MIT President L. Rafael Reif
If the Future of MIT Had a Voice, What Would She Say?
Advised the Office of the President through design language and design advisory work.
The Challenge
Selected to serve on President Rafael Reif's presidential cabinet, we were charged with guiding a $6 billion capital campaign in a way that would engage wildly varied audiences — from long-gone alums to new students and their families.
The Approach
As Head Strategist, we led the cabinet's design-based exploration — and, for the first time in cabinet history, negotiated a budget so we could support early-morning team meetings and lift team spirit.
The Process
Gathered user testimony from across campus to ground the strategy in real voices.
Convened a workshop of 50 MIT alums — 'Lifers' — to gather perspective on the future of MIT.
Introduced visual communication into the room: the first team ever to roll a whiteboard into the president's office and run a sketch pin-up.
The Outcome
President Reif responded to the novel delivery methods, and we became known as the team that tried new methods and achieved results.
Several of the ideas we presented were carried into the subsequent capital campaign — which surpassed its $6B goal.
From the engagement
