IDEO

IDEO is a design and consulting firm whose work combines industrial design, design research, engineering, digital design, branding, service design, organizational design, and business strategy. The firm is particularly associated with human-centered design and with popularizing design thinking as a practical approach to innovation. Rather than treating design as only the styling of physical products, IDEO applies multidisciplinary teams and iterative research to products, services, environments, brands, digital experiences, and organizational challenges. The company was formed in 1991 through the combination of several influential design practices. These included David Kelley Design, founded by Stanford professor David Kelley; Moggridge Associates, established by British designer Bill Moggridge; San Francisco-based ID Two, also founded by Moggridge; and Matrix Product Design, founded by Mike Nuttall. The predecessor firms had already worked on notable technology and consumer-product projects. David Kelley’s earlier partnership with Dean Hovey, Hovey-Kelley Design, contributed to the design of mice for the Apple Lisa and the original Apple Macintosh. IDEO first became widely recognized for consumer-product development, including work in computing, office equipment, personal digital assistants, medical devices, furniture, and household products. Its public profile expanded substantially after a 1999 Nightline television segment, “The Deep Dive,” showed an IDEO team redesigning a shopping cart in five days. The segment presented the firm’s research, brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and iteration methods to a broad audience and helped make the IDEO approach a frequently cited example in design and innovation education. During the 2000s, IDEO broadened its scope from physical products to customer experiences, services, business design, and organizational change. By the early 2000s, management consulting and organizational design had become important parts of its offering. Its project portfolio has covered consumer food and beverage, retail, computing, healthcare, education, furniture, office products, and automotive industries. Examples associated with the firm include Apple’s first mouse, the Palm V personal digital assistant, and Steelcase’s Leap chair. IDEO has also developed public and educational initiatives. OpenIDEO, introduced in 2010, turned elements of the firm’s collaborative design process into a public platform for addressing social and humanitarian challenges. IDEO.org, incubated in 2011, became an independent nonprofit focused on people in poor and vulnerable communities. IDEO U, launched in 2015, offers online education in human-centered design and design thinking. Books associated with IDEO and its leaders, including Creative Confidence and Change by Design, further extended the firm’s influence beyond commercial consulting. Ownership has changed over time. Steelcase acquired a majority stake in 1996 while IDEO continued operating independently; Steelcase began divesting through a management buy-back process in 2007. In 2016, Kyu Collective acquired a minority stake, and Steelcase ceased to hold an ownership interest. IDEO subsequently worked more closely with other Kyu member companies. In 2017, IDEO acquired Chicago data-science firm Datascope, adding data science and machine-learning capabilities to its consulting platform. IDEO’s culture is commonly described as project-based, collaborative, relatively flat, and supportive of individual autonomy. Its multidisciplinary staff has included specialists in behavioral science, business design, communication design, design research, digital design, education, engineering, food science, healthcare services, industrial design, interaction design, organizational design, and software engineering. Leadership has passed from longtime chair and chief executive Tim Brown to Sandy Speicher in 2019, Derek Robson in 2023, and Mike Peng, who was announced as CEO effect…

IDEO emerged from the convergence of several design practices that had developed independently in California and the United Kingdom. David Kelley founded David Kelley Design in Palo Alto in 1978 after earlier work with Dean Hovey under the Hovey-Kelley Design name. That predecessor partnership worked on important early personal-computing projects, including mice for the Apple Lisa and the original Macintosh. Bill Moggridge founded Moggridge Associates in London in 1969 and later established ID Two in San Francisco in 1979. Mike Nuttall founded Matrix Product Design in 1983. These firms merged in 1991 to create IDEO. The new company initially built its reputation through physical product development, applying industrial design, engineering, research, and prototyping to consumer goods, computers, office equipment, medical products, and other categories. Its work on Apple’s first mouse became one of the best-known examples of the company’s early capabilities. Other frequently associated projects include the Palm V personal digital assistant and Steelcase’s Leap chair. IDEO’s methods became widely known beyond the design industry after an ABC Nightline segment broadcast in 1999. The program challenged the company to redesign a shopping cart in five days. IDEO’s team produced a modular concept with removable baskets, child seating, theft-reduction features, improved maneuverability, and other proposed retail functions. The broadcast presented design as a visible, collaborative process involving observation, brainstorming, rapid prototyping, and user-oriented testing. It later became a teaching example in schools and university programs. Around the beginning of the 2000s, IDEO expanded from products into experiences and services. Management consulting, business design, and organizational design became increasingly important alongside industrial design. The firm began helping clients address customer journeys, internal structures, new business models, digital interactions, and broader innovation strategies. Its project work spread across food and beverage, retail, computing, healthcare, education, furniture, office products, automotive, and other sectors. Ownership also evolved. Steelcase took a majority stake in IDEO in 1996, while the consultancy continued to operate independently. Beginning in 2007, Steelcase divested its shares through a five-year management buy-back program. In 2016, Kyu Collective acquired a minority stake. Kyu is a strategic operating unit of Hakuhodo DY Holdings, and the relationship gave IDEO opportunities to collaborate with other businesses in the collective. Steelcase ultimately ceased to be an owner. IDEO extended its influence through social innovation and education. In 2010 it introduced OpenIDEO, a collaborative online platform that opened parts of the design process to a wider community. The platform supported challenges involving social problems and was used in connection with initiatives associated with organizations such as WWF and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. A later OpenIDEO challenge concerning end-of-life experiences contributed to initiatives including End Well and Reimagine. In 2011, IDEO incubated IDEO.org, a nonprofit focused on human-centered work with poor and vulnerable communities. IDEO U, launched in 2015, made design-thinking education available online. In 2017, IDEO acquired Datascope, a Chicago data-science firm that had previously collaborated with IDEO on projects. The acquisition reflected the growing importance of data science and machine learning in design and consulting engagements. IDEO’s multidisciplinary model subsequently encompassed fields ranging from behavioral science and food science to electrical engineering, healthcare services, software engineering, and organizational design. Leadership changed in the late 2010s and 2020s. Sandy Speicher succeeded Tim Brown as CEO in 2019. Derek Robson was announced as her successor, taking office in January 2023. Mike Peng was announced as CEO effective June 2025. IDEO remains an active international consultancy with offices in the United States, England, and China, and continues to position human-centered design as a tool for developing products, services, brands, experiences, and organizations.

1. 2017Datascope acquired

   IDEO acquired Chicago data-science firm Datascope to strengthen data and machine-learning capabilities.

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2. 2016Kyu acquires a minority stake

   Kyu Collective acquired a minority interest in IDEO, replacing Steelcase as the firm's strategic ownership partner.

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3. 2015IDEO U launched

   IDEO launched an online program focused on human-centered design and design thinking.

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4. 2011IDEO.org incubated

   IDEO incubated a nonprofit initiative centered on design work with poor and vulnerable communities.

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5. 2010OpenIDEO introduced

   IDEO launched a public collaborative platform for social-impact design challenges.

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6. 2007Steelcase begins divestment

   Steelcase began a management buy-back process to divest its IDEO shares.

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7. 1999The Deep Dive broadcast

   ABC Nightline showcased IDEO's five-day shopping-cart redesign and its innovation process.

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8. 1996Steelcase takes a majority stake

   Office-furniture manufacturer Steelcase acquired majority ownership while IDEO continued operating independently.

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9. 1991IDEO formed

   Several established design practices merged to form IDEO in Palo Alto.

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10. 1983Matrix Product Design founded

    Mike Nuttall founded Matrix Product Design, another predecessor of IDEO.

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11. 1979ID Two founded

    Bill Moggridge founded the San Francisco design practice that later merged into IDEO.

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12. 1978David Kelley Design founded

    David Kelley founded the Palo Alto design firm that became one of IDEO's principal predecessors.

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13. 1969Moggridge Associates founded

    Bill Moggridge established the London design practice that later became part of IDEO's predecessor network.

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A human-centered design and innovation consultancy that connects research, creative development, prototyping, technology, strategy, and organizational change.

• Industrial and product designProfessional service

  IDEO develops physical products and systems through user research, industrial design, engineering, prototyping, and testing. Its historical work has included computer peripherals, personal digital assistants, medical products, office furniture, household goods, and consumer products. The firm's product practice is typically integrated with research and business strategy rather than limited to visual styling.

• Digital products and experiencesProfessional service

  IDEO designs digital interfaces, platforms, and connected experiences by combining interaction design, software engineering, behavioral insight, and service research. Its digital work addresses how people discover, use, and move between products and services, with emphasis on usability and the broader customer experience.

• Service and organizational designConsulting service

  The firm helps organizations redesign services, operating models, customer journeys, teams, and internal systems. This work expanded IDEO beyond consumer-product development and made organizational design and management consulting central parts of its offering.

• OpenIDEOCollaborative design platform2010

  OpenIDEO is a collaborative platform that applies elements of IDEO's design process to social and community challenges. It enables participants with different skills and backgrounds to contribute ideas, develop concepts, and respond to challenge briefs. Projects have included work connected with WWF, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, and end-of-life experience initiatives.

• IDEO UOnline education2015

  IDEO U is an online education program covering human-centered design, design thinking, collaboration, and innovation methods. It extends IDEO's professional approach into structured learning for individuals and organizations.

• 2010OpenIDEO social-impact challenges

  Global

  IDEO opened a digital collaboration environment through which participants could work on social and humanitarian design challenges.

  Outcome. The platform supported projects involving organizations and initiatives including WWF, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, and later end-of-life experience work.

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• 1999The Deep Dive

  United States · International educational audiences

  ABC's Nightline followed IDEO as it attempted to redesign a supermarket shopping cart in five days. The program exposed a general audience to the firm's collaborative, iterative innovation process.

  Outcome. The segment became a widely used teaching example for design thinking and innovation methods.

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• 2017Acquire DatascopeM&A

  Data science and machine learning were becoming more important to innovation and consulting engagements, and Datascope had already worked with IDEO as a project consultant.

  What changed. IDEO acquired Chicago-based Datascope and integrated its approximately 15-person team with the Chicago office.

  Aftermath. The transaction expanded IDEO's capabilities in data science and machine learning.

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• 2016Bring IDEO into the Kyu CollectiveM&A

  After Steelcase's divestment process, IDEO sought a strategic ownership relationship that could support broader international collaboration.

  What changed. Kyu Collective acquired a minority stake in IDEO.

  Aftermath. IDEO became associated with Kyu's network of companies and increasingly partnered with other members of the collective.

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• 2010Launch OpenIDEOProduct launch

  IDEO sought to extend collaborative design methods beyond private client engagements and address social problems through broader participation.

  What changed. The firm introduced OpenIDEO as a public online collaboration platform.

  Aftermath. OpenIDEO facilitated social-impact challenges and helped connect IDEO's design approach with nonprofit and community initiatives.

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• 1991Merge predecessor design firms to form IDEOM&A

  David Kelley Design, Moggridge Associates, ID Two, and Matrix Product Design were established practices with complementary industrial-design capabilities.

  What changed. The firms combined to create a broader multidisciplinary design consultancy under the IDEO name.

  Aftermath. The merger created the platform from which IDEO expanded into product, service, digital, and organizational design.

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• 2025Mike Peng announced as CEO

  IDEO announced that Mike Peng would become chief executive effective June 2025.

  Leadership change
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• 2022Derek Robson announced as CEO

  IDEO announced that Derek Robson would become chief executive effective January 5, 2023.

  Leadership change
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• 2019Sandy Speicher named CEO

  IDEO announced that Sandy Speicher would succeed Tim Brown as chief executive.

  Leadership change
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• 2017IDEO acquires Datascope

  IDEO acquired Chicago-based data-science firm Datascope, adding expertise in data science and machine learning and integrating its team with IDEO's Chicago office.

  M&A
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• 2016Kyu Collective acquires a minority stake in IDEO

  Kyu Collective, associated with Hakuhodo DY Holdings, acquired a minority interest in IDEO. Steelcase no longer held an ownership stake after the transaction.

  M&A
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• 2015IDEO launches IDEO U

  The firm introduced an online education program teaching concepts and methods associated with human-centered design and design thinking.

  Product launch
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• 2011IDEO incubates IDEO.org

  IDEO incubated a nonprofit initiative focused on human-centered design work for poor and vulnerable communities.

  Other
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• 2010IDEO launches OpenIDEO

  IDEO introduced a public collaborative platform intended to involve people from different backgrounds in developing solutions to social and community challenges.

  Product launch
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• 1999IDEO is featured in ABC Nightline's "The Deep Dive"

  A television segment followed an IDEO team as it redesigned a shopping cart in five days, demonstrating the firm's research, ideation, prototyping, and testing process.

  CampaignOther
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1. IDEO