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I founded Moonshot, the innovation lab at Barkley. Moonshot became a center for technology innovation and inspiration, and it also produced transformative change throughout the company.
We launched innovation culture initiatives, training hundreds of partners in Design Thinking, emerging technologies, rapid prototyping and innovation processes, skills and mindsets. We attracted new clients to the agency for innovation assignments, and we supported the new business team, participating in core Agency of Record pitches, helping to tip the scales in several key wins. We also earned significant industry press, speaking engagements from industry associations and coverage from analysts. We also became an important recruiting tool, attracting some of the best and most unique talent to the agency and becoming a reason for other talented partners to choose Barkley over other offers.
Not all of that was apparent in 2011 when I first approached Barkley's executive team about the need to help clients and partners better understand emerging technologies and accelerate innovation. I proposed the plan for Moonshot–a small, dedicated team to explore new technologies and turn our insights into practical, hands-on experiential demonstrations, prototypes and learning experiences.
These experiential offerings included workshops, innovation sprints, hack days and other custom-designed experiences. Through Moonshot, I introduced Design Thinking workshops to Barkley and helped launch Barkley's Experience Design practice, creating an entirely new practice and revenue stream for the agency.
Moonshot also contributed to the life of the agency by using our Human-Centered Innovation process to tackle projects ranging from redesigning time entry, to building a chatbot that helps people find their way around the building, to letting our partners know when they could grab time in a Zen Room.
My work at Moonshot has been some of the most varied and interesting of my career to date. It has exposed me to a vast innovation community beyond advertising, and it has taught me the lessons of resilience and persistence that innovation demands. I’m looking forward to applying my hard-earned and hard-learned skills and experience against new opportunities in the near future.
Introduction to Design Thinking workshop
Face scanning installation for TEDxAustin
Using our Human Centered Innovation process and data analysis to create the optimal bra-buying experience
Client workshop activity, unpacking user's identity, needs, and insights.
Reporting findings from field observational study for restaurant client. We used VR to map out a new To Go order experience.