“To predict the future, invent it.” So goes the quote from Alan Kay in 1971 and Dennis Gabor before him. But inventing the future is fraught: it’s risky, expensive and time consuming. With the future arriving faster than we can create it, how can an innovator stay ahead?

The most direct approach relies on time travel: simply bring the desired solution back from the future. In this talk, Frishberg reveals how designers can leverage the superpower of time travel they may not know they have.

About Leo Frishberg

Leo Frishberg currently serves as Director, User Experience, at athenahealth and is an active member of the User Experience community both locally and internationally. For over 20 years, he has served on the board of CHIFOO, helping transition the organization’s operations, mission and brand. He has garnered an international reputation as a thought provoking practitioner through his speaking engagements and his publications on the topics of UX architecture, design and research.

Leo’s career in design has spanned over 30 years, beginning with his architectural (bricks-and-mortar) practice in the mid-80s. In 1984 he founded Phase II, his consulting practice. In the 90s he engaged in several entrepreneurial startups. Since 2004, Leo has held leadership and management positions at Tektronix, Intel, The Home Depot Quote Center,  and currently, athenahealth.

Leo’s experience in both non-profit and for-profit enterprises focus on innovation. Specifically, he applies user-centered practices and design thinking to find new market opportunities. Recognized as a provocative speaker, Leo entertains organizations large and small on a variety of topics, including: the value of being wrong, intelligent failure, applied design thinking, product life cycle management, user-centered innovation and the influence of time travel on design. Most recently, Leo has been facilitating discussions around his design-research method, Presumptive Design, detailed in his book of the same name (co-authored with Charles Lambdin), published in 2016.

In addition to his Bachelors in Environmental Planning and Masters in Architecture, Leo has been awarded six patents (all within the area of user experience and information visualization). Leo is a Certified SCRUM Product Owner and is a California Licensed Architect.

Leo and his family call Portland, OR their home where they enjoy each other’s company and can be spotted tasting an Oregon Pinot every once in a while.

If you want to hear an extensive interview with Leo about his career journey, he cringes at the thought of you listening to this podcast on Fail Faster.