Jane Fulton Suri from Ideo spoke about “redefining research for innovation.” She gave her story in three parts: personal journey, how it played out, and what the future holds.
Grew up in an artistic family, sought structure (in data, in design) in college.
We can design better things in the world if we understand people better.
Challenged at one point to design the kitchen of the future. She turned it down because she felt she didn’t have the tools in her arsenal. Sent them to a design firm, joined one herself, and realized she did have the tools.
Kitchen: learning lab? cockpit of control?
Children’s storage system: don’t measure children’s height and reach… Crawl around on the floor as they do.
Research was important, but rational and intuitive approaches rounded it out. What if we went beyond the consumer and considered everyone in the system?
“The Empathic Economy”