A Design and Consulting Firm Founded in Palo Alto, California

IDEO, a design and consulting firm founded in Palo Alto, California in 1991 through the merger of three companies, ID Two, Matrix, and David Kelley Design, brought under one umbrella a multitude of services that could be offered to clients seeking a streamlined solution to the manufacture of products. This new idea, formed by the merger, became known as “concurrent engineering”, or a fusion of art and engineering that produced aesthetically pleasing products that were technically competent as well. What this gave IDEO was a position as an award winning leader in the field of Product Development.

In describing IDEO culture, one would tend to lean towards entertaining, creative, fun, energetic, and just a bit out of control. The utilization of this creative working style combined with the always changing project teams (project teams formed for the life of a project and disbanded when the project was complete) formed a catalyst that assisted in keeping the ideas fresh, and the idea generators always ready for the next challenge. Of course the flat, or decentralized organizational style that was embraced at IDEO did tend to lead to a certain amount of uncertainty among the staff, but was accepted as the trade-off for the generation of ideas and imaginative thinking that was brought to the IDEO innovation Process.

IDEO followed a very unique innovation process that included a multi-step approach of prototyping and brainstorming that was designed to generate ideas that were focal to the project development process. Phase Zero (Understand/Observe) was utilized as a way to work towards understanding a client’s wants and needs, as well as the actual feasibility of the proposed project. Phase One (Visualize/Realize) main focus was production based on ideas, technologies, and market perceptions. Through an integrated approach with the client, the team could produce a rough three dimensional model along with a general idea of the manufacturing strategy they would employ. Phase Two (Evaluating/Refining) allowed for the now engineered prototypes to be tested and evaluated, which ended with a functional model and a look alike version. This led the team to the Phase Three (Implement/Detailed Engineering) where product design was completed, and the feasibility of manufacturing was finalized. Phase Four (Implement/Manufacturing Liaison) ensured a smooth product release to the manufacturing floor.

In 1996 Dennis Boyle, Senior Project Leader for IDEO, was chosen to front a new version of the then popular Palm Pilot. The challenge, or goal, for Boyle and his team was to create a new design that would appeal the emotional side of the customer rather than the technical. So the vision was a sleek, colorful design that was more sophisticated than previous versions. Utilizing the forward thinking IDEO Innovation Process, Phase Zero began late in 1996, and culminated with the market release of the Palm V in February of 1999.

In 1998, Jeff