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abstract

dreams • design + life delivers design and innovation services using a human-centered approach.  We introduce 1. Strategic Design to accelerate our client partners’ growth ambitions, and 2. Industrial Design to optimize the creation of relevant design outcomes within that context.  Strategic Design represents the uncovering of latent needs and the creation of holistic design solutions to answer them. Industrial Design empathically applies form, function and finishes to create meaningful experiences.  This naturally applies to physical devices, but the industrial design process also brings influence to digital experiences and service models as well.

Our mission is to unlock human potential through the creation of empathic and holistic experiences.  To achieve that, we bring new ecologies to life that weave together physical, digital and service-related experiences.  We operate at the intersection of design, business and technology, inspired by our founder Kevin Bethune’s journey. Kevin brings over 25 years of experience in mechanical engineering, product creation, strategy, industrial design and previously served as a creative co-founder of two innovation incubators before starting dd•l.  This enables us to deliver our breadth and depth of expertise in every creative collaboration.

  • Opened the aperture of the world’s leading athletics brand to explore holistic experiences beyond their core product offerings, informing their roadmap with opportunities to meet athletes where they are in their health and wellness journey.

    FUTURE VISIONING, TREND CURATION, STRATEGIC DESIGN, NEW ECOLOGIES

  • Introduced new brand, design and innovation capabilities at a biotech startup based in Irvine, California, balancing future foresight, product design and hiring of its in-house creative team under our design stewardship.

    FUTURE VISIONING, STRATEGIC DESIGN, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, BRAND STRATEGY

  • Led the industrial design of a connected cryptocurrency and NFT hardware wallet, balancing brand strategy, packaging design and product design along with capability-build of its in-house creative team under our design stewardship.

    INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, STRATEGIC DESIGN, PACKAGING DESIGN, BRAND STRATEGY

  • Opened the aperture of a billion dollar fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand by distilling key cultural insights within a newly untapped demographic of consumer, influencing the evolution of their brand strategy and visual identity.

    FUTURE FORESIGHT, ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH, STRATEGIC DESIGN

  • Led the industrial design of a women’s high-end fashion footwear accessory, balancing brand strategy, trend curation and product design helping to earn successful sell-in at Neiman Marcus as well as media coverage by the Wall Street Journal.

    INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, BRAND STRATEGY

  • Studied human behavior in context and synthesized latent unmet needs for a prominent mixed reality headset manufacturer that needed to pivot into enterprise verticals across healthcare, government, telecommunications and industrial goods.

    STRATEGIC DESIGN, ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

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HOLISTIC APPROACH:

strategic design + industrial design + new ecologies

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continuum

Since the beginning of time, the human value criteria we hold dear either changes with the times or remains a steady constant. As the pace of change becomes exponential, we find ourselves questioning what makes us human. Even our most basic needs should not be taken for granted, and we have to weigh the short and long term implications for anything we invent and bring into the world.

When we think about what to create, history can teach us many lessons. We must also ensure that we are present in every moment. We must allow ourselves to feel what is happening with all our senses. We can then lean into our imagination to create a more meaningful, beautiful future. We see this working together as a continuum, where the past, present and future are always connected.

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dreams

Dreams are the product of our imagination and illustrate our future in rich fidelity. Ideally, the vision we have for our pursuits connects to the dreams we had as a child. It is very important to remain child-like, even though our dreams may refine with age.

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• design

Design helps bring our visions into reality. Design helps us see the future with visual clarity, while respecting the winds of uncertainty. Design toes off the hard constraints with optimism and finds a path forward even when it’s not immediately clear. We trust the process.

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+ life

Life is real. Moments lift us up, some knock us down. Whether in fight or flight, improving the human condition requires us to lead with courage and empathize with others. Courage comes from convictions where we believe in something much bigger than ourselves.