In the

Daytime

Blurb here about these being case studies across IDEO, Salesforce, Uptake, etc.

Scenario Simulator

As the pandemic catapulted us all into hybrid mode, we took advantage of the opportunity to engage global leaders in a provocative virtual experience. We focused on key issues that were keeping decision makers up at night—from climate action to talent evolution to data-led decision making—and created a series of custom scenarios to shepherd executives through real-time data-led decisions.

Leveraging existing and emerging Salesforce technologies (Lightning Platform, Experience Cloud, Tableau and Heroku) we designed a custom and scalable simulation platform that enabled participation via mobile or laptop across a range of in-person and virtual environments.

From inception to launch, I led the design, development and partner collaboration of the Simulator across both internal and external teams.

Highlighted here is Leading with Data: A collaboration with Dr. Linda Hill at Harvard Business School. Chair of the leadership initiative at HBS, Dr. Hill teamed up with Salesforce to facilitate greater understanding of the ingredients that lead to a data-informed organization, and the dilemmas that leaders often grapple with in their digital transformation journey. This 18-month collaboration culminated in April 2022 with the launch of Leading with Data, an interactive simulation designed for Dr. Hill’s executive education program, Leading in the Digital Era.

Salesforce Simulator Team: Sara Frisk, Dennis Schultz, Lovekesh Babbar, Mick Costigan, David Berthy, Jude Goergen

Salesforce Leading with Data Team: Itai Asseo, Kevin Sheridan, Shari Burk

External Partners: Swift Partners (Nick Davis, Noah Raford), CodeScience, Lovelytics, Harvard Business School

Scenario Simulator

As the pandemic catapulted us all into hybrid mode, we took advantage of the opportunity to engage global leaders in a provocative virtual experience. We focused on key issues that were keeping decision makers up at night—from climate action to talent evolution to data-led decision making—and created a series of custom scenarios to shepherd executives through real-time data-led decisions.

Leveraging existing and emerging Salesforce technologies (Lightning Platform, Experience Cloud, Tableau and Heroku) we designed a custom and scalable simulation platform that enabled participation via mobile or laptop across a range of in-person and virtual environments.

From inception to launch, I led the design, development and partner collaboration of the Simulator across both internal and external teams.

Highlighted here is Leading with Data: A collaboration with Dr. Linda Hill at Harvard Business School. Chair of the leadership initiative at HBS, Dr. Hill teamed up with Salesforce to facilitate greater understanding of the ingredients that lead to a data-informed organization, and the dilemmas that leaders often grapple with in their digital transformation journey. This 18-month collaboration culminated in April 2022 with the launch of Leading with Data, an interactive simulation designed for Dr. Hill’s executive education program, Leading in the Digital Era.

Salesforce Simulator Team: Sara Frisk, Dennis Schultz, Lovekesh Babbar, Mick Costigan, David Berthy, Jude Goergen

Salesforce Leading with Data Team: Itai Asseo, Kevin Sheridan, Shari Burk

External Partners: Swift Partners (Nick Davis, Noah Raford), CodeScience, Lovelytics, Harvard Business School

Signals of Change

According to McKinsey, within the first eight weeks of the pandemic we accelerated five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption. When the World Health Organization declared the pandemic on March 11, 2020 our small but mighty research team in Salesforce's Office of Innovation began tracking every movement. We scoured the news in every sector, listened deeply to our customers, and joined forces with teams across Salesforce to capture challenges, shifts, and trends...marveling at the fascinating patterns of behavior emerging around the globe.

Within a few weeks, we launched Signals of Change, a weekly-updated library of macro and micro patterns built in Quip (an acquired Salesforce technology) and accessible to everyone in the company. Signals were searchable by topic and industry, and each signal linked to relevant news, stories, and case studies. Within its first year, Signals of Change evolved to over 500 entries and was used by Salesforce executives and teams alike to identify new opportunities for our customers. From healthcare, to manufacturing, retail, and real estate, we were astounded by the moxie, ingenuity, and brilliance reshaping our world in the face of adversity.

Salesforce Team:
Sara Frisk
David Berthy
Alana Hartley
Deanna Murshed
Jude Goergen

Talent Agent

In my first few years at Salesforce, I lead a small skunkworks team whose charge was to look across innovation projects to assess repeatable customer needs and patterns. The most glaring challenge (ahem, opportunity)? Empowering employees.

There are all kinds of studies on the efficacy of fully engaged employees. Happy people do better work. Plain and simple. Over the course of 3 years, we concepted and designed a working prototype that demonstrated the value of an integrated human-centered experience to employee, manager, and the overall system—one that spanned recruiting, skills matching, onboarding, performance, learning, and feedback—as well as a gig-based talent marketplace.

To evolve from prototype to full-fledged product, I led our global team in a series of design sprints across New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Paris. We tapped into external and internal experts, data scientists and analytics to determine how to surface insights to managers and leaders. We solidified the technical architecture and developed a roadmap, proving undeniable business value for our customers and for Salesforce.

In 2018, we launched Perform in partnership with Korn Ferry, leveraging their deep history, credibility, and employee data across companies, industries and performance models. For more information, check out KF Perform on Salesforce AppExchange.

Salesforce Team:
Sara Frisk
Katherine von Jan
Itai Asseo
Colin Mooney
Marshall Buxton
Herve Mischler
Jensen Warner

Uptake

I joined Uptake as Chief Creative Officer with the primary charge of building its brand—from scratch. We began with a skeleton team of three (myself, Ryan Sievert and Anna Blessing) with six weeks to launch Uptake out into the world. Due to the speed of growth of the company, we quickly realized that it was as important to develop the brand internally as it was externally. On March 5th, 2015, we launched Uptake from the inside out: a new identity, brand principles, an onboarding kit for each employee, a website, and presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And that was only the beginning. For more information, check out uptake.com. 

Uptake Team: 
Sara Frisk
Ryan Sievert
Anna Blessing
Jude Goergen
Bojan Radojcic
Valerie Craig
Rod Hunting

Divvy

In collaboration with Firebelly Design, IDEO named and branded Divvy, Chicago’s bike share system. Our goal was to create a brand that embodied the freedom and spontaneity of cycling, highlighted the safety and utility of a robust transportation system, and leveraged the unique pride of Chicagoans. Divvy was honored by Good Magazine as one of the 10 Best Designs of 2013. It was featured in the CHGO DSGN exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center, and is on display at Divvy stations across Chicago.

From inception to launch, I led our internal initiative and external collaborations, including the complex stakeholder choreography between Chicago’s Department of Transportation, the Office of the Mayor, and Alta Bikes. For more information, see the full case study on ideo.com. 

IDEO Team: 
Sara Frisk
David Berthy
Adam Geremia

Firebelly Team: 
Nick Adam
Dawn Hancock
Will Miller

Matter

We named and branded a new Chicago entrepreneurial healthcare collaborative, called Matter. Its purpose is to draw on the strength and diversity of industry leaders and entrepreneurs throughout the healthcare industry in and around Chicago—from diagnostics, biopharma, medical devices, and healthcare IT—to advance the field through collaboration and experimentation. Matter opened its doors in the Merchandise Mart in February of 2015. 

IDEO Team: 
Elaine Fong
Sara Frisk
Alison Yard Medland 

Brooks Pure Project

We developed a new product platform for Brooks Running, empowering the brand to authentically engage in the then-emerging minimalist running movement. Pure Project leaned on the core strength of the Brooks brand in biomechanics and technology, yet leveraged a light and structure-free frame—providing runners (and the industry) with a new platform for lightweight technical running. Within its first 6 months, Pure Project gained 33% of the market share in minimal running, and Brooks rose to claim over 50% of the specialty running market overall. For more information, check out the case study on ideo.com.

IDEO Team: 
Jenny Comiskey
Sara Frisk
Stephan Merkle
Jerry O'Leary
Clark Scheffy   

Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies sought to create a new venture—leveraging their experience in barcodes, receipts, and RFID printers and technologies, yet looking to the future of connected devices through the Internet of Things. Over a series of engagements, IDEO designed and developed a new software platform, called Zatar, an open system that can transmit information on identity, location, status, temperature, and condition of just about everything. Zatar is featured in the CHGO DSGN exhibition, and was named a 2014 IDEA Finalist by the Industrial Design Society of America. For more information, see the full case study on ideo.com. 

IDEO Team: 
Aaron Ferber
Sara Frisk
Nick Inzucchi
Burton Rast
Matthew Stiffler
Jon Wettersten
Colleen Wilson

Video 
Jude Goergen

Walgreens

Repositioning itself as a national leader in wellness, Walgreens asked IDEO to help rethink, reframe, and evolve what it means to be a community pharmacy in the 21st century. This pharmacy work would be combined with Walgreens work on new concepts for the non-pharmacy departments of its stores, including new approaches to beauty products, fresh food, integration with online shopping and the entire customer shopping experience. For more information, check out IDEO's full case study. 

IDEO Team: 
David Blanchard
Jenny Comiskey
Sara Frisk
Mark Jones
Jennifer Levin
Michelle Moy
Burton Rast
Warit Tulyathorn 

IDEO Chicago Homecoming

For the first 10 years of its life, IDEO Chicago lived in Evanston. After a long hunt for the perfect space, and an even longer buildout, we moved into the West Loop in 2010 and became an actual Chicago studio. New to downtown, we threw a giant party to welcome our neighbors into our new digs, and introduced ourselves through a quirky Homecoming invitation that was mailed to friends, acquaintances, and clients far and wide. 

IDEO Team: 
Annette Ferrara, writer
Sara Frisk, design + handwriting
Adam Geremia, photographer
Matthew Stiffler, handwriting

IDEO Eyes Open

When it comes down to it, IDEO is in the business of designing experiences. We're less interested in the best food, the trendiest thrift store, or the secret dive bar...unless it's part of a bigger story. A few years ago, we decided to try to package our favorite experiences in a series of curated city guides, called IDEO Eyes Open. Unfortunately, the series started and stopped with New York and London, alive just long enough to be named one of Fast Company's Best Business Books of 2008. But perhaps more importantly—it inspired my friend Stephanie and I to take a trip to London where she met her future husband at Cafe Kick, a tiny foosball bar recommended by our very own Eyes Open. 

IDEO Team: 
George Aye
Fred Dust
Sara Frisk
Amy Leventhal

Nemours

To strengthen its brand, Nemours approached IDEO for help in creating an innovative, differentiated, and patient-centric experience for a new children's hospital in Orlando. The overall goal was to establish Nemours as a destination care provider and an industry leader.

In 2012, the health-care system opened the sixty-acre, $400 million Nemours Children’s Hospital in Lake Nona Medical City in Florida. Many of its state-of-the-art design elements are the product of its collaboration with IDEO, which involved several projects that identified and clarified both family needs and key experience touch points in the patient journey. Check out the full case study on ideo.com.

IDEO Team: 
George Aye
Colleen Cotter
Sara Frisk
Warit Tulyathorn

Handwriting and illustration by Mark Addison Smith