102d paper

Interaction Design Studio Profile: Ideo, Inc.


In a society that has slowly shifted toward constant innovation, product performance has become an expectation. Consumer demand can be largely based on a product’s design, practicality, and efficiency. To plan the implementation of innovation, many firms will turn to an interaction design studio to aid in their objective. Ideo, Inc. (known as Ideo) is widely known as a jack-of-all trades within the industry of change and design management. Between the company’s extensive service offerings and extremely knowledgeable staff, Ideo has been in BusinessWeek’s 25 most innovative companies.

Ideo was founded in 1991, and was formed through the merger of three smaller design firms. Continually growing with their diverse portfolio of services, Ideo began making a name for itself through the design and development of many familiar and well-known products, including Apple, Inc’s first Mouse for the Macintosh Computer. Design expert Tim Brown leads current executive management as the firm’s CEO. Additionally, Tim Brown has gained substantial recognition for his two books published on design thinking, as well as the numerous blogs, seminars and lectures he conducts. Mr. Brown has been responsible for leading the company to large gains and significant profitability.

Ideo is such a unique company because they really vary on what kinds of design consulting they offer. Their services include but are not limited to product design, interactive products and interfaces as well as corporate structure and strategic planning frameworks (which falls under management consulting). For the purpose of this assignment, I will focus on their contracted project for PNC Bank. This project was created in partnership with Ideo to implement the popular “Virtual Wallet” Banking Experience. PNC Bank wanted to expand and grow with a specific focus on “Generation Y”. With technology constantly evolving and younger Americans growing up with these products, online banking has been identified as a cultural norm. Ideo performed extensive market research to help identify the current and potentially future trends of the target market. With social networking and constant “connectivity” becoming more and more acceptable, Ideo knew that Generation-Y would have a need for “integration through embedded technology”. This kind of technology provides seamless and constant access to relevant financial information. Additional features include a mobile phone application (to allow anytime access), as well as a budgeting feature that allows an accountholder to place a certain amount of money in a restricted sub-account that will help those not good at budgeting become more fiscally responsible.

By helping PNC create a visually pleasing, market-specific online interface, Ideo was able to expand traditional banking into the competitive interactive market. Ideo changes the general perception of “design”. The company believes that every project they work on requires extensive numerical, statistical, and verified data that will help structure the product. Each project needs a focus and design objectives that will help the design team create an effective platform. All of Ideo’s design concepts are rigorously tested and challenged, which is another reason why the company is one of the industry’s leaders.




Works Cited

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/95/design-strategy.html
http://www.hoovers.com
http://www.ideo.com/
http://www.ideo.com/work/item/virtual-wallet-interactive-banking-experience/
http://www.ted.com/speakers/tim_brown.html