Go Deeper with Certificate Programs
Designing for Change is part of a certificate program:
What You'll Learn
Week 1: Introduction
Watch a sneak peek
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Designing for Change—sneak peek of the class
2 Video Lessons
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Designing for Change—Dr. Reddy’s case study
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Circle of Purpose—A look inside human systems
1 Assignment
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Craft your Change Statement: Sketch and complete the sentence: "I want to change (present state) in order to (desired outcome)."
1 Discussion
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When has change led to something beautiful in your life?
Week 2: Mobilizing People
3 Video Lessons
- The Potential for Change—Start with people
- Framing the Change—Why your change matters
- Forming Your Coalition—Organize people for action
1 Assignment
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Mobilizing People: Frame your change in order to build your coalition.
2 Discussions
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Have you ever felt like you were swimming upstream trying to change something?
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Share a frame that got you excited or, even better, inspired you toward action.
Week 3: Taking Action
2 Video Lessons
- Beacons for Change—People support what they create
- How to Build a Beacon—Start small, start now
1 Assignment
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Taking Action: Let's get our hands dirty and start building a beacon.
1 Discussion
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When have you seen a symbol of change that made you want to join in?
Week 4: Growing Change
3 Video Lessons
- Redesigning Conditions—Change can’t happen without friction
- The Power of Storytelling—How to recruit more believers
- The Snowball Effect—Institutionalizing change
1 Assignment
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Growing Change: Write the story of your beacon for change prototype
2 Discussions
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When was a time you experienced friction?
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When was a time that a story really inspired you?
Week 5: Conclusion
1 Video Lesson
- Final Remarks—Change is a journey
1 Assignment
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Final Reflection: Reflect on where you are now and dream of where you want to go to help you set intention and direction.
1 Discussion
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What will you take away from this course to design for change?
Meet Your Instructors

Bryan Yuji Walker
Partner and Managing Director at IDEO San Francisco
Bryan leads the Design for Change studio, helping leaders transform their organizations in pursuit of innovation, adaptability, and impact. His work has won design awards and recognitions, and he lectures at several universities. Bryan has degrees in anthropology and design from Oxford and Cornell.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cohort courses run on a set calendar, with fixed start and end dates. Course learning is self-paced within those dates and requires approximately 4-5 hours per week over 5 weeks. Courses consist of videos, activities, assignments, access to course teaching teams, and feedback from a global community of learners.
Cohort courses also provide optional 1-hour video Community Conversations, held weekly by the teaching team. They occur during set times, which are released during the first week of the course, and set to accommodate as many time zones as possible.
All of our courses are fully online and self-paced, so you can take them from any time zone, anywhere in the world.
During 5-week cohort courses, your course teaching team will host scheduled virtual community conversations which are optional. Timing will be announced during the first week of the course and is set to accommodate as many time zones as possible. Don’t worry if you aren’t able to make it, as these are purely optional.
Absolutely! We have had many teams go through our courses together with great success. For those taking our courses as a team, we provide a couple of additional benefits:
1. A Team Learning Guide, developed to provide your team with resources to facilitate offline discussion to complement the in-course experience.
2. A Manage Learners function, which provides visibility into your team's progress within the course.
3. The ability to create a private Learning Circle, which is a closed space for discussion on the learning platform specifically for your team.
For more information, visit our Team Learning page.
You can purchase your course by clicking Enroll on this page. This will take you to our checkout process where we accept various credit cards, PayPal, or Shop Pay.
We also offer installment plans which you can select at checkout if you use the Shop Pay method of payment. Available for U.S. learners at the moment.
Collaborate with a Global Community
Work with Expert Coaches
Our teaching team has extensive applied industry knowledge. They'll help deepen your understanding and application of the course content by facilitating written discussions, live video moments, and assignment feedback.
Expand Your Network
Join virtual live discussion groups for deeper conversation, reflection, and connection led by teaching team members and available multiple times a week across time zones.
Receive Feedback
Gain tips, techniques, and a downloadable feedback guide; and share and receive feedback on assignments from peers.



Loved by Learners Across the Globe
Designing for Change
Cohort Course“This course gives you a vision of the power to change things. With a little order, structure, and know-how to disseminate an idea well, you can change an entire organization. You can also implement these methods in your own life, with your own challenges.”
Designing for Change
Cohort Course“Love the way IDEO sets up the course and encourages dialogue. I learn as much from my fellow participants as I do from the course content...double bonus!”
Designing for Change
Cohort Course“The learning experience has been delightful, the information is clear, the pace is just right, the material and resources are on point and guide you to conclusions effectively. I learned something new every week.”
Designing for Change
Cohort Course“I love the human-centered approach to problem solving that permeates throughout IDEO. The problem-solving techniques I've taken from this course fit perfectly with any technical or social problem I can imagine and any of my team or fellow problem solvers will benefit. Top quality course. Loved it!”
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Enroll As a Team
The practice and application of design thinking, innovation, and creativity is highly collaborative and team based—which is why we believe that learning is better together. Take a course as a team and develop new skills and mindsets, have deeper discussion during course kickoff and debrief sessions, and build a shared understanding.