א. רקע הסטורי

א. רקע הסטורי

IDEO was formed in San Francisco in the 1991 as a merger of three established firms - David Kelley Design, ID Two, and Matrix Product Design. But the firm's story started two decades prior, in London, when ID Two's founder Bill Moggridge founded Moggridge Associates, an industrial design firm, in 1969. So IDEO’s initial progress was probably influenced by a number of historical developments and events that took place between 1960s and 1990s, specifically in the United States and the United Kingdom.

1960s have become synonymous with new, radical trends of the period. In the United Kingdom, 1960s were marked politically by rapid decolonization to avoid wars with colonies seeking independence. Several western governments, including the United States and Great Britain, turned left in the early part of the decade. Socially, the younger generation was seeking ways to rebel against the conservative norms of the 1950s. Throughout the western world, the new counter-culture turned into a social revolution. Towards the end of the decade, a mass anti-war movement began in opposition to the Vietnam War. 1960s was also a decade of unparalleled technological advances. The space race between Soviet Union and the United States led to an increase in spending on science, and technology. Technological developments of 1960s include: first human spaceflight to orbit the earth, first humans to walk on the moon, first computer game, first programming language BASIC, first heart transplantation. 1968 was the year of the first public demonstration of the computer mouse, the paper paradigm Graphical user interface, video conferencing, teleconferencing, email, and hypertext. Bill Moggridge opened his industrial design firm, Moggridge Associates, the following year.

1970s saw a transition to globalization, and an increasing interdependence of economies. One of the main features of the 1970s was the oil shock of 1973. It has had an effect on economies worldwide. This was probably the worst decade of Western and American economic performance since the Great Depression, in America partly due to the funding of the Vietnam war. Inflation and unemployment steadily increased - a phenomenon known as "stagflation", and this led to the emergence of neoliberal economic theory, with the first neoliberal government being created under Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom in 1979. The new political and economic philosophy emphasized reduced state intervention, more free markets, and more entrepreneurship. The 1970s saw the birth of modern computing - the development of the world's first general microprocessor, the C programming language, elementary personal computers, pocket calculators, the first supercomputer, and consumer video games. In this atmosphere, in 1978, David Kelley finished Product Design Program at Stanford and starts his own firm Hovey-Kelley Design (later David Kelley Design) in Palo Alto, California.

Some of the relevant characteristics of the 1980s include the economic upheaval and liberalization in the western world, the return of the right-wing politics and advancement of neoliberalism, tremendous population growth around the world, religion, patriotism, and materialism making a comeback. Major reforms take place in the government of Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, and the hardest anti-communist policies in the United States under Ronald Reagan, which eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of Cold War in 1991. In the world of computers - there was a rapid growth in video game technology, and home computers became very popular, used mostly for gaming. During this decade the three founders of IDEO were actively working in California, with their most notable projects in the world of computer technologies. The formation of IDEO in 1991 falls at the start of a new period, marked by the widespread use of personal computers, the internet, and the increased economic productivity, all of which led to market booms around the world, and the flow of wealth to the United States, Europe, and Asia.

ב. הזירה העיצובית

ב. הזירה העיצובית

At the time of formation of IDEO, in 1991, design profession was undergoing developments, influenced by a number of factors which took place throughout the 1970s, and 1980s. Postmodern theory is one major factor, that started to influence design. Computers and the new technological advances played an unparalleled role in forming new design aesthetics, attitudes and practices. At the same time design has started to occupy a new place in society and culture, becoming more interconnected with marketing, services, and art.

The 1960s included two main antithetic design movements. In the early 1960s it was all about functionalism, technology, science, and methods of production. Designers thought of themselves more as engineers; their work was angular, less imaginative; mass production and man-made materials were glamorized. Towards the end of 1960s the rationalism of modern design came under attacks and the role of design in capitalistic society started to be questioned. Along with the anti-establishment movements (which were possibly precursors of postmodernism) in the later 1960s, pop culture emerged in Great Britain as a youth rebellion against aesthetic norms and the conventional lifestyle. This new culture influenced art and design.

The society throughout the late 1970s and 1980s was characterized by new broad spectrum of tastes, which created an environment marked by a wide range of lifestyles. These changes made the previous norms of functionalism, with it's simple divisions into "good" and "bad", simply not appropriate. This new social phenomenon of pluralism, characterized by complicated sociological structures in modern industrial countries, changed the view of functions that objects perform in our lives. The new postmodern theory, which emerged, rebelled against the colorless rational forms of modernism with the use of historical citations, individuality, and colorfulness. Postmodern design was comprised of different characteristics, including independence of form from function, colorful and sign-like shaping of surfaces, reinterpretation of an object's appearance in relation to it's use, and combination of historical elements. Postmodern designers combined different styles and materials with ease - like rich ornamentation with minimalism, and rich materials with plastic.

As the 1990s approached, technological advances played an ever-expanding role in design profession. New consumer goods and new functions created design tasks that had to react to new areas and patterns of use. The expression "high tech" became a stylistic term to describe new appearance of objects and architecture. Due to the developments in the field of microelectronics, many devices have become smaller. The best example of this is the computer. These developments have also changed the nature of designing on another level - with the new computer design programs, design process have become much faster, more accurate, flexible, and opened up new possibilities - like product simulation, and easy data modification.

Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the role and value of design had expanded. In the corporate world, it became a means of marketing. Since most consumer goods in the same price range were on the same level of technical maturity, the only way for companies to distinguish their products was by means of design. Design companies also expanded their fields of expertise, and became more multidisciplinary. For example, many companies started to offer a complete service that stretches beyond the product itself to the design of the organizational structures of a company. In the cultural realm, the value of design also changed, as it became more intertwined with other disciplines such as art and industry. Design has become a justified part of culture among the general public, being exhibited in museums, and discussed in numerous publications.

ג. סיפור ההתחלה

ג. סיפור ההתחלה

IDEO's story started two decades prior to it's inception in 1991 as a merger of three established design firms: David Kelley Design (founded by David Kelley), ID Two (founded by Bill Moggridge), and Matrix Product Design (founded by Mike Nuttall). In 1969, after graduating from the Central School of Art and Design in London, and working for three years as a designer in the United States, Bill Moggridge established a consultancy Moggridge Associates in London. The firm's focus was on product design and development. During the 1970s the business expanded, leading Bill Moggridge to open another design office in 1979 - ID Two, in Palo Alto, California. Soon after, he moved to San Francisco.

Around this time, in 1978, David Kelley finished the master's program in Product Design at Stanford University, With a fellow student Dean Harvey, he opened a firm Hovey-Kelley Design (which, in 1981, became David Kelley Design). David Kelley received his bachelor's degree in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and worked as an engineer for National Cash Register (NCR) and Boeing, before going back to school. The first employees at Hovey-Kelley were friends from Stanford, and their first studio was in a cheap office in an aging building with uneven floors, in Palo Alto.

Mike Nuttall received his BA degree in Industrial Design from Leicester College of Art & Design and an MA degree from the Royal College of Art in London. He has worked in Moggridge Associates in London, and in 1981 moved to ID Two in California. By 1983 he opened his own firm Matrix Product Design in Palo Alto.

During the 1980s, in the decade leading up to the formation of IDEO, all three companies established themselves in the field with a number of outstanding projects. While at Stanford, David Kelley had met the founder of Apple Computer Inc, Steve Jobs, and by 1983, David Kelley Design had designed world's first production mouse for Apple's Lisa computer. It was later used on the first Macintosh. In the mid-1980s ID Two designed the first laptop computer, GRiD Compass. Matrix, in the same period, has won more than twenty design awards. The first project combining all three companies was Microsoft "Dove Bar" Mouse - the first ergonomically designed mouse. Each company provided their expertise - Matrix in industrial design, ID Two in human factors, and David Kelley Design in engineering design. In 1990 David Kelley opened several more offices - in Boston and the Chicago area, and in 1991 IDEO formed with the merger of David Kelley Design, ID Two, Matrix, and Moggridge Associates. At that time the company had 125 emplyees in six offices in North America and in Europe.

Apple Mouse








GRiD Compass

ד. השקפת העולם האידאולוגית העיצובית והתשתית התיאורטית

ד. השקפת העולם האידאולוגית העיצובית והתשתית התיאורטית

IDEO has created its own school of thought and ideology, that developed along with the company. Perhaps the main characteristic of IDEO's approach is the preoccupation with making things work, and much less with the style. David Kelley says: "It's all about authenticity, about solutions, not style." "IDEO's passion is about making stuff work, not being artists," says design guru Tucker Viemeister. "Their corporate customers really buy into it." This ideology results in a complex approach to design, being unique to any given problem, and enabling to solve it successfully. Perhaps this is the reason why IDEO is able to work on such a diversity of projects - from designing consumer products to improving consumer experiences in services, and why clients are so happy about the results. They come with the problem - and they get the solution. This approach, in turn, requires a very multi-disciplinary team of professionals, and IDEO does hire people with very diverse and interesting backgrounds and personalities to create a pool of ideas, knowledge, and expertise that can tackle any problem. Brainstorming session take place every day in IDEO, and are taken very seriously. In addition, IDEO involves it's clients as part of a working team, requiring them to participate in all the consumer research, analysis, and decisions that go into developing solutions. All the while IDEO makes the experience fun and educating, sharing the innovative process with its customers through projects and workshops, and uses unusual techniques to energize it's corporate clients - like "bodystorming," "quick and dirty prototyping," "unfocus groups," and "be your customer." IDEO's approach is very human-centered, and is focused on understanding the end consumer's experience. It's nontraditional ways have brought IDEO many loyal clients, and at the same time have turned off others, but it's ideology is definitely gaining influence. David Kelley has recently founded the Institute of Design at Stanford University (d.school). The d.school teaches design thinking and strategy to business, engineering, and design students, and it's methods and thinking are based on philosophy of IDEO.

ה. השלכות טכנולוגיות וכלכליות

ה. השלכות טכנולוגיות וכלכליות

The type of work and the design direction that IDEO undertook from the start and throughout its development are direct evidence of the impact of the technological and economic changes that occured at the time. The 1970s and 1980s - decades when the founders of IDEO were studying and working in the field of design - was a time of rapid technological developments, especially so in the world of computers. The first public demonstration of the computer mouse, hypertext, teleconferencing, e-mail, the C programming language, elementary personal computers, pocket calculators, consumer video games - are some of the developments that took place during this period. A rapid growth in video game technology led to the popularity of home computers. It could be that the technological advances led to the formation of IDEO. The computer industry was full of small upstart companies, and they all needed people who would help design innovative products, that would give each company an advantage in the competition. David Kelley remembers: "They always needed somebody to help with making electronics or mechanical designs. I thought, this would make a great business." One of the first jobs David Kelley took was for Steve Jobs, of Apple Computers, designing a mouse, and this proved to be a big break for him. Bill Moggridge and Mike Nuttall also moved to the Silicon Valley in the late 1970s, as computer technology was emerging. In 1996 Bill Moggridge's firm, ID Two, designed GRiD Compass, the first portable computer with a hinged display. Around the same time Bill Moggridge coined the term "interaction design". At the time this was a growing discipline, also resulting from the computer boom, which focused on electronic devices and software.


According to the article "The Power of Design" in the Business Week, "during the '90s boom, some 35% of IDEO's revenues came from designing products and Web services for Internet and other startups. The tech bust destroyed that business model." In the 1990s, the investment in information technologies caused a period of economic prosperity. In the period roughly between 1995 and 2001, stock markets saw their value increase rapidly from growth in the Internet sector. Because of the novelty of the dot-com concept, many entrepreneurs of internet-based companies were able to sell ideas to investors without realistic plans and admnistrative abilities. In 2001 the dot-com boom came to an end for several reasons, bringing about stock market crash, recession, unemployment, bankruptcies and re-evaluation of the business practices. Perhaps the end of the rapid boom brought attention to quality. In 2002 IDEO's Transformation practice began, helping institutions apply design thinking to their own organization and culture. The firm also started to transfer its ability to create consumer products into designing consumer experiences in services in a variety of fields from healthcare to shopping to wireless communications. IDEO's projects of this period are less technology oriented, and more human-centered, like the Vodaphone Simply, a nontrendy, nontechy mobile phone, and the Keep the Change account service for Bank of America, a service innovation to keep and retain bank members.

ו. תמורות חברתיות ופוליטיות

ו. תמורות חברתיות ופוליטיות

The years IDEO has been active, throughout the 1990s and 2000s, have been marked by a cross of roughly two generations in the United States - Baby Boomers and Generation X. These different groups brought conflicted outlooks, and perhaps IDEO's way of thinking and working is much influenced by the combination of these. Baby boomers, the group to which IDEO founders belong to, grew up during a time of dramatic social and political change. Perhaps because of these changes the group is very divided. There are some that are proponents of dramatic social change, and then there are other, born in later "baby boom" years (Generation Jones), who are more conservative. Some are very experimental, individualistic, free spirited and social cause oriented, while the latter group is less optimistic and more cynical. There are some common characteristics, which are higher rates of participation in higher education than previous generations, and assumption of lifelong prosperity and entitlement, developed during their childhood in the fifties. Overall baby boomers is an extremely dynamic group, and competitive, due to populous birth years. The Generation Jones also largely influenced the rise of the republicans in the United States, as this generation was very impressed by Ronald Reagan's performance.

The Generation X, which came after the boomers, being born roughly during the 1970s, is have been criticized as the 'doom generation', and 'whiners', as it had much to live up to after the Boomers. This is the generation that saw the inception of home computers and internet as a tool for the economic purposes, and this is the first generation to grow with personal computers at home. This is the generation of Dot.coms and MTV. They grew up in times of no major war, and relative economic stability. They have witnessed the fall of Berlin Wall, and the end of the Cold War. They spent their childhood during the political revival of the right-wing politics, and today lead the return to the left. They started addressing social problems, which they see as their inheritance. In general, during the 1990s, and the 2000s, social issues have become more pronounced - issues pertaining to gay rights, gender equality, and human rights, AIDS, and homelessness. Environmental issues, too, have entered center stange. Global warming, for example, while originally an environmental matter, has evolved into a major economic and political issue.

The dynamics, experimentalism, and entrepreurship of Baby Boomers to which the founders of IDEO belong, combined with the familiarity with computers and internet of the Generation X seemed to have influenced the direction IDEO's design thinking followed at the time of it's inception. Perhaps after the tech bust in 2001, all the social and political issues that have been overshadowed by the emerged technology in design business, came to the front row. Among other projects, IDEO started taking on ones, dealing with social issues. Examples include the Aquaduct concept vehicle, which is designed to address water sanitation and transportation in the developing world, the American Red Cross Donor Experience, and Design for Social Impact Workbook and Toolkit. Perhaps another reason for this change in direction IDEO has taken is the influence of the Generation X, which values community, relationships and altruism.

Aquaduct concept vehicle

ז. השפעות של הסביבה העיצובית והתרבותית

ז. השפעות של הסביבה העיצובית והתרבותית

During the 1990s and the 2000s, the years since the formation of IDEO, and the period of postmodernism, two directions prevailed in the field of industrial design. One is the creative, individual, often experimental work of a solo designer, such as Phillip Starck, Ross Lovegrove, or Ron Arad. The other, and the more prevalent one, is the work of a designer in a multi-disciplinary team of designers, engineers, and marketers to create marketable products and services, usually for mass market, and for large corporate clients. IDEO fits into this category, along with other firms such as Frog Design, Ziba Design, and Lunar Design. In general, the individualism of the 1980s has receded after the recession in the early 1990s, and rapid technological advances started to drive design, which became more than a product design, with new requirements ranging from interaction to service design. IDEO is, perhaps, the embodiment of the direction in which the design field was heading. With it's multidisciplinary teams and corporate clients such as Apple, Motorola, Palm Computing, and Microsoft, among many others, IDEO was on top of the game from the start. But, unlike others, the company went a step further, and created a new method of working which was unusual in this technical corporate world. IDEO, in a way, incorporated the individualism that was lost by making their work process more personal, more fun, with concentrated attention on the people - the client, who became involved in design process, and the end user, who became the driving force behind design itself. IDEO also constantly works on experimental projects to be ahead in the industry.

IDEO makes a point of finding inspiration and direction through observation of the world around, which includes those areas which are connected to design, and those which are seemingly far from it. Tim Brown, the CEO of IDEO, in his blog "Design Thinking", describes a number of such inspirations and influences on his work. For example, being impressed by the work of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, he writes: "When the famous twentieth-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed his houses he gave great thought to every aspect of the owners experience. If you visit the Meyer May house in Grand Rapids and take a tour with one of the docents you will hear how this relatively modest house in a suburban neighborhood was designed to protect the privacy of owners and guests through the overall layout of the building. Once inside you will also hear how detail after detail supports his overall objectives for the design of the house. We were fortunate to be invited for a meal at the house and when you sit at the dining table you see how carefully Wright considered the experience of eating with family and friends." The work of the architect made an impression on Tim Brown, who views architecture from the point of view of design, and user-experience, and undoubtedly was strongly influenced by the architecture, which was created with a deep understanding of the end users and their experiences.


Meyer May house

ח. ההישגים המרכזיים, ואבני הדרך המשמעותיים

ח. ההישגים המרכזיים, ואבני הדרך המשמעותיים

The central achievements of IDEO and it's main contributions to the design profession can be discussed in two parts, which are also outlined on IDEO's website. Firstly, it is the most significant projects the firm has completed, and secondly - the methods and new ways of thinking that IDEO has developed and implemented throughout the years. From designing Apple Mouse, to the Transformation practice, which enables clients to effect change in their organizations through design thinking and tools, IDEO has and is bringing significant changes to the world around us.

The projects that IDEO has worked on, vary from mostly product design during the earlier years of the firm's existence, to experience design later on. IDEO played a highly important role in defining design direction for the world of computers. The most significant projects in this area, and some of the first ones the founders of IDEO worked on are Apple Mouse, designed by David Kelley in 1981, the GRiD Compass, the first portable computer with the hinged display, designed in 1986, and the Microsoft "Dove Bar" mouse - the first ergonomically designed mouse, in the same year. The Microsoft Mouse was the first project that combined all three founding IDEO companies. The design of the mouse was influenced by the firm's human factors research, which suggested a significant change - moving the ball forward, under the fingertips, to enable better control. In 1989, ID Two designed the first pen-based computer - GRiD PalmPad. In the years that followed, after founding of IDEO in 1991, the firm has left it's mark in a wide range of industries - healthcare, automotive, telecommunications, electronics, furniture, toys and games, household goods, and many others. Among the most notable products in the beginning of 1990s are Crest Neat Squeeze - the first stand-up toothpaste tube, and Oral-B Squish Grip, the first soft-handled toothbrush - everyday household products that brought convenience through design inside the home. Throughout the following years, IDEO continued bringing attention to design of household objects with the Procter & Gamble Swiffer Carpet Flick and Mr Clean Magic Reach (a new way to clean bathrooms), in 2005. In the field of automotive industry, the GM/Hughes Electric Car charger won an award in 1995. In the same year IDEO made it's mark in healthcare with the design of HeartStream ForeRunner, the first portable external defibrillator, which won an award for research. Another notable project in the field of healthcare is the easy-to-use Lilly Humalog/Humulin pen, designed in 1999, which holds a month of inslulin injections. Later on, in 2004, IDEO won several awards for another important contribution to Healthcare - the LifePort Kidney Transporter for Organ Recovery Systems. in 1997 IDEO's work has veered into service design, with the work for British Airways. In 1999 IDEO brought the design of service experience to forefront with the design of interiors for Amtrak Acela revolutionary high-speed trains. In 2001, IDEO, working together with architects, designed the Prada store in New York City. The invisible technology inside the store allows the staff to influence the customer experience. This project really put customer service on a different level. Another success in service design was Keep the Change campaign for Bank of America, which made banking much more convenient and profitable, and thus drew millions of new customers. Other explorations of experience design by IDEO include environment design for the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning, dedicated to promoting creativity in learning; and new service experience for the Amercan Red Cross in 2008, which helps blood donors connect emotionally with the organization. In 2007 IDEO teamed with the non-profit Acumen Fund to explore the possibilities of solving water issues in the developing world, which could prove to be critical to the quality of life in the future.

Apart from it's contributions through design projects, IDEO throughout the years kept developing and fine-tuning it's methodology, ideology, way of thinking and working. This process resulted in a scope of influential writings and practices. In 2001 IDEO publishes the overview of its work in "IDEO: Masters of Innovation." That same year Tom Kelley publishes "The Art of Innovation". In 2003 "Extra Spatial" comes out, an overview of work in spaces and environments, along with "Method Cards" - a compilation of techniques. in 2005 a book by Jane Fulton Sur of IDEO, "Thoughless Acts" illuminates the observation method of the firm through discussion of everyday acts that usually go unnoticed. "The Ten Faces of Innovation" by Tom Kelley, and "Designing Interactions" by Bill Moggridge come out thereafter, and the later books by IDEOers include "Everyday Engineering", "Informing Our Intuition", "From Small Ideas to Radical Service Innovations", and "Leadership and Innovations in a Networked World". Apart from writing, IDEO brings its insights to the outside world through a number of practices, most notable of which is, perhaps, the Transformation practice, which began in 2002. The practice was developed to assist companies and insistutions to apply design thinking to their own organization and culture, in order to get new and better results, and to create the desirable future, instead of just responding to it.

ט. הכשלונות והכשלים

ט. הכשלונות והכשלים

The words of David Kelley, "Your failures interest me far more than your success" (Tischler) reveal his, and, in turn, IDEO's attitude towards failure. The company became what it is, partly due to failing, and then learning from mistakes. In his Business Week article "A Laboratory for Insights," Tim Brown of IDEO says: "Ultimately, a commitment to making experimentation a way of life in an organization requires a change in attitude toward risk and failure. Embracing experimentation as a universal approach to learning communicates to employees that their company expects them to try new approaches - and that failure isn't fatal as long as it's mined for the insights that propel the organization toward inspirational insight, innovation, and growth."

The design thinking method, which IDEO coined and practices religiously in any and all of its projects and initiatives, is a result of mistakes that were diagnosed and fixed. For example, in the mid-1980s David Kelley used to write proposals for clients, which included different phases of his work process - understanding, observation, brainstorming, prototyping, and they were priced separately. His clients often rejected the inital phases, and requested that he start with later phases, perhaps to save money, or because they didn't understand the need for the initial work. They saw that as fooling around. David Kelley realized then, that those initial phases are the ones that allow big ideas to born, and this was what made his firm different from numerous managment consultants around. "That moment was really big for me," he says. "After that, I'd say, 'No way, I won't take the job if you scrap those phases. That's where the value is.' " (Tischler).

In an interview on podcast iinnovate.com, Kelley talks about another failure of organizational matter. Because of the open and friendly environment that is part of the culture of IDEO, a lot of people that were not a good fit, stayed with the company longer than was efficient, just because it was emotionally hard to fire them. In the same interview, Kelley later talks about the solution to this problem. In IDEO it is not one person who chooses who gets hired, and either gets it right or wrong. It is rather a decision of a number of people, who will later be working together with the new hire, and it will be in their interest to choose the right person, and make that person successful. Kelley also mentions some product failures, like Monster Shoes, and Enorme Phone Company, which "failed miserably", and he agrees, that those stories of failures are better than some of the successes. In general, he says, the culture of Silicon Valley looks with respect at failures, since it is seen as a source of learning. To conclude, a lesson learned from David Kelley according to a Fast Company blog: "Success tends to focus your efforts, failure assures me that you try something different and eventually better." (Tischler)

י. ביקורת וניתוח כולל של התופעה העיצובית

י. ביקורת וניתוח כולל של התופעה העיצובית

In his recent interview on Icelandic TV, Paul Bennett summarized very precisely the direction that design firms like IDEO are taking. He says: "Going from being a designer just of things, to being the one that is about answering more complex problems and thinking about things in more systemic ways." This prevailing tendency manifests itself in a variety of ways. There are some aspects that find their way into the work of most design firms that follow this road, and then there are some that are discovered and developed only by few. IDEO's approach has many similarities to the work of other firms like Frog Design, Design Continuum, Ziba Design, Smart Design, Insight Product Development and others. At the same time there are important differences that set IDEO apart from its competition, and ahead of it, according to the 2005 Business Week magazine article "Top Design Firms Over Five Years."

One of the most important aspects of work of companies like IDEO is human-centered work. The comprehensive research for each project includes an in-depth study of consumer behavior, feelings, and thoughts. This is the basis and focus of all work. There is also a similarity of vocabulary that represents each company's work and methods. Words like "innovation", "multidisciplinary", "inspiration", "experience", "design mind", "design thinking" or "design process" are part of these companies' corporate language. Like IDEO, these firms employ multidisciplinary teams, and take on projects from product design to service and experience design. Most of them are also involved with educating their clients - from involving them in the design process to conducting workshops. According to Bruce Nissbaum, and his Business Week article "The Power of Design", IDEO really pioneered this way of working and thinking, and inspired others to follow: "Witnessing IDEO's success, management consulting firms are expanding their offerings to corporate clients to include a greater focus on consumers. And other design firms are piling into IDEO's space...Design Continuum, for example, observed consumer cleaning habits in research that helped P&G launch its $1 billion Swiffer mop business." Nissbaum also quotes Craig M. Vogel, director of graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design, who says: "IDEO has captured the imagination of the business world, but there are other firms doing similar work, translating user research into products and services."

When looking at the list of the top design firms between 2001 and 2005 in Business Week, IDEO is far ahead of any other firm in the number of IDEAs (International Design Excellence Awards) received. IDEO also seems to enjoy a much stronger relationship with it's clients than any other firm. Nissbaum continues in his article: "...IDEO is far ahead of the competition. There is even something of a cult following in the sometimes staid world of business. IDEO's clients don't just like the firm, they love it." Perhaps it is the way IDEO makes working fun - through hiring just the right types of people, with several degrees and diverse interests in life, or through creating unusual "funky" techniques, and involving the clients in invigorating brainstorming and prototyping sessions. It could be that this relaxed, fun, but hardworking atmosphere, which is unique to IDEO, and which makes it different from other firms, has it's roots in the initial attitudes and goals of David Kelley. In an interview at iinnovate.com, Kelley talks about his negative experience of working at Boeing, being part of the corporate culture, and his desire to work in a warm fun atmosphere with close friends, which led him to founding his own company.

יא. השוואה לדוגמא אחרת בהסטוריה של העיצוב

יא. השוואה לדוגמא אחרת בהסטוריה של העיצוב

One of the design firms that developed parallel to IDEO is frog design. There are some qualities that these two companies share due to the same time period, similar stories of beginning, same location, similar client base, and similar approach to working relationships within the companies and the clients. Then there are some characteristics that are inherently different because of the difference in design principles and responses to the marketplace.

Both companies had their start in 1969, in Europe. That year, Bill Moggridge of IDEO began Moggridge Associates in London, and Hartmut Esslinger founded Esslinger Design (later frog design) in Germany. Soon thereafter in the beginning of 1980s, both designers moved to California, where computer technologies were rapidly developing, competition was fierce, and designers were in demand. Esslinger's team moved specifically to work on the new design for Apple after Steve Jobs singled him out, impressed by the previous work with German electronics giant Wega (later bought by Sony). Around the same time Steve Jobs approach Hovey-Kelley Design - the firm of another IDEO founder, David Kelley - to design a mouse for Apple's Lisa and Macintosh computers. The new design of Apple IIc by Esslinger was named Time Magazine's design of the Year, and is now showcased in New York's Whitney Museum and MOMA. The design, which combined technology and culture, became the iconic language of Apple. The design of the Apple Mouse by Hovey-Kelley Design was also a success. The firm invented a new technology, which is still in use today, and combined it with extreme attention to the experience of using the mouse - it is unobstrusive and natural. So the founders of both IDEO and frog design share in common these huge early successes designing revolutionary products for Apple.

Until the end of the 1990s both firms were mainly working in the realm of product design. Being situated in the same location, at the same time, and having similar client bases, both firms worked on products from the same industries - computer technologies, transportation, household goods, entertainment systems, medical devices, and furniture among others. But the difference between their design approaches lay in their design priniciples. While IDEO is mainly preoccupied with making things work, with solutions, and not with style - frog design was founded around the guiding principle "form follows emotion". This philosophy placed a product's effect upon it's user on the same level of importance as its functionality. Thus - the products of IDEO and frog design differ in their visual language. IDEO's products are more straightforward, more industrial looking - not hiding their function, which is up front, and without anything extra, but at the same time with extreme attention to the experience of the user. The products of frog design also pay close attention to the experience, but their products have forms that are more fluid, some specifically accentuate the style, and hide many functional features.

Two firms shared the same approach to working relationships. IDEO places high value on each employee at the firm - everyone has an equal voice in discussions, and friendly, fun atmosphere is prevalent at IDEO offices. This approach invloves clients, as well, who participate in the design process. frog design has a similar attitude, and even reflects it in in it's logo - the all lower-case letters reinforce this importance of democratic partnership within the design teams and with clients.

As both IDEO and frog design grew and developed, their responses to the demands of the market led them in different directions. In the beginning of the 2000s IDEO have branched out to include a considerate amount of work in the service design sector, and space design, while frog design turned to brand and interface/website design as a continuation of the industrial design work. While these are different fields, they signify the move of the design profession outside the realm of product design, applying the same design principles to a large array of problems - from experiences to communication.

Apple IIc


Koenig + Neurath "Sigma"


Dell.com

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Since the beginning of it's story in 1969, IDEO has gone through many successes, as well as failures, that kept shaping it's ideology, methods, direction and responses to the constantly changing market. What helped IDEO get to the very top of it's field is the ability to take risk and stick to it's own way of thinking and working, to hire diverse people that bring something new and valuable to the team, and to build close and strong relationship with it's clients. IDEO will probably keep on expanding it's spheres of work and broadening it's expertise, depending on what's going on in the world, because there are always problems to solve. With over 30 years of experience in design of products, spaces, experiences, interactions, and services, IDEO is now in the position to pass on it's knowledge, to be a mentor and an inspiration. It has already been doing so with numerous books and publications, and recently with opening of the d.school at Stanford University by David Kelley. So the work of IDEO will most probably continue beyond IDEO itself - through those who are inspired by the firm, who find inspiration and motivation there, and who will strive to apply that knowledge to the new and unknown challenges ahead.

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