IDEO is the design consultancy widely credited with popularizing the concept of “design thinking.”
IDEO was formed in 1991 through the merger of several industrial-design firms, including David Kelley Design, ID Two, and Matrix Product Design. Its work helped present design as a collaborative, human-centered method for solving problems, not merely as the styling of finished products. The consultancy’s process emphasized observing users, generating ideas, building prototypes, and learning through testing.
IDEO’s public profile grew sharply after a 1999 ABC Nightline segment showed its designers redesigning a shopping cart in five days. Tim Brown, IDEO’s chief executive during the concept’s major business expansion, helped explain design thinking to management audiences through lectures, articles, and his 2009 book Change by Design.
IDEO did not invent design thinking. Its roots reach back to design-methods research and Stanford educators such as Rolf Faste and David Kelley. The fair distinction is that IDEO helped popularize and commercialize the approach, especially in business and innovation circles.