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Our Process

Innovation applies abstract knowledge in new ways.

Human-centered innovation is a way of developing ideas that starts with people—not technology, not business goals, but real human needs. It means we design with empathy, ask the right questions, and test ideas with real users to make sure we’re creating solutions that actually improve people’s lives. It also considers what’s technically possible and what can be sustained over time.
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Why interdisciplinary collaboration?

Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential because real-world, complex challenges rarely fit neatly within a single field. With diverse perspectives, we approach problems and develop solutions that are both innovative and practical. This cross-functional work sparks creative thinking, surfaces blind spots, and ensures that outcomes are viable from multiple angles: technical, operational, and for the end user.

Diversity of thought helps teams question assumptions, challenge defaults, and design with a deeper understanding of different contexts. It also means ideas are developed with feasibility, usability, business value, and system impact. Interdisciplinary teams mirror the complexity of the challenges we face, and lead to innovative solutions that are stronger, more adaptive, and more likely to succeed.

 

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Why partner with corporations?

Challenges are shaped by market demands, operational realities, and evolving user expectations. Corporate partners bring critical perspectives that help us design with real-world constraints and opportunities in mind. Their involvement exposes teams to industry-specific insights, sharpens problem framing, and ensures that ideas are tested against practical, scalable criteria.

Just as interdisciplinary collaboration strengthens our thinking, working with corporations grounds our process in relevance and impact. These partnerships lead to solutions that are not only innovative, but viable in the environments they’re meant to serve.

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Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver

Our process helps teams move from uncertainty to clarity, and from ideas to impact. It’s built to create solutions that work in different contexts for products, processes, and services. While every project is different, we typically move through four key phases:

  • Discover – We gather insights through research to understand users, systems, and challenges.
  • Define – We analyze findings to identify patterns and frame a clear, focused problem to solve.
  • Develop – We generate ideas, build prototypes, and test them with users to learn what works.
  • Deliver – We refine and share outcomes of prototypes, insights, and/or strategies to support next steps.

Our labs adapt this process to fit their specific challenges. Explore each one to see how the approach applies in different contexts.