IDEO Reviews

Pros

People really develop deep friendships while working there. Strong alumni network is proof of that.

Cons

Wish the business was growing faster to allow for more lateral growth of more employees so they could stick around

Pros

Culture is authentically collaborative, respectful, and engaged. Employee success is measured by how well you show up against our values, and it's a constant practice and feedback loop to support your getting there. Organization truly feels as flat as possible, and decision-making happens transparently, sometimes collectively, and thoughtfully. Everyone is recognized as a core team member, as a design thinker first and foremost, even in Infrastructure functions. People really, truly enjoy working with one another - it's palpable. Very open access to peers and leaders, and people are incredibly generous with their time. Genuine culture of curiosity. Existence of a Workplace Experience Team which acts as stewards of our culture, wellbeing, and community, adds immense value to the experience of working in any IDEO studio.

Cons

As an organization of 800 globally, in constant evolution of what it means to do good, impactful, transformative design work, there's an appetite for more structure. Knowledge management can be challenging, since each studio holds it's own institutional knowledge. Though our matrix can be complex, it's an active conversation from top-down and bottom-up on how we better streamline and communicative what we all know across all corners of the organization. I truly see the good intent and active experimenting on what it looks like to get this right.

Pros

A huge variety of innovative work with the world's best clients, and brilliant (yet humble) co-workers

Cons

As with any consultancy... you do not take the product/experience/service all the way to the finish line.

Pros

creative, intelligent and kind people

Cons

short projects, not enough time to get to root problems for long term impact,

Pros

Really great humans. You will walk away with friendships that will carry on beyond your time at IDEO. Depending on what part of IDEO you work in, you can feel a deep sense of family & community. Certain parts of IDEO do lack a connective feel though, so it's important to know the culture of the studio you're joining. Interesting projects. You will stretch your skills as a designer and build creative leadership. You'll sometimes have the luxury of being able to think big picture/vision. Well respected. IDEO's brand and marketing efforts are world-class, and they've done a great job at building up its story. That can be leveraged to get you into places that will accelerate your career journey outside of the firm. Unfortunately, I'd say its brand is more powerful than the work itself. Positive work-life balance. It's unrivaled to many other consultancies, and is the justification for the low pay. Great for new parents, as an example, and the ability to take time off for creative pursuits so long as your client work isn't jeopardized. The Experience Teams plan moments for us to come together and connect outside of the office, but this can ebb and flow depending on how busy they are. Put a few years in and you'll walk away with experience and connections that can take you further in your purpose and career.

Cons

Highly disorganized and disconnected. None of the different studios are integrated in a meaningful way. Each location has completely different cultures that are very dependent on the leadership & most connected/popular people in that location. Feels extremely corporate, and growing in this feeling every day. In my years at IDEO, I've seen a steady decline of the creative, playful culture that the firm was built on. A lot of focus on money, clients, margins, business...less conversations on the craft, design, impact. I have been disappointed about certain clients brought in. For example, businesses that actively destroy the environment or societal inequities they create. IDEO still chooses to work with them because they bring in a lot of money despite the fact that most people working there are progressive. Very low pay and little opportunity for advancement. You can move from the individual to team level pretty quickly, but accelerating beyond that to the director level is a massive challenge if you do not have ins with leadership. Horrendously behind when it comes to diversity and inclusion. I was so surprised at how disconnected IDEO was when it comes to D&I. There's a deep lack of understanding from leadership, and while there are active initiatives to try to change this, there hasn't been meaningful shifts. If you identify as a member of a minority community, it will be hard for you to feel connected to the culture there. You will not see people like yourself reflected in leadership. You will experience micro-aggressions and complete disconnects about how some project teams carry themselves. Toxic culture. I've been screamed at by a partner in leadership, have heard others talk negatively about others behind their back, and a lot of favoritism which isn't always based on merit. There's certain spaces at IDEO that are very much a popularity contest and feel like high school, but I did a great job of staying away from that.