WORK
IS CHANGING
AND SO ARE WE
AND SO
ARE WE

Forty years ago, IDEO made things. Things you could hold in your hand. Like the Apple mouse. Or that shopping cart you saw on TV.

We used phrases like “design thinking” and “human-centered design” to describe our process: integrating the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the demands of business to come up with breakthrough ideas. We helped organizations transform as they developed the capability to see the future, make it tangible, and confidently step into new ways of being.

Today, we design so much more: products, services, systems, experiences, and ventures across virtually every domain and industry. As we expand what we do, we’ve found that the way we work must break open and expand, too.

At the center of our evolving practice and language is owning our impacts on cultural, environmental, ethical, and social systems. We need to respond to the unintended consequences of innovation, seeking new information and standing at the ready to adapt and redesign. More than minimizing harm, we need to improve what's broken. We need to include more people in our process—from experts to end-users to entire communities affected by our work.

We need to design more responsibly.  And so we are.

Our evolution is most visible in our current work. This work is proving beyond a doubt that acting responsibly doesn’t hinder growth. It accelerates it.

People with signs at a climate change protest

Shock to
the System

Alongside this evolution in the way we work, we’ve found that the challenges clients and communities are bringing us are more complex, more immediate, more wide-reaching. Nearly every system we encounter demands attention and action.

Including ours.

Consider the past three years: a global racial reckoning, intensifying climate catastrophes, a closer look at every aspect of our business, a global pandemic that shifted everything. It was time for us to change how we design. And that's what we're doing.

IDEO is on a journey of accountability and transformation—not least so we can better help our clients walk theirs.

DESIGN
IS CHANGE
IS DESIGN

We recognize that such vows of virtue can sound like a marketing department slapping on a fresh coat of corporate varnish. But we take these first principles to heart.

Changing how we work is a commitment to our partners that we are actively learning what it takes to become more regenerative, inclusive, and systems-minded. Here's how:

Climate-Era design

It's time to create things that give back more than they take away. Regenerative design aspires to put all life at the center of every decision and action. It works to find solutions and restore the health of individuals, communities, and the planet—all in the interest of more sustainable impact and growth.

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inclusion & Equity

Inclusive design centers the expertise and lived experiences of those with underrepresented and marginalized identities. We design with, not for, communities and organizations, because they understand better than anyone the societal, economic, and environmental implications of our work, and they’re still impacted long after IDEO’s involvement. That is why we approach design with humility, bringing in those with expertise to guide our work.

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Transforming Systems

Organization design and systems design are powered by partnership. We work with visionary leaders who believe that businesses, governments, and the communities they serve can be levers of change in the world. Whether it’s to replace disposable cups and plastic bags, or design a regenerative food system, we feel responsible for putting collaboration above competition. Bringing those parties together as a consortium can result in more impactful systemic change than any one group could accomplish on its own.

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To us, this is the future of design.

And we believe that every business, every organization, every person, has a role to play in addressing this urgent, important work. We’re excited to design a future where we all want to live, and to step into it together.

In fact, we can’t wait.

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

A FUTURE DESIGNED BY AND FOR ALL OF US

From

Sustainabilty as an afterthought

TO

Regenerative as a
default

From

Design for

To

design with

From

Individual
solutions

To

Organization
transformation &
Systems thinking

LET’S TRANSFORM THE FUTURE LET’S INNOVATE THE FUTURE LET’S BUILD THE FUTURE LET’S DESIGN THE FUTURE

LET’S TRANSFORM THE FUTURE LET’S INNOVATE THE FUTURE LET’S BUILD THE FUTURE LET’S DESIGN THE FUTURE

LET’S TRANSFORM THE FUTURE LET’S INNOVATE THE FUTURE LET’S BUILD THE FUTURE LET’S DESIGN THE FUTURE

Whatever challenge your organization might face, you don’t have to solve it alone. Let’s talk about the future you’re here to make—and then let’s make it.