportunities for the company to embrace its climate commitments, invest in its future growth, and live up to its purpose.

Visualize future possibilities to test your strategic choices 

IDEO COO Jennifer Riel often says, “The best way to face the future is to create it.” Start by trying to tease apart the ramifications of potential choices by creating stories of the future: quasi-fictional scenarios of short-term and long-term success where your organization is truly living its purpose. If you invest your time and effort in different places, what are potential growth trajectories your company might take? What are you seeing in the market or industry that you might need to adapt to overcome? What trends inside (or outside) your organization might continue to grow, and what transformational power might they have on your future?

When we were helping an international pharmaceutical company unify its many divisions under a single, focused purpose, we needed to illustrate the potential outcomes of different choices. So, our team crafted four different stories of the future, each focused on a different strategic bet. What if they decided to double-down on new drug discovery—what might the next five years look like? What if they chose to go all-in on a single area of historic expertise? By looking across the four different potential futures, their senior leadership was able to compare and contrast, discussing what felt most feasible, inspiring, and aligned to their purpose, leading to a single future they were excited to build together.

Purpose and strategy have to work hand-in-hand. One without the other could lead to stagnation or confused paralysis across the organization. Together, they offer inspiration, intention, and a clear path to tangible choices. 

Congratulations! You have a purpose statement—or something kinda-sorta-close, you think.

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.