our mission: to unlock human potential through the creation of empathic and holistic experiences
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about dd•l
Today, clients encounter risk when soliciting firms to help them explore their growth questions. They might work with a singular design firm that may only perform one task well or a human-centered innovation firm whose methods are delivered in very formulaic ways to mitigate ambiguity. This breeds high cost, compromise and limited impact.
We empathize with clients’ strategic objectives by identifying the critical gaps and mobilizing the right open-source capabilities to deliver impact against them. We focus on those industries where we can unlock human potential through a holistic approach by marrying physical, digital and service interactions within a seamless, intuitive experience.
INDUSTRIES OF FOCUS:
RELATIONSHIPS PAST & PRESENT:
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our capabilities
trend curation - investigate trends that best characterize social, technological, economic, environmental, political, energy and regulatory movements across your space.
future visioning - cross-pollinate trends that inform the art of the possible, and imagine future landscapes that can help you manage for uncertainty today.
human-centered design - elevate the voice of the consumer within our multidisciplinary collaboration by embracing people’s value criteria as we conceptualize solutions.
ethnographic research - investigate sources of friction affecting your audiences, and elevate the insights and opportunities that will inform new & novel concepts.
product design - design the most empathic solution (physical + digital + service) that addresses the identified friction through multidisciplinary creative problem-solving.
product development - continue our partnership into the “build” to ensure the design guiding-principles are upheld through every phase of the product development process.
INNOVATION IS NONLINEAR:
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our team
Our think tank operates in a very fluid manner, thoughtfully deploying itself with every engagement. Relationships guide where we spend our time, and values always persist in the foreground. We broker collaboration from the very start versus responding to transactional brief. We bring together talent from a very small circle of trusted collaborators and entrepreneurs.
Each team member of dreams • design + life brings extensive experience from their domains of expertise. They are entrepreneurs in their own right, and have spent considerable time on the fringes pushing boundaries. Together, we want to explore opportunities that shape the future through a combination of thinking and doing, balancing strategy and craft.
kevin bethune
Kevin Bethune is the Founder & Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, a "think tank" that delivers design & innovation services using a human-centered approach. Kevin's background spans engineering, business and design in equal proportion over his 25 year career, positioning him to help brands deliver meaningful innovations to enrich people's lives.
His work represents creative problem-solving that brings multidisciplinary teams together to see the future through an open aperture, and a deep industrial design approach to inform and influence desirable, feasible and business-viable design outcomes.
Kevin also serves as a Trustee for ArtCenter College of Design and a Board member for the Design Management Institute (DMI).
kisun kim
As a UX designer and entrepreneur with a business background, Kisun Kim is keen on listening to people's stories, empathizing and creating meaningful experiences that make an impact.
She helps client partners transform new ideas and technologies into marketable solutions by discovering latent needs through meticulous user research and prototyping. Kisun’s recent experiences involved shaping several early-stage startups, and recent large enterprise innovation efforts for Nike Football and Magic Leap.
At dreams • design + life, Kisun’s expertise in user research and ideation plays an integral role in creating disruptive, human-centered solutions. Prior to dd•l, Kisun led UX and industrial design projects at Nestlé Global R&D.
andrew nagata
Andrew Nagata is a design technologist and entrepreneur focused on the transformative potential of emerging technologies. His work explores ways technology can empower, uphold, and augment human performance.
As the founder of Rollyk, a digital product consulting practice, Andrew helps clients navigate the ever changing sea of technological change through a unique blend of human centered design and engineering know-how. Recent collaborators include NASA/JPL, Boston Consulting Group, Nike, Magic Leap, PizzaDAO, and a handful of startups.
In addition to client work, Andrew has published several digital experiences in his ongoing research into the design and fabrication of human-centered products. His hybrid thinking, and hands-on prototyping, offer dream • design + life collaborations a technical voice that strategically frames digital innovation, while staying true to the design of people-first solutions.
lonnie bethune
Lonnie Bethune is the Chief Operating Officer of dreams • design + life. Lonnie serves as an advisor to Kevin, providing measured wisdom and objective insights on business operations, marketplace paradigms and client partnerships.
Lonnie brings a wealth of experience in people management, human resources, business operations, retail merchandising and customer centricity.
Outside of work, Lonnie nurtures his love for photography and volunteering with different social impact groups.