This article was written by Devorah Klein and Gianna Ericson If you want to know what’s ailing the U.S. health care system, just ask the person next to you. Chances are, she’ll have a personal horror story to share about outlandish costs, inaccessibility of care, the regulations strangle on innovation, the battery of tests that … Read more

When people make changes in their lives, whether it is flossing their teeth or quitting smoking, they will have setbacks. And when they do, it is easy to let that setback turn into a pattern of failure. While going a day without flossing isn’t a catastrophe, there is still an opportunity to help someone get back on track. Weight Watchers has flex points that can be used on one massive chocolate binge. In the case of smoking cessation, we can help the desperate need for one cigarette remain just that: one cigarette. We can design for that setback so it doesn’t turn into an entire pack of cigarettes. Design for resilience is being realistic that setbacks will happen, and creating safe ways to fail and bounce back.

We explored this idea as the basis of a concept project. The result is 1Z, the single serving cigarette. Read more

Changing our ingrained behavior—taking medications, eating better and exercising, saving for retirement—is hard for nearly everyone. Most of us need help. Just about every behavior change category teems with programs and products trying to help. But most of these programs fail in the long-term. People revert to prior habits and behaviors. Most efforts to help … Read more