IDEO CASE STUDY
...ving fun The challenge is to create a workspace ecosystem that functions on multiple levels, from the individual and team to the organization as a whole. IDEO, a firm renowned for its ability to develop category-busting new products (such as the design for the Palm Pilot), does just that. The office feels more like a play space than a workspace, but that’s because play is so critical to creative thinking.3 It’s hard to think outside the box when you’re in one. IDEO’s offices generate lots of interest because they are so different. They contribute to the brand and to public visibility. But they also help attract the best and brightest talent, without which the company could never succeed. Once at work, talent is encouraged by the space to share ideas, to interact freely and often. The space is flexible and costs less than would a high-end, more conventional corporate environment. Design, values, work processes, marketing, and learning reinforce each other and work in harmony. IDEO’s leadership leverages every facet of the workplace because they understand and pay attention to how the whole ecosystem works, not to just a few selected parts. Collaboration is at the heart of IDEO's culture. IDEO's smart products unit, which uses existing technologies to invent electro-mechanical devices, has a 26-person team of human-factors experts, interaction designers, industrial designers, electronic engineers, ...