NextD Journal RERETHINKING DESIGN
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Innovation by Design: Understanding IDEO Now!
Tim Brown CEO, IDEO Inc.
GK VanPatter Co-Founder, NextDesign Leadership Institute Co-Founder, Humantific Making Sense of Cross-Disciplinary Innovation
NextDesign Leadership Institute DEFUZZ THE FUTURE! www.nextd.org Follow NextD Journal on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nextd Copyright © 2004 NextDesign Leadership Institute. All Rights Reserved. NextD Journal may be quoted freely with proper reference credit. If you wish to repost, reproduce or retransmit any of this text for commercial use please send a copyright permission request to journal@nextd.org
NextD Journal I ReRethinking Design Conversation 11
Understanding IDEO Now!
1 GK VanPatter: Welcome, Tim. Our readers are well aware of IDEO as being among the most highly respected product design consultancies on the planet. What is it like to be CEO of such a great design company? Tim Brown: I said when I first took over this role in 2000 that I thought this was the best job in design and I still feel that way. The people here at IDEO are incredibly diverse and talented and it is a delight to be able to work with them. They are constantly challenging me to think about how we can extend and deepen what we do. You certainly don’t get to rest on your laurels around here.
2 GK VanPatter: As a business, IDEO has been successful navigating numerous bumps in the marketplace as the economy cycles through highs and lows. To what do you attribute that kind of longevity? Tim Brown: We have a belief that design thinking and our human-centered approach has meaning across a broad range of industries and problems. Over time we have been able to react to some of the changes going on in business, such as the shift to services or the growth in importance of innovation, and broaden our offering to meet those changes. I think that our ‘post-disciplinary’ approach to design means that we have many people here at IDEO who feel quite comfortable tackling problems in domains where we have little previous experience. Our recent work in designing at the level of space and environment is an example of this. The other factor in our resilience is the culture of IDEO. Most of our good new ideas bubble up from individuals and groups around IDEO. This organic approach has allowed us to continue to evolve successfully.
3 GK VanPatter: I would like to ask you about your perspective on the change underway in the marketplace. You have been in this business a long time. How are the challenges facing your clients today different then they were ten years ago? Are the challenges that IDEO is asked to engage in different today? How does IDEO adapt itself to such change? Tim Brown: The majority of companies today realize that the world is changing faster than they can change, and therefore existing assumptions about markets, business models, and products and services will not necessarily hold true. The consequence of this is that the kind of questions asked by companies as they embark on design and innovation projects is different. It is more common for us to be asked ‘what should the product or service be?’ or ‘what are the needs of this market?’ than simply ‘what should this product look like?’ or ‘how should this product behave?’ This shift, which has been going on for quite some time, has encouraged us to become even broader in the types of people we bring in to IDEO to participate in the design process. While we have always taken a quite eclectic view of who is a designer, we now include many more people with human science backgrounds, business and management consulting experience, brand and communications design, architecture Page 2 of 8
NextD Journal I ReRethinking Design Conversation 11
Understanding IDEO Now!
and various technology and industry specializations. This breadth, combined with the technical depth of product design, interaction design and engineering, I think has enabled us to tackle these ‘new to the world’ problems with some confidence. Equally we have had to evolve our design process to allow us to explore far less clearly defined problems and yet still have a tangible outcome. We have found that with these more abstract projects you have to use the design process as a navigational tool rather than rely on the description of the problem to inform you. This can take some getting used to.
4 GK VanPatter: I noted that the official name of your company remains IDEO Product Development Inc., reflecting your history I presume. What you describe above, however, seems to incorporate product design, but also reaches into other domains. How do you describe that space where you engage less clearly defined problems? Do you see it as a more strategic space? Tim Brown: As it happens, we have recently dropped 'Product Development' from our official name. Not because we don't still believe in product design, but, as you say, because IDEO encompasses a much broader range of work today than when we founded the company. I think it is accurate to say that these less clearly defined problems are more strategic in nature, but it is important to realize that we remain focused on creating tangible artifacts that ultimately provide value in the world, be they products, environments, services or experiences. We are not so interested in concluding our contribution only with a report. Of course, it is often necessary to create some kind of communication to our clients at the end of the early phase of a project in order to describe the direction and journey we think they should take. We just believe that ultimately we are providing the best value when we shepherd real things into the world.
5 GK VanPatter: Yes, I am familiar with that approach. I gather you say this to distinguish IDEO from the many strategic consultants who don’t actually produce anything other than advice and reports. Fundamentally, this is the difference between what a strategic design company can do for organizations and what the traditional management consultant types can do. I wonder, however, if your strategy is grounded in simple practicality, perhaps linked to your engineering history. Or are you insistent that an object of some kind is always an outcome of IDEO work? Some of our readers might question if, for instance, the world really needs more objects. They might question if creating the next generation of electric toothbrushes is really where design should be focused. What if one of your clients wanted IDEO to dream up a new service offering or help solve a complex world problem in a way that involved no object design or creation. Is that a “no go” at IDEO?
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NextD Journal I ReRethinking Design Conversation 11
Understanding IDEO Now!
Tim Brown: Quite the contrary. What I was specifically trying to say was that we believe in a tangible outcome for design, but that the outcome can encompass anything from products to services to spaces to integrated experiences. My point was that design has the unique ability to create real value when it produces things (physical or not) that people need and are willing to pay for in some way. One of our most recent projects was to redesign AT&T’s M-mode wireless data service. There was nothing physical involved, but the outcome was very tangible.
6 GK VanPatter: Ah, that’s very interesting. In our own practice we see many client organizations interested in figuring out how to mobilize/maximize so-called intangible assets, directing them towards tangible outcomes. This seems to be tied to the evolution of the economy from one that was once more product driven based on tangible assets to one that is far more knowledge and service driven based on intangible assets. Most of what we do in our practice happens in that space. As you probably know, we at NextD Journal are always interested in the story behind the story. If product design represents your roots and perhaps the traditional story of IDEO, can you as CEO give us a glimpse of where the story is going? Where does IDEO see the challenges and opportunities for the application of design with a capital D today and tomorrow? Tim Brown: As you say, value in business is migrating from the world of products to one of services and experiences. We believe that many of the same methodologies and insights we developed, as product designers are highly applicable to these new kinds of problems. Essentially, we see design thinking as a tool for working on a vast array of problems, but to do so we have to continue to broaden our outlook as designers. We have to be prepared to participate in the creation of the briefs that we work on and not wait for the client to do that for us. We have to be able to take very abstract problems and use our design skills to make them more tangible for us and for the client. We need to continue to broaden the base of experience we have as designers. We also need to become more confident in describing the business outcome of what we do, as well as the human experience. I think that if we designers can do these kinds of things, then we can expect to participate in many more strategic initiatives within the companies we work for.
7 GK VanPatter: I’d like to pick up on your point regarding the need for designers to broaden their outlook, to be prepared to take very abstract problems and use design skills to make them more tangible. Do you find that this type and level of skills are presently being taught in our design education institutions today? Are you seeing graduates walk in your front door as masters of such skills? Tim Brown: I wish that were the case. I think that the breadth of practical skills that institutions perceive their students need means that often not enough attention is given to the core thinking skills of empathy, analysis and synthesis around more complex Page 4 of 8
NextD Journal I ReRethinking Design Conversation 11
Understanding IDEO Now!
problems. We have to work hard both to find people with the beginnings of these skills and then train them to bring them to a level where they can make significant project contributions. We are having more success with designers who have a more eclectic background and perhaps already had a career in another field before they enter design.
8 GK VanPatter: You probably know that we have many graduate design educators around the world among our readers. Consider yourself speaking to the leaders of 25 graduate schools of design. From your perspective, how does graduate design education need to change to better reflect the new realties that IDEO sees unfolding in the marketplace? Tim Brown: It needs to continue to broaden the range of disciplines that it draws from. I think a lot can be gained by bringing graduate designers of all types together with architects, engineers and people from business backgrounds. Clearly there is a skills challenge to be overcome, but the payoff is significant. I also believe these programs need to be especially focused on skills and methods for synthesizing solutions from complex sets of issues and insights. I find that the majority of post-graduate designers still struggle with synthesis in projects that are abstract or strategic.
9 GK VanPatter: For a moment I would like to bring us back to something that you said earlier in this conversation. You expressed the belief that “design thinking and IDEO’s human-centered approach has meaning across a broad range of industries and problems.” Does this mean that the “design thinking” that you were referring to is not exactly the “design thinking” presently being taught in design schools? Can you help educators understand what the difference is? I am sure they would love to hear your thoughts on this. Tim Brown: Essentially it is the same thing, but with a couple of caveats. First, I think the majority of design graduates still use their design thinking skills intuitively rather than consciously and explicitly. Second, I don’t think we give students the confidence to use these skills – user understanding, conceptualization, synthesis and prototyping – on nonobvious problems such as services, organizations, strategies and systems.
10 GK VanPatter: How does IDEO mitigate the void between where graduate education leaves off and the skills that you need? Do you have a formal skill-building program, or do employees close the gap by learning in the context of project work? I understand that there is an IDEO University, but I believe it is intended for your clients. Is that correct? Tim Brown: We look to bring in designers who exhibit the ability to think as a designer and at least the potential to have empathy for users and collaborators. The experience gap is then largely bridged through project experiences. We try, however, to extend people’s methodology toolkit through training, including holding internal IDEO U. courses.
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NextD Journal I ReRethinking Design Conversation 11
Understanding IDEO Now!
As with all consulting organizations, I think we could be a lot better at training, although we firmly believe in the concept of the knowing/doing gap.
11 GK VanPatter: I noticed that you have referenced complex problems in the context of design several times in this conversation. Is design thought of as fundamentally a problem solving process at IDEO? Tim Brown: Without getting too tied up in semantics, I would say yes, essentially we see design as a problem solving process. We would add, however, that discovering the right problem is a relevant component. Asking the right questions and developing the right user, business and technology insights so as to reveal the right problem can, in our opinion, create as much value as the final design concept or execution. Many of the engagements we have with our clients consist of us working to identify and define the richest problem space and then develop the most innovative and appropriate solutions that we can. This shift ‘upstream’ necessitates a deeply collaborative process with our clients because ownership of the problem is even more important than ownership of the solution.
12 GK VanPatter: Thanks for not taking the semantics route. I think we just saved ourselves a lot of time there! We seem to be in sync across numerous issues, Tim. I wish we had more time to talk. As we begin landing this plane, I would like to try to connect quickly across the past and the probable futures for IDEO. I could not possibly have a proper conversation with you without touching upon the nowfamous IDEO Nightline video. I want to acknowledge the importance of the video’s appearance five or six years ago as a key moment in the history of multi-disciplinary design. IDEO deserves a lot of credit for connecting innovation interaction dynamics awareness to design in the eyes of corporate clients. In our UnderstandingLab practice we find that most of the clients we engage with today on innovation dynamics-related work have seen that video. It seems to have reached a deep level of penetration in the business community. From a process mastery perspective, what goes on in that video is pretty tame stuff, centered on a challenge that is clearly framed at the outset. Very different than the more fuzzy strategic terrain that we were discussing earlier. With that in mind then, from your perspective, why did that video prove to be so influential in the business community? Were you surprised by the reaction to it when it first appeared? Tim Brown: You are right to characterize the Nightline video as fairly simplistic from a process point of view, but it was accessible to the business community in a way which was new. I think for the first time people could see that culture is as important as process in innovation, and that teams that work well together can achieve a lot in a short time.
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NextD Journal I ReRethinking Design Conversation 11
Understanding IDEO Now!
It also focused on the value of observing people and their lives as inspiration for innovation. This again was something new to the business community even if we had been practicing it as designers for many years. As for the reaction, I would say that the initial reception was not a great surprise. I think about ten million people saw the program on ABC. What has been gratifying is that, as you say, nearly every business school, design school and corporate innovation group uses the video to illustrate innovation culture. That has obviously been fantastic for IDEO, especially when it comes to attracting new kinds of talent into the company. Ultimately, I think the shopping cart video has helped debunk the perception that innovation is some kind of black magic. Instead, it has promoted the idea that talented people supported by good culture and good process can be very creative.
13 GK VanPatter: Last but not least, I want to ask you about possible futures for IDEO. In the May, 2004 issue of Business Week, Bruce Nussbaum wrote an article entitled “The Power of Design” in which IDEO was depicted in a very flattering light. As I read through the piece, I was somewhat surprised that Bruce seemed to be depicting experience design as the future of IDEO. Quote: “IDEO is transferring its ability to create consumer products into designing consumer experiences in services, from shopping and banking to health care and wireless communication.” Unquote. I was surprised by that because the experience design field has been around for 20+ years and is known to be heavily populated. It seemed like moving into experience design would be rather small, late-to-the-oven potatoes for IDEO. I wondered about the story behind the story there. Was Bruce simply writing to a business audience or did he miss something? On another front, I noted that IDEO recently published Extra Spatial, a new book that asks the question: What is the relationship between technology, people and threedimensional space? I was surprised to see connections to innovation left out of that equation. I wondered about the story behind the story there, too. I am guessing that at this point IDEO is looking for bigger fish to fry such as, for instance, figuring out how to become a player in the organizational transformation consulting business. Without giving away any of your vision/strategy secrets, can you give us a glimpse of where we might see IDEO moving in the years to come. What kind of work do you see IDEO engaged in five years from now? What surprises might we see there? Tim Brown: I think it is fairly clear from Bruce’s article that he is speaking to the business community. (It is Business Week after all). Somewhat like the Nightline video, he is reminding the audience that people don’t come in neat boxes, and that more and more they are looking for integrated experiences. That is not a well-understood concept in many corporations, not least because the business models for these experiences are difficult to figure out. Extra Spatial is very specifically targeted at the architectural community. It illustrates Page 7 of 8
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Understanding IDEO Now!
the breadth of ways in which space can be considered as a medium for experience. Innovation as a specific topic was not the focus for this publication. Instead we hope that innovation is implied through the process and projects illustrated in the book. I think you will see a wide range of points of view emerging from IDEO in the future in the form of books, articles and presentations. I think the best way to characterize IDEO’s evolution as we look forward is a shift from design to design thinking. In other words, we see a world full of very interesting problems, and we see design thinking as a viable alternative to traditional ways of tackling these challenges. Culture and organizational change is one specific area where we are already involved in taking forms of design thinking – user focus, synthesis, conceptualization, prototyping – and working with organizations to enable them to innovate consistently. We have had some good success in the healthcare industry with clients such as Kaiser Permanente and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. At the highest level, I would say that IDEO wants to be able to work with our clients when they don’t yet know the appropriate design expressions (culture, process, product, service, space, integrated experience) for the opportunity at hand. We want to be generalist enough to tackle these strategic problems, as well as deep enough to pilot good ideas into the real world. In other words, we want to be a T-shaped company.
NextD Journal RERETHINKING DESIGN
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