IDEO

📣 NEW from IDEO U! Creative Storytelling with AI is built on IDEO's storytelling craft and hands-on AI practice. It's designed for people who believe storytelling is a deeply human skill and not something AI can or should replace. People who want to use AI to create stories that matter, stories that move people, and stories we will remember. You'll learn to direct AI to sharpen your story, build a world around your idea that brings it to life, and translate information into something your audience can feel. Learn more and enroll today at: https://lnkd.in/eQu6z6jR

“The job of inventors is to create new realms of possibility. We can love them for that. But we can’t leave progress in the hands of the technically savvy alone. Technical capability is not wisdom, engineering is not understanding, feasibility doesn’t guarantee desirability—and possibility alone is not progress. Most importantly, thoughtful constraints are not antiprogress; they are provalue.” Scott Doorley, Creative Director at the Stanford d.school, explores AI's constraint problem in Fast Company, reminding us that progress isn't measured by the pace of productivity. https://lnkd.in/enUiC4nz

Applications are now open for Color by Design 2026 🎉 This human-centered, equity-first design experience is for emerging designers ready to grow through practice in: - Research, ideation, and concept development - Turning complex concepts into clear user experiences - Prototyping and testing design directions - Collaboration across multidisciplinary project teams CxD is not about arriving with every skill already mastered. It is about bringing curiosity, perspective, and a willingness to hone in on your creative confidence. 📩 Apply by July 31 → https://lnkd.in/gh-qepTS #InteractionDesign #CareerSwitch #DesignCommunity #IDEO #InnovativeDesign #CreativeLeadership #DesignLeadership #CreativeConfidence #CxD #HumanCenteredDesign #RepresentationMatters #EmergingDesigners

"Our individual experiences, values, core strengths, skills, and knowledge still define what makes us unique, even when we have the same tools at our disposal." IDEO’s Ed White sat down with Khyati Trehan, Design Lead at Google Creative Lab, for a conversation on how she uses play and experimentation to supercharge ideas with AI, catalyzing delightful and improbable explorations. Read the full story → https://lnkd.in/eWKZ3qZs

Sydney Wiseman spent over a decade creating toys, including Fingerlings — one of the best-selling toys of the decade. Her sister Dr. Kaitlin Wiseman started attaching a Fingerling to her stethoscope to calm scared children during exams. When Sydney heard that story, she saw the gap: play had been incorporated into every part of childhood except healthcare. The two sisters co-founded Playhouse MD with serial entrepreneur Michael Kamins and spent two years developing the brand alongside IDEO — narrowing 150 ideas into doctor-designed medical devices with kid-friendly characters that met FDA requirements. A rocket ship medicine dispenser, a narwhal nasal bulb, an elephant aspirator. The key insight: most pediatric products are designed for parents to use on kids. Playhouse MD flipped it — building products designed for kids, used by parents, so care happens with children instead of to them. The brand launched in June 2025 and hit seven figures in revenue within its first six months, expanding into Target, Amazon, Babylist and TikTok Shop and selling out multiple times. It has raised $5 million in seed funding backed by Greycroft and former Hasbro chairman Alan Hassenfeld. Her advice: stop worrying whether an idea sounds unconventional. Ask why no one has challenged it yet — then build the answer.

For many of us, becoming a caregiver happens overnight. Informal caregivers have to learn as they go, performing medical tasks and navigating complex systems without the preparation or recognition this role deserves. Drawing on their first-hand experiences, IDEO’s Sierra Hillman and John Won share five principles to design better support for the people behind the patients. Read more → https://lnkd.in/gqqRKzH8 

Declaring your organization customer-centric is just the first step. Our IDEO IQ report found that 58% of leaders report strong performance in Resonance, which is the ability to deeply understand and deliver on customer needs. While it is a strategic foundation, it has quickly become table stakes rather than a source of differentiation. True customer focus must move beyond mere marketing slogans and drive daily decision-making at all levels. Teams must have the agency to think big (Perspective) and act fast (Experimentation). Read the full report to discover how these behaviors unlock real business performance.  https://www.ideo.com/iq

One of IDEO’s most memorable prototypes features a cardboard cutout of an iPhone and one of our designers pretending to be a dancing furry monster. Design professors still use it to teach the core principles of prototyping: rough, rapid, and right. Today, AI can generate a polished concept instantly, but this automatic perfection often prevents us from asking the most important questions—and discourages users from providing honest feedback. IDEO’s Michelle Lee and Danny DeRuntz share how to leverage the latest technologies without losing the playful human magic that drives real innovation. Learn about the 3 Rs of prototyping: https://lnkd.in/e3KcRci7

Only 21% of business leaders strongly agree that they test early versions of products or services with real users. We surveyed leaders from 100 global companies and found that Experimentation—the practice of testing and bringing solutions to market quickly—is the cultural behavior that organizations struggle with most. Organizations often assume that an idea must be perfect right out of the gate. But early prototypes help build traction and ensure real value. It is far better to iterate early than to launch the wrong product and pay for the mistake for years to come. Explore how Experimentation and the full POWER framework drive business performance. Read the IDEO IQ report: ideo.com/iq

Success often creates its own echo chamber. When established brands hit a category ceiling—especially in a market as intense and fast-paced as China—the default reflex can be to simply add more of what consumers love. In our latest story, IDEO Shanghai’s Chuli Duan explores how a human-centered approach helped a leading fast-moving consumer goods company break through by challenging its own research assumptions, unlocking entirely new growth. Explore the story → https://lnkd.in/eXT5dps7