Our first project has launched! IDEO.org/" target="_blank">IDEO.org and TEDx have kicked off a project to design a new TEDx in a Box experience.

The Challenge:

The purpose of the TEDx in a Box concept is to give TEDx organizers the tools necessary to host TEDx events in under-resourced areas and informal settlements throughout the world. TEDx has been experimenting with this idea and has previously distributed ten boxes at locations around the globe. TEDx engaged IDEO.org" target="_blank">IDEO.org" target="_blank">IDEO.org" target="_blank">IDEO.org" target="_blank">IDEO.org to redesign the TEDx in a Box in a human-centered way, incorporating feedback from TEDx experiences with the initial boxes. The TEDx in a Box must be operational in areas with limited access to electricity and infrastructure, and be able to cross language barriers.

The Team:

Our TEDx team is composed of three IDEO.org Fellows – Emily, Marika, and Robin. This is our first project as IDEO.org Fellows and we are enormously excited to get started. 

Emily: "I’m thrilled to be on this project with TEDx. One of my priorities this year with IDEO.org is to get my hands dirty and design tangible and useful things that create a positive impact on the world."

Marika: "Most projects for poor communities focus on negatives, but this project is inspiring and unique, and focuses on tangible solutions that can be delivered in a really short time frame."

Robin: "I love the challenge of working to help people bring big ideas to communities that are not typically exposed to them."

Getting Started:

The current TEDx in a Box includes a mini-projector; two smart phones (which can run pre-loaded TEDTalks, take pictures and movies, and record audio); a gorilla tripod; many cables; and a set of small speakers. We started the project with a fantastic kickoff day with our TEDx clients – Becca and Lara – and are currently immersed in design research and initial concepting.

We’ve spoken with a number of TEDx organizers across the globe from India, South Africa, Dubai, and Ecuador who have openly shared helpful feedback and thoughts on the TEDx experience.

Preliminary Feedback and Insights from Interviews:

• TEDx organizers want to cater to a bigger audience;

• TEDx organizers need help explaining the value of TEDx to the audience, local leaders, and speakers;

• TEDx organizers rarely run the event alone and need support organizing a team of volunteers;

• TEDx organizers want a friendlier, less inconspicuous look to the TEDx in a Box, and help assembling the audio visual system in an easier way;

• TEDx organizers need content that is locally relevant, including comprehensible TEDTalks (the prerecorded TED speeches that the TEDx in a Box is capable of broadcasting).

What's Next?

We’ve heard a lot of inspiring and fascinating stories from the TEDx organizers we’ve spoken with over Skype, and have captured some great feedback that is really informing our design.

This week we also dove into some fascinating analogous experiences. We took a trip to REI to look at camping equipment, instruction manuals, portable items, and devices that work without electricity. We also stopped by IDEO’s Toy Lab to better understand ways of communicating that transcend language, including using images and drawings or simply designing components that intuitively go together.

The rest of our broader IDEO.org team has helped us with some awesome ideas during brainstorming and we have already lined up engineers from the IDEO shop to build our first prototype by early next week.

Stay tuned for more updates!