Jane Fulton Suri spent nearly four decades defining the craft of design research. She says it’s less about collecting information and more about changing how you see something.
In this episode, IDEO CEO Mike Peng talks with Jane about memorable moments from her lengthy career, what separates a good insight from a great one, and where she thinks the discipline needs to go next.
Related Resources:
Jane teaches Insights for Innovation, part of IDEO U's AI x Design Thinking Certificate.
Insights for Innovation online course — https://www.ideou.com/products/insights-for-innovation
AI x Design Thinking Certificate — https://www.ideou.com/products/ai-design-thinking-certificate
Jane Fulton Suri on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-fulton-suri-64098a57/
Thoughtless Acts, by Jane Fulton Suri — https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/580270.Thoughtless_Acts_
Previous podcast episodes with Jane:
Why Bringing Curiosity Into Your Work Takes Courage: Jane Fulton Suri — https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/why-bringing-curiosity-into-your-work-takes-courage-jane-ful
How to Build Empathy Skills: Q&A with Jane Fulton Suri — https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/how-to-build-empathy-skills-qa-with-jane-fulton-suri
In This Episode
Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks.
(00:00) A team designs a case to carry a donor kidney and realizes the emotion of the moment matters as much as functionality
(01:30) Mike introduces Jane with five facts about her background
(04:27) Psychology, architecture, ergonomics, and the meeting with Bill Moggridge that changed everything for Jane
(09:26) The origin story of design research, how it became a sellable phase, and what got lost along with it
(12:53) A haircut, a proposal, and the nearly-free idea that became IDEO's first customer journey
(16:17) The kidney story, in full and the design feature that came out of it
(18:39) Jane's definition of a great insight: not a framework, an epiphany
(21:47) Why nothing beats being "a sensory human being in the world,” even as AI evolves
(24:36) Rock climbing, swimming, woodblock printing: how her hobbies inspire her approach to design
(26:39) Grayson Perry, a wardrobe, and why Jane doesn't love the word "research"
(30:15) Her advice to young Jane: get over the imposter syndrome faster
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