🎈

matt
callahan

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I am an industrial designer and
design researcher based in NYC.

I use human centered research
to design experiences that feel
joyful, playful, and new 🐬✨

I co-lead a team of designers
in the IDEO PlayLab to imagine and design the future of play.
‍
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FEATURED WORK

Transforming
Sick Days with Play

What would kid's care experiences look like if they were designed to center a child's POV?

ROLE: RESEARCH LEAD, PROJECT LEAD, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

CLIENT: PLAYHOUSE MD

DELIVERABLES: USER RESEARCH AND PRODUCT STRATEGY, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, THREE SETS OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICAL GRADE PROTOTYPES FOR TESTING & DFM

Uncovering the
Future of Fandom

What new experiences and opportunities are fans around the world craving?

What trends and signals are occurring in sports, music, and entertainment fandoms and what might these learnings mean for how Pokemon connects with their future fans?

ROLE: RESEARCH LEAD

CLIENT: THE POKEMON COMPANY INTERNATIONAL (TCPi)

DELIVERABLES: USER RESEARCH AND PRODUCT STRATEGY, USER ARCHETYPES, INSIGHTS, AND STORYTELLING, PROVOCATIONS FOR EXPERIENCE DESIGN,
PARTNERSHIPS, AND BRAND COLLABS

Co-Designing an AI enabled OS with Gen Z

How might we build a multi-year vision for compelling Android experiences that will resonate with the next generation user?

How can we uncover insights and opportunities to inspire product teams across the org to work towards a shared five year product vision?

ROLE: RESEARCH LEAD

CLIENT: GOOGLE

DELIVERABLES: USER RESEARCH AND PRODUCT STRATEGY, OPPORTUNITIES AND INSIGHTS WORKSHOP, STORYTELLING, HIGH FIDELITY DIGITAL PROTOTYPES, 
UX DESIGN, PROVOCATIONS FOR DESIGNING
MOBILE UX FOR GEN ZERS

✨ Recent design work in the press:

Forbes: Startup Playhouse MD Wants To Add Power Of Play To Kids’ Healthcare (2025)
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Yahoo Finance: Left Field Labs and Hasbro Win Two Webby Awards for Twister AIR (2025)

‍Mojo Nation: Hasbro’s Tanya Thompson and IDEO’s Matt Callahan talk Drop Trivia (2024)

📝 Recent publications in the IDEO Journal:

Is Gen Z ready to embrace AI? It’s complicated
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Values-Led Prototyping for Next-Gen Creative AI
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Will AI Interfere with Relationships? Gen Z Thinks So
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👷 Latest inventions from the IDEO PlayLab invention team:

IDEO Invention Instagram

Full portfolio of research and design work, as well as design leadership experience available on request.

ABOUT

When not conducting research or dreaming up
new product designs, I like to spend my time
making games, music, and gifts that make
my friends and family laugh.

Find me online here:

Gmail
LinkedIn
Instagram