100 Minds

From around the world

Patrick Whitney

Dean and Professor,
IIT Institute of Design

Chicago, United States

The next 100 years give us an opportunity to bring back in alignment material well-being and personal/social well being.

Patrick Whitney Bio:

Patrick Whitney publishes and lectures throughout the world about making technological innovations more humane and the link between design and business strategy. He leads several research projects at the Institute of Design, including Global Companies in Local Markets, Design for the Base of the Pyramid, and Schools in the Digital Age. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are among the foundations and corporations supporting his work.

Whitney advises leaders of companies and government agencies about methods of aligning their organization’s strategy with consumer experience. Organizations have included Aetna, BP, Lenovo, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Steelcase, Texas Instruments, and the governments of Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and the UK.

Business Week featured Whitney as a ‘design visionary’ for bringing together design and business, Forbes named him as one of six members of the ‘E-Gang’ for his work in human centered design, and Fast Company identified him as a ‘master of design’ for his leadership in linking the creation of value for users and economic value for companies.

He is a trustee of the Global Heritage Fund and was chairman of the 2011 jury for the Smithsonian National Design Awards.