Huldunótur / Invisible NotesIntroductionCase Studies Selections
Innovation, Strategy, Design2026-v1RKV / BOS


05


IDEO


  • As IDEO made design thinking increasingly popular in the United States it attracted the interest of MBA programs and the public sector. While their adoption of the practice was welcomed, this new audience introduced a conservative mindset to the approach, often reducing it to formula. Concerned that the methodology was being elevated above the creativity of the work, I led a global brand redesign to emphasize the experimental nature of our organization and amplify it through our branding.

  • This redesign also established IDEO as a platform brand. By freeing the logo from a grid, it easily paired with sublogos and partners creating a flexible archtiecture nicknamed the “little black dress” because of it’s ease of dressing up or dressing down. Secondary design language emphasized the iterative and in-process nature of design.

  • To ensure the brand was not merely expressed but truly lived, I introduced new tools and systems that linked creativity to performance across the company. These included company-wide make-athons to co-design the identity; the State of the Art sentiment dashboard to help executives assess creative momentum; and discussion cards for project teams to reflect on the strategic ambition of their work. I also led the redesign of the Cambridge studio interiors—featured in Metropolis magazine—to embody our culture of experimentation and inclusivity. This combination of brand, environment, and measurement reinforced that IDEO’s value was not design thinking as a formula, but design as a creative force.

  • In 2019, with the new identity defined, I produced a short film to in collaboration with directors at Dress Code to firmly establish IDEO’s place in the 21st century design canon and demystify the evolution of design thinking. Featuring over 30 cases studies in 13 minutes, it is an oral history of 40 years of innovation. The film’s raw visual language and sets emphasized the iterative nature and curoisity that drove our work. 

File Under: BRAND STRATEGY, BRAND IDENTITY, BRAND ARCHITECTURE, CREATIVE DIRECTION, IDEO