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IDEO

IDEO is a global design and consulting firm headquartered in , founded in 1991 through the merger of David Kelley Design (established in 1978 by David Kelley), the San Francisco-based ID Two, Matrix Product Design, and London-based Moggridge Associates. The company pioneered the widespread adoption of , a human-centered that integrates for users, creative ideation, , and iterative testing to solve complex problems and drive innovation. With over 40 years of experience in —dating back to Kelley's early work—IDEO has partnered with organizations across public and private sectors, including companies, nonprofits, and governments, to develop transformative products, services, and strategies in fields such as , healthcare, , and . Notable contributions include designing the first commercial for Apple in the 1980s and shaping user experiences for devices like the Palm V . IDEO operates as an award-winning firm with a multidisciplinary of designers, engineers, researchers, and strategists, fostering collaborative environments to address " problems"—ambiguous challenges requiring innovative solutions. The company maintains a global presence with offices in the United States (including and ), , and other locations, emphasizing in its creative processes to build a more equitable future. Through initiatives like IDEO U (its learning platform) and IDEO.org (its nonprofit arm), it extends its impact beyond commercial consulting to and good projects worldwide.

History

Founding and Early Years

IDEO was founded in 1991 through the merger of three pioneering industrial design firms: David Kelley Design, established in 1978; ID Two, founded in 1979 by Bill Moggridge; and Matrix Product Design, started in 1983 by Mike Nuttall. This consolidation combined expertise in , , and mechanical innovation, creating a unified entity initially named IDEO Product Development. ID Two, in particular, gained recognition for designing the GRiD Compass in 1982, the world's first computer, which highlighted the firms' early focus on portable computing . David Kelley, a engineering professor, served as the central figure in the merger and became IDEO's longtime leader, steering the company toward human-centered approaches in from its inception. Kelley's David Kelley Design had already emphasized empathy-driven processes, drawing from his academic background to prioritize user needs over purely technical specifications. This philosophy, rooted in iterative prototyping and observation of , set the tone for IDEO's collaborative culture and distinguished it from traditional engineering-focused firms. In the and , IDEO's initial projects centered on consumer product designs for major clients, including the original Apple Mouse in 1980, developed by Kelley's firm to create a more affordable and reliable for the computer using a ribcage mechanism and rubberized ball. By the , the firm expanded to household innovations, such as collaborating with on the sweeper, launched in 1999, which revolutionized cleaning tools through user research revealing frustrations with traditional mops and brooms. These efforts established IDEO's reputation for transforming everyday hardware into intuitive, market-leading products. By the late , IDEO began transitioning from a primary focus on hardware product to broader innovation consulting, applying its methodologies to service experiences and strategic challenges amid the tech boom. This shift was driven by growing client demands for holistic solutions, extending beyond physical prototypes to encompass user interactions and business processes, laying the groundwork for IDEO's evolution into a full-spectrum design consultancy.

Expansion and Acquisitions

In 1996, Steelcase acquired a majority stake in IDEO, injecting significant capital that enabled the firm to scale operations while preserving its creative independence and operational autonomy. This investment, made in January of that year, positioned IDEO for accelerated growth, supporting expanded project capacities and talent acquisition without altering its core design-driven ethos. Building on the foundational 1991 merger of its predecessor firms, IDEO pursued international expansion to serve global clients, establishing key offices abroad. The London office, rooted in Bill Moggridge's earlier London-based practice and formalized post-merger, became a vital European hub for cross-cultural design work by the mid-1990s. Complementing this, IDEO co-founded its studio in 2011 under the leadership of partner Michael Peng, marking a strategic entry into the Asian market and fostering collaborations in technology and product innovation. By the 2010s, IDEO further bolstered its capabilities through targeted acquisitions, notably purchasing Chicago-based firm Datascope in October 2017. This move integrated 15 data scientists into IDEO's teams, enhancing its expertise in human-centered data analytics and enabling new offerings like Design for Augmented Intelligence to blend design with computational insights. Entering the 2000s, IDEO transitioned from primarily product-focused design to broader and digital innovation practices, applying these approaches to sectors such as healthcare and . Under CEO Tim Brown, appointed in 2001, the firm developed methodologies for service ecosystems and digital experiences, exemplified by projects reimagining patient journeys in healthcare and strategies in to prioritize user needs amid technological shifts.

Recent Developments

In response to the , IDEO developed and shared strategies for remote collaboration, including design rituals around video conferencing, brainstorming software, and task-management tools to maintain creative workflows when in-person interactions were limited. This adaptation emphasized asynchronous communication and virtual prototyping to sustain processes amid global disruptions. On April 30, 2025, IDEO announced the appointment of Michael Peng as , effective June 2, 2025, succeeding Derek Robson and marking a shift back to designer-led following earlier executive transitions. Peng, a former IDEO partner who co-founded its office and later led the venture studio Moon Creative Lab, brings expertise in building creative cultures and innovation ventures. Under his , IDEO aims to accelerate growth in addressing complex challenges through . IDEO has increasingly integrated into its design practices, launching tools and resources focused on to ensure humanistic and culturally considerate outcomes. For instance, the AI Ethics Cards provide collaborative activities for designers to evaluate biases, , and societal impacts in AI projects. In 2025, IDEO introduced courses like "Prototyping with AI" and the "AI x Workshop Series," which teach human-centered approaches to using AI for idea generation, research synthesis, and rapid prototyping while prioritizing trust and ethical considerations. These initiatives reflect IDEO's post-2020 emphasis on responsible AI amid rising adoption in industries. Addressing global challenges like , IDEO launched the "33 Things We'd Love to Redesign in 2025" initiative, ideas for improving everyday products and systems, from LED headlights to , to promote regenerative and . At CES 2025, IDEO observed the proliferation of in consumer products—such as smart home devices and automotive interfaces—and highlighted opportunities for prototyping that enhance user experiences while mitigating risks like over-reliance on . These efforts underscore IDEO's strategic pivot toward -driven innovation and sustainable solutions in the late and .

Design Philosophy

Design Thinking Methodology

Design thinking, as developed and popularized by IDEO, is a for empathetic, iterative problem-solving that addresses complex " problems"—ill-defined challenges resistant to straightforward solutions. The term was adopted by IDEO in the to encapsulate teachable elements of their human-centered approach, including , , and iteration, building on earlier design practices the firm had employed since 1978. This framing drew from scholar Richard Buchanan's 1992 articulation of design thinking as a means to tackle problems, originally conceptualized by Horst Rittel in the 1970s as ambiguous issues without clear resolutions. At its core, IDEO's design thinking process unfolds through seven key stages as of 2025: frame a question, to define the challenge creatively; gather , immersing in users' experiences for and ; synthesize for action, identifying insights and opportunities; generate ideas, brainstorming diverse solutions without judgment; make ideas tangible, creating prototypes for quick feedback; test to learn, refining based on real-world reactions evaluating desirability, feasibility, viability, and ; and share the story, communicating solutions compellingly. These stages are non-linear and emphasize —revisiting earlier phases as needed—to foster optimism and creative confidence in solving problems. This structure integrates seamlessly with principles by prioritizing user needs throughout. Key tools support these stages, such as brainstorming sessions, which follow rules like deferring judgment, encouraging wild ideas, and building on others' contributions to generate diverse solutions collaboratively. Empathy mapping, a four-quadrant tool organizing observations into what users say, do, think, and feel, helps teams derive actionable insights from fieldwork to ground the gather inspiration and synthesize stages. A notable case study illustrating the full process is "The Deep Dive," featured in a 1999 ABC Nightline episode, where IDEO redesigned a shopping cart in five days, demonstrating empathy research, rapid ideation, prototyping, and testing to address user pain points like maneuverability and child safety. Over time, IDEO's evolved from a focus on physical to broader applications in business strategy and organizational , disseminated through influential publications. Recent developments as of 2025 include integrating tools, such as AI-assisted inspiration gathering and prototyping, through initiatives like the AI x Certificate, adapting the methodology to . However, the approach has sparked debates on its ongoing relevance amid AI-driven complexity, with discussions questioning whether it has sufficiently evolved beyond a for systemic challenges. Tom Kelley's 2001 book The Art of Innovation details IDEO's methods, sharing case studies of immersing teams in user contexts to drive creative breakthroughs, thus expanding the methodology's reach beyond tangible products to strategic challenges. This evolution underscores IDEO's role in making a versatile framework for across industries.

Human-Centered Design Principles

Human-centered design at IDEO prioritizes the needs, behaviors, and contexts of users over technological constraints, viewing people as the starting point for innovation. This approach roots in the 1970s iterative design methodologies, notably influenced by Don Koberg and Twig Smith's The Universal Traveler (1971), which emphasized through and . Since IDEO's inception in 1978, these principles have formed the philosophical core of its practice, evolving into a global framework that integrates human insights to address complex challenges. Central to IDEO's are multidisciplinary teams comprising anthropologists, engineers, designers, and other experts, who collaborate to tackle " problems"—ambiguous, systemic issues requiring holistic perspectives. This balances four lenses: desirability (what users want and need), viability (what is sustainable for organizations), feasibility (what technology can enable), and (ethical and sustainable ), ensuring solutions are both innovative and practical. These concepts foster deep with users, generating ideas grounded in real behaviors rather than assumptions. Ethically, IDEO's principles stress inclusivity by building trust through and fair interactions, particularly with underserved communities, to create equitable outcomes. mitigation is embedded via guidelines drawn from professional codes, promoting honest representation of diverse voices and responsible handling of personal insights. is integrated through influences like transition design, as researched by Terry Irwin, which advocates for systemic shifts toward long-term, environmentally viable futures. These ethical commitments, guided by timeless values of , , and , distinguish IDEO's approach by ensuring designs serve societal good without exacerbating inequalities.

Organizational Culture

Core Values and Practices

IDEO's core values are codified in The Little Book of IDEO, a publication that distills the organization's cultural foundation into seven actionable principles: Be Optimistic, Be Collaborative, Take Ownership, Embrace Ambiguity, Talk Less, Do More, Learn from Failure, and Make Others Successful. These values emphasize radical collaboration by promoting shared ownership and mutual support among team members, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives converge to drive . In practice, IDEO maintains a flat with no formal , enabling fluid and reducing barriers to idea-sharing across all levels. This structure supports informed risk-taking through the value of embracing , where teams are encouraged to navigate uncertainty without rigid protocols. Daily rituals like "" sessions, often manifested in video prototypes and shared reflections on values, allow employees to present work-in-progress and gather immediate feedback, reinforcing the principle of "Talk Less, Do More" via . Team composition at IDEO intentionally mixes disciplines—such as anthropologists, food scientists, and writers—to spark breakthrough ideas through interdisciplinary dynamics. This diversity aligns briefly with the firm's principles by embedding empathy in collaborative processes. Continuous learning is embedded in the culture via the "Learn from Failure" value, exemplified by the mantra "fail faster to succeed sooner," attributed to founder David Kelley, which promotes iterative experimentation over perfectionism. To sustain creativity, IDEO cultivates , playful environments in its workspaces, incorporating elements like communal kitchens with home-like amenities, chocolate drawers for spontaneous joy, and flexible features such as swings for informal collaboration. These practices, alongside a focus on talent nurturing and growth, contribute to a supportive atmosphere that prioritizes inspiration and enabling individual potential within the team.

Leadership and Global Structure

IDEO's leadership has evolved from its founding by David Kelley in 1991, who served as CEO until 2001 before transitioning to a chairman role and eventually becoming Partner Emeritus. Tim Brown, a longtime partner, succeeded Kelley as CEO from 2001 to 2019, during which he popularized globally and guided the firm's expansion. Following Brown's departure, Sandy Speicher held the CEO position from 2019 to 2022, focusing on organizational transformation. Derek Robson then led as CEO from 2023 until 2025, bringing expertise in marketing and strategy. In June 2025, Mike Peng, an IDEO alumnus and former leader of its studio, was appointed CEO to drive growth amid evolving design challenges. The firm's organizational structure operates as a model, emphasizing over hierarchy, with approximately 600 employees distributed across multiple studios worldwide. This setup fosters decentralized , where teams have to innovate on projects, supported by a flat structure that balances creative freedom with strategic oversight from partners and executives. Around 12 studios enable focused, multidisciplinary work, drawing on diverse expertise in , , and to address client needs. IDEO maintains a global footprint with its headquarters in , and key offices in , , , and , among others, allowing it to serve international clients while adapting to regional contexts. These locations incorporate local cultural nuances into design practices—for instance, the studio emphasizes iterative prototyping aligned with precision, while the office integrates insights from rapid urbanization trends—ensuring human-centered solutions resonate across markets. This distributed presence supports , with teams leveraging global tools to share knowledge and maintain a unified yet adaptable approach. Governance at IDEO reflects an employee-centric model, particularly following Steelcase's of its majority stake starting in , which transitioned ownership toward employees and partners by , enhancing independence and alignment with creative goals. The firm prioritizes , , , and belonging (DEIB), tracking metrics such as in (e.g., 45% women in senior roles as of 2024) and retention rates across underrepresented groups to foster equitable environments. Annual DEIB reports guide ongoing initiatives, including targeted hiring and training, to build inclusive teams that mirror the diverse challenges they address.

Services and Initiatives

Consulting and Innovation Services

IDEO's consulting and services encompass a range of offerings focused on creating user-centered solutions for businesses, including product development, , experiences, and business strategy . In product development, the firm collaborates with clients to and refine physical and products through iterative testing and user feedback. projects emphasize redesigning customer interactions to improve efficiency and satisfaction, while experiences involve crafting intuitive interfaces and applications. Business strategy helps organizations identify growth opportunities by integrating principles into . The firm has maintained long-term partnerships with major corporations such as Apple and Bank of America, delivering impactful projects that demonstrate its expertise. For Apple, IDEO designed the first commercially viable computer mouse in the early 1980s, featuring a durable "ribcage" mechanism and rubberized ball that reduced costs by over 90% compared to prior versions and became the basis for the Macintosh's input device. With Bank of America, IDEO developed the "Keep the Change" savings program launched in 2005, which automatically rounds up debit card purchases and transfers the difference to a savings account, inspired by observed consumer behaviors around small-scale saving. A notable example of IDEO's innovation process in action is the 1999 shopping cart redesign, a demonstration project that addressed maneuverability, child safety, and maintenance through rapid ideation and prototyping, resulting in a modular, scanner-equipped concept. IDEO delivers its services through an end-to-end process that spans , ideation, prototyping, testing, and , ensuring solutions are both feasible and desirable. begins with in-depth observation and interviews to gather insights, followed by synthesis to identify patterns, to visualize ideas, and iterative feedback loops with users to refine outcomes before full rollout. Projects are typically structured on a basis, including fixed fees for defined scopes or retainers for ongoing engagements, allowing flexibility for both one-off initiatives and sustained collaborations. Over time, IDEO's has evolved from primarily time-and-materials billing in its early years to more value-based approaches in the , emphasizing outcomes and strategic impact over hourly rates to align with client success metrics. This shift supports deeper partnerships and positions the firm to capture value from transformative innovations rather than just effort expended.

OpenIDEO Platform

OpenIDEO is an online platform launched by IDEO in 2010 to enable global collaboration on social and environmental challenges through and methodologies. It operates as a space where diverse participants contribute to solving complex issues, drawing on IDEO's principles to foster inclusive idea generation. The platform's structure revolves around time-bound challenges, typically spanning three to five months, that guide users through phases of inspiration gathering, ideation, feedback, team formation, and prototyping. Participants submit user-generated ideas, form virtual teams, and receive facilitation from IDEO experts to refine concepts into actionable solutions. For instance, challenges are often framed as open questions like "How might we reimagine learning during school closures?" as seen in the 2020 Reimagine Learning Challenge, which focused on educational disruptions and encouraged contributions from teachers, students, and caregivers. This process integrates to ensure ideas are empathetic, iterative, and feasible. OpenIDEO has engaged hundreds of thousands of members across over 200 countries, generating nearly 19,000 ideas through dozens of completed challenges. By 2018, the had hosted at least 58 challenges, with many leading to real-world prototypes supported by and partnerships, such as the Amplify Challenges that awarded grants to initiatives like We Love Reading, a program reimagining libraries for children. These outcomes have distributed over $5 million in for scalable social innovations. Post-2020, OpenIDEO evolved to enhance remote participation amid global disruptions, incorporating advanced digital tools for virtual collaboration, as demonstrated in challenges like the Business Pivot Challenge, which mobilized over 50,000 users from 168 countries to prototype business adaptations. Today, while no active challenges are hosted on the dedicated site, the platform's initiatives have integrated more closely with IDEO's broader ecosystem for ongoing .

IDEO.org for Social Impact

IDEO.org was established in 2011 as the nonprofit arm of IDEO, operating as a separate 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to applying human-centered design principles to address social challenges including poverty, health, and education in developing regions. This initiative emerged from IDEO's prior pro bono work with nonprofits, aiming to scale design's potential for systemic change by partnering directly with organizations and communities in low-resource settings. From its inception, IDEO.org has emphasized co-creation with local stakeholders to ensure solutions are culturally appropriate and sustainable, focusing on sectors where design can drive equitable access to essential services. The organization has undertaken numerous projects that exemplify its approach to social impact. In , IDEO.org collaborated with and Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) to develop sanitation solutions in , including the Clean Team project, which introduced affordable, hygienic toilet services to urban slums, improving water and sanitation access for thousands. Similarly, in , IDEO.org supported initiatives by designing tools and strategies for training, such as programs enhancing pedagogical practices in rural areas through community-engaged design processes. A cornerstone resource is the Design Kit, originally launched in 2011 as the Human-Centered Design Toolkit, which provides methodologies for nonprofits to tackle complex through prototyping and . These efforts often integrate with broader platforms like OpenIDEO for crowdsourced ideation, but prioritize on-the-ground execution. Funding for IDEO.org primarily comes from philanthropic grants, including significant support from the for projects in areas like youth employment and food systems . With a dedicated of designers—approximately 50 staff members—the organization places a strong emphasis on measurement, tracking outcomes through pathways that assess long-term adoption and rather than short-term metrics alone. Achievements include solutions adopted by NGOs worldwide; for instance, interventions have reached over 68 million people across 45 countries, with designs like improved water services and educational tools integrated into local systems via models that empower communities. This focus has enabled sustained partnerships, fostering innovations that address root causes of inequality in vulnerable populations.

Education and Influence

Design Education Programs

IDEO's design education programs trace their origins to the firm's internal training initiatives in the , when the company began formalizing its practices into structured methods for fostering creativity and problem-solving among employees. These early efforts emphasized collaborative ideation and prototyping, evolving from IDEO's roots into a more codified approach to that would later academic settings. A pivotal development occurred in 2005, when IDEO founder David Kelley established the , commonly known as the d.school, at . Funded by a $35 million from SAP co-founder , the d.school was designed to democratize education, making it accessible to Stanford students from diverse disciplines beyond traditional design fields. Kelley's vision was to instill creative confidence in learners by applying IDEO's methodologies to real-world challenges, marking a shift from internal corporate training to formal university-based instruction. The d.school's curriculum centers on through hands-on workshops that guide students through cycles, exercises to build deep user understanding via observation and interviews, and interdisciplinary courses promoting cross-disciplinary teamwork. These components prioritize and user feedback, enabling students to tackle complex problems collaboratively while applying human-centered principles to generate innovative solutions. In 2015, IDEO launched IDEO U, an platform aimed at equipping individuals, teams, and organizations with skills and tools to foster and . Offering cohort-based courses taught by IDEO practitioners and experts from institutions like Stanford and , IDEO U has trained thousands globally, extending IDEO's educational reach beyond physical campuses to address real-world challenges in business, technology, and social sectors. IDEO's educational influence extends globally through partnerships that integrate into university curricula worldwide, including the HPI d-school at the in , , founded in 2007, and d.school Afrika at the , . These collaborations adapt the Stanford model to local contexts, training thousands of students and professionals in design methods to address regional challenges.

Industry Impact and Legacy

IDEO's popularization of has profoundly influenced industries beyond traditional , embedding human-centered approaches into corporate and strategies worldwide. Through CEO Tim Brown's seminal 2008 Harvard Business Review article and his 2009 book Change by Design, the framework gained traction as a method for fostering innovation by emphasizing empathy, ideation, and iteration. Brown's 2009 Talk, "Designers—think big!", further amplified its reach, advocating for design's role in addressing complex societal challenges and inspiring widespread adoption. Major corporations like integrated at scale starting in the , training thousands of employees and publishing internal guidelines to drive enterprise-wide innovation. Governments, including Singapore's Public Service Division, established dedicated design thinking units to redesign policies with user involvement, reflecting IDEO's influence on public innovation. Among IDEO's notable projects, the design of the first commercial Apple in the early stands as a landmark in innovation, making more accessible by prioritizing and reliability over prior bulky prototypes. In the 2010s, IDEO collaborated with on the "Keep the Change" program for Visa debit cards, which rounded up purchases to encourage savings and amassed over $2 billion in user deposits by automating micro-habits for . More recently in the 2020s, IDEO partnered with retailers like , , and on sustainability initiatives to reduce single-use waste, developing reusable alternatives and models that influenced policy and consumer behavior toward environmental responsibility. IDEO's legacy lies in catalyzing a from isolated to systemic, holistic approaches that address interconnected challenges like and . This evolution is evident in their expansion into organization and , where multidisciplinary teams tackle leverage points in complex ecosystems rather than standalone artifacts. The firm has earned repeated recognition, including placements on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies lists for pioneering human-centered across sectors. However, debates persist on thinking's in large organizations, with critics arguing it can become a superficial when decoupled from deep and rigorous implementation, leading to inconsistent outcomes. As of 2025, IDEO continues to evolve the framework to incorporate AI ethics, emphasizing responsible integration to mitigate biases and ensure equitable technological advancements amid growing systemic complexities.

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