From ideas to impact: Meet some of this year’s Kellogg Design Challenge winners

The Global Hub was home to the 2024 Kellogg Design Challenge where 16 teams from eight business schools focused on designing AI productivity solutions for improving collaboration, effectiveness and knowledge sharing in product design and development.

This year’s design challenge also introduced the Award for Excellence in Equity-Centered Design, and we spoke with MMM Program student Ryan C. Noble ’25 who was a part of that award’s winning team to learn more about how his team leveraged design-thinking to address equity challenges to ensure inclusivity and utility in workplace tools.

We also chatted with Sam Lee ’25, another MMM Program student, to discuss the dynamics and challenges that led to her team’s overall success in securing second place. Both Noble and Lee share reflections on the power of human-centered design and the importance of community and collaboration in driving meaningful change. 

Kellogg: Your team won the Excellence in Equity-Centered Design at this year’s challenge — the first time it’s been awarded. What was the guiding factor for your team as you went about the design process? 

Ryan C. Noble: Leveraging what we learned in the MMM Program at Kellogg and the Master of Science in Product Design and Development Management at McCormick, our team dove into the principles of design thinking. This approach isn't just about coming up with ideas — it's about really understanding what users need and crafting solutions that make sense for them.  

We focused a lot on empathy, brainstorming and testing which helped us not just meet but really get to the user's needs. A key part of our strategy was using the desirability, viability and feasibility framework. This didn't just help us come up with cool ideas; it made sure those ideas could work in the real world.  

We aimed to balance out-of-the-box thinking with practical solutions — like taking a common tool such as corporate chatbots and tweaking them to tackle equity issues, making sure they're inclusive and useful. 

 
Kellogg: What was one of the most rewarding or memorable aspects of competing in the largest business design case competition across MBA programs globally, and how do you feel this experience has better prepared you as a business leader? 

Noble: Participating in the largest business design case competition globally was a thrilling and enlightening experience. One of the most rewarding parts was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone. Tackling a completely new problem really tested my ability to use what we’ve learned in class creatively and effectively. 

Seeing the variety of solutions from teams around the world was another highlight. It was fascinating to see the differences in approaches across teams — it was a great display of the power of diverse thinking in business. 

This experience has definitely prepared me to be a leader who thinks with design in mind. As leaders, we’ll often face new challenges or problems that might seem simple at first glance, but this competition, along with our coursework, has taught me the importance of human-centered solutions — focusing on the people who we’re aiming to serve. 

Kellogg: What advice would you give to MBA students participating in next year’s KDC? 

Noble: If you're planning to participate in next year's KDC, here’s some advice to help you make the most of it: 

• Avoid procrastinating; start early: Begin your planning and research as early as possible. This will reduce last-minute stress, but most importantly, give your team ample time to dive deep into the problem, explore various solutions and refine your ideas. The more time you have, the more you can iterate and improve. 
• Be a good teammate: Remember, the value of competitions like KDC extends beyond just winning. It's about the process of building something meaningful together. Focus on being a supportive, collaborative teammate. The experiences you share and the relationships you build during this time are just as important as the end product. 
• Embrace challenges: Step out of your comfort zone and seek new experiences — even if they feel uncomfortable or difficult at first. This is how you grow. Challenging yourself will not only help you develop new skills but also give you a fresh perspective that could lead to innovative solutions. 

Keep these points in mind, and you'll not only enhance your chances of performing well in the competition but also gain a richer, more rewarding experience. Good luck! 

Kellogg: Anything else you’d like to share? 

Noble: I’d love to highlight the importance of human-centered design. It's a powerful approach that anyone involved in creating solutions, products or services should understand, not just product managers.  

Human-centered design focuses on the needs, behaviors and experiences of people —your actual users. By prioritizing these aspects, you ensure that your solutions are not only effective but also truly desired and valued by those who use them. 

For instance, take the segway: it's a fascinating piece of technology, but it failed to become a mainstream product because it didn't address a genuine need or desire for most people. On the other hand, consider children's toothbrushes designed with wider grips — this innovation came from observing and understanding the real difficulties kids face using adult-sized handles showing how insights from human-centered design can lead to successful products. 

I strongly recommend that anyone, regardless of their role or industry, take the time to learn about human-centered design. Whether through classes, lunch and learns, or independent reading — gaining an understanding of this approach will greatly enhance your ability to develop solutions that are innovative and also deeply resonant with your audience. It's a skill set that enriches how you interact with others and guides you in building more thoughtful, effective solutions.  

 
Kellogg: Nice to chat with you Samantha! You and your team received second place at this year’s KDC. Can you share a little bit about what you think contributed to your team’s success?

Samantha Lee: Our team had a diverse balance of students from multiple different programs including the MMM Two-Year MBA Programs as well as a wide breadth of relevant backgrounds including product development, strategy, finance, user experience, consulting and graphic design.  

Many of us also had prior experience, either academically or professionally, in applying human-centered design principles to business problems. This enabled us to examine the challenge problem from multiple different lenses with a common language to ensure our solution was not only feasible but also viable and desirable — the trifecta for good design. 

Kellogg: If you could describe the competition day in three words, what would they be and why? 

Lee: Thrilling and rewarding because of the compressed timeline inherently built into the challenge, we were working right up to the deadline. As a result, we didn’t have much time to mentally transition into competition mode, so the fact that we took home the second-place award (with a cash prize) was a great way to end a whirlwind design sprint! 

Validating — in full transparency, during the beginning of the challenge, our team struggled a bit on how we wanted to interpret the prompt, and whether we were pushing the creative boundaries enough while ensuring our proposed solution was still realistically implementable.  

While at times it felt like we were spinning our wheels, the guiding principle we continued to return to was to keep the product developer at the center of our design — something that is heavily reinforced in our MMM and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion courses.  

We ended up with a solution we were super proud of which just goes to show the power of what our programs are teaching us.  

Kellogg: As you’ve wrapped up your first year at Kellogg, what is one thing you’ve most enjoyed about the journey and what is something you’re looking forward to in your last year? 

Lee: My favorite part of the journey so far has been learning from folks with vastly different backgrounds than me. From Chile to India and industrial design to auto racing, I’ve met super interesting people who have broadened my realm of awareness and understanding in ways I’ve never had before.  

As I look toward my last year, I’m super excited to continue challenging my assumptions of what I think to be true — both personally and professionally — through the experiences of my friends, classmates, mentors and professors! 

Kellogg: Anything else you’d like to share? 

Lee: Thanks for the opportunity to spotlight our team. I am super proud to be part of this group! 


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