About
Articles by Ravi
Activity
9K followers
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisWhat happens when human-centered design becomes the organizing intelligence behind AI? You begin with people. Their needs. Their aspirations. What earns their trust. What makes them choose—and what makes them come back. Then you carry that understanding through the decisions that determine whether an idea succeeds. That’s the ambition behind Eydora™ — Human Intelligence Amplified™, born from RKS Design and more than four decades of Psycho-Aesthetics®. Seven connected modules bring human understanding into opportunity discovery, product development, operations, capital strategy, risk, and marketing. More than 500 interlinked analyses help teams explore what matters, challenge assumptions, and build a shared direction. Months of human-centered strategy work, brought into hours—with human judgment at the center. Discover where your opportunity is strongest. Understand what could hold it back. Explore how to improve it before committing capital—and give your team a clearer path to execution. What could you achieve if that depth of intelligence were working for you? See Eydora in action. Join me and Cary Chow, alongside RKS Design and IDSA Los Angeles, for a live online demonstration on Saturday, October 3, at 11:30 AM Pacific, followed by conversation and Q&A. Bring your questions—and imagine what this could mean for your next opportunity. Register for the live demonstration: https://luma.com/olpkp7ov
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisHow can Eydora help unlock your future with just six questions? Because those six questions are the starting point for a much deeper analysis. Behind them are 45 years of human-centered design experience, Psycho-Aesthetics®, and more than 500 interlinked analyses. Alongside them is what you already know: the customer research, reviews, feedback, plans, and other materials you upload confidentially. The questions establish your objective. Your knowledge provides context. Eydora connects the implications. What have you overlooked? What could prevent adoption? Where can you differentiate? What should you improve before committing capital? What deserves your team’s attention first? Eydora helps turn those connections into strategic direction your team can act on—in hours, for analytical work that could take months. Then you can challenge the findings, refine the opportunity, and explore how those changes affect its Success Probability Score. Six questions open the door. What you discover—and do next—can change the future of your business. On Saturday, October 3, RKS Design will livestream a demonstration of Eydora™—exploring how it amplifies proven human-centered intelligence at software speed and scale. Register for the livestream: https://luma.com/olpkp7ov #innovation #design #AI #DesignThinking#DMI#IDSA
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisMeta’s distribution, capital, and AI capabilities give its standalone device a serious chance. But will people want another device? According to CNBC, Meta’s Muse personal agent surpassed 2.5 million downloads shortly after launch and topped Apple’s U.S. free app chart. That early traction strengthens the opportunity for Muse Charm, Meta’s pocket-sized AI companion. It creates a potential audience already familiar with the intelligence behind the hardware. My preliminary SPS SnapShot: 71/100 — More Work Required. SPS SnapShots are quick, directional assessments of relevance, desirability, differentiation, credibility, and commercial potential. This score reflects available evidence—not a 71% statistical probability of success. The strongest adoption path is straightforward: people find Muse useful, begin relying on it, and purchase the device because it makes that assistance easier to access. But the app’s popularity raises the hardest question: “If Muse already works on my phone, what improves enough to justify carrying, charging, and paying for another device?” The hardware must earn its place through: • Faster, easier completion of everyday tasks. • Reliable performance in real situations. • Clear privacy controls and user authority. • Lasting usefulness after the novelty fades. Amazon’s reported decision to block Muse exposes another dependency: an agent’s value depends on access to the services people actually use. Humane and Rabbit demonstrated that these products could be built. Their existence alone did not establish sustained consumer demand. Through Psycho-Aesthetics®, the decisive human promise is: “I feel more capable, less burdened, and in control.” As I’ve said for years: “It’s not how you feel about the design or the experience; it’s how it makes you feel about yourself.” Meta has the resources to compete. Sustained adoption will depend on whether this device makes everyday life meaningfully better. That is the question an SPS SnapShot brings into focus—before capital is committed. Want to learn what Eydora can do for you, visit eydora.ai. #innovation #design #AI #DesignThinking #PsychoAesthetics #Eydora
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisWhat if you didn’t have to prompt your way through every step? Prompting can feel like rowing toward a destination while facing backward: take a stroke, turn around to check your direction, then steer again. Eydora carries the analytical work forward—and keeps it anchored to the objective. Built on 45 years of Psycho-Aesthetics® and more than 500 interlinked analyses, Eydora connects seven modules: PA Foundation Opportunity Discovery Opportunity Development Operations & Expansion Financial & Capital Strategy Policy, IP & Compliance Risk Marketing & Brand Suite Across these modules, Eydora can generate in hours a connected body of analysis and deliverables that could take a team months to research, develop, and synthesize—without letting the work drift from the original objective. Outputs include a board-ready Executive Summary, Comprehensive Report, Team Briefs, PA Canvas, PA Business Canvas, PA Map, and Success Probability Score (SPS). Team Briefs help everyone stay aligned on the same objective and direction. You can keep the conversation going: challenge assumptions, improve the opportunity, and see how those changes affect its SPS—a business FICO-style signal of its potential. The $100 SPS gives leaders a clear read on five essentials: relevance, desirability, differentiation, credibility, and the promise of commercial success in minutes. Eydora reports range from a few hundred dollars to about $1,000. Your project inputs remain completely confidential to you and are never used to train public models or shared. Less time steering every prompt. More time making better decisions—without losing sight of the objective. See what Eydora can do for you at eydora.ai #Innovation #Design #AI #DesignThinking
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisJoin us in person—capacity is limited to 125 people, and registration closes Wednesday, September 30: https://luma.com/39iru69kRavi Sawhney shared thisStep inside RKS Design and see what comes next. Join RKS Design and IDSA Los Angeles on Saturday, October 3, for brunch, networking, studio tours, and a live demonstration of Eydora™ — Human Intelligence Amplified™. The demonstration will be led by Ravi Sawhney, founder and CEO of RKS Design, creator of Psycho-Aesthetics®, and an IDSA Fellow, alongside Cary Chow, RKS Design’s Vice President of Program Management. Together, they’ll show how Eydora helps designers turn research and early ideas into human-centered strategy—uncovering opportunities, shaping stronger briefs, evaluating concepts, and giving teams clearer reasons to move forward. 10:30 AM — Brunch, networking, and studio tours 11:30 AM — Eydora demonstration and livestream 12:15 PM — Conversation and Q&A In-person attendance is limited to 125 people. Register by Wednesday, September 30, to join us at the studio. Can’t join us in Thousand Oaks? Watch the demonstration online at 11:30 AM Pacific. Registration and additional links are in the comments. #RKSDesign #Eydora #IDSALA #IndustrialDesign #HumanCenteredDesign
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisWhat the Sharks missed, Eydora is built to see. The Sharks passed on DoorBot. It became Ring, which Amazon acquired in 2018. Retrospective SPS: 84/100. Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary backed ToyGaroo. Customers came, but inventory and shipping costs overwhelmed the business. Retrospective SPS: 63/100. They backed Scrub Daddy, too—and got that one right. Retrospective SPS: 89/100. What separates these pitches? A great presentation can make an opportunity look stronger than its economics. An unfamiliar product can make a valuable opportunity easy to dismiss. Eydora is built to look beneath the pitch: customer motivation, differentiation, adoption barriers, operating costs and the evidence behind the growth story. Its SPS brings those factors into one decision framework so founders and investors can see what deserves a go, what needs more work and what risks being overlooked. These scores look back at known outcomes. The value of Eydora is asking the harder questions before capital is committed. See what Eydora can do for you at https://eydora.ai. #Innovation #Design #AI #DesignThinking
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisSPS 62/100: Sydney Sweeney’s Novig Campaign—Attention ≠ Connection OK! Magazine asked me for my Psycho-Aesthetics® perspective on Sydney Sweeney’s provocative Novig campaign and the question it raises: When does attention become a brand risk? Read the article featuring my comments: https://lnkd.in/g7PfHuey As I shared in the article: “The risk for brands is assuming that attention and connection are the same thing. They’re not.” Eydora's preliminary editorial SPS assessment: 62/100 for sustainable brand value. Here’s what drives that assessment: • Attention: Strong. Celebrity and provocation make the campaign difficult to ignore. • Audience fit: Promising. It may resonate with Novig’s intended customers. Criticism from other audiences does not automatically mean failure. • Product differentiation: Less clear. Will people remember why to choose Novig—or primarily remember Sydney Sweeney? • Emotional connection: Divisive. The campaign may attract some people while weakening others’ willingness to identify with the brand. • Lasting business impact: Unverified. Customer acquisition, retention and brand preference would tell us more than visibility alone. Novig’s leadership says it is pleased with the response. The next question is whether that response translates into lasting customer value. What would raise the score? Evidence that the campaign attracts customers who stay, strengthens brand preference and makes Novig’s product advantage memorable. Through Psycho-Aesthetics®, we ask a deeper question: “It’s not how you feel about the design or the experience; it’s how it makes you feel about yourself.” A successful campaign gives people a reason to see themselves in the brand—and feel good about choosing it. The 62/100 is a preliminary editorial assessment based on public reporting, not a verified Eydora platform result or a measured probability of success. #innovation #design #AI #DesignThinking See what Eydora can do for you at https://eydora.ai.
-
Ravi Sawhney shared thisAI can give students answers in seconds. But who is teaching them how to understand people, Eydora is for free? That is why Eydora™ provides its Psycho-Aesthetics® canvases free to students. AI is rapidly changing how students research, write, design and solve problems. Used well, it can expand their capabilities. Used without discipline, it can bypass the very thinking through which judgment develops. The Psycho-Aesthetics® canvases do not tell students what to think. They teach them how to think about people: What motivates them? What do they value? What creates trust? What prevents adoption? How will an idea make them feel about themselves? What human consequences might the data overlook? These are not simply design questions. They are the foundation of responsible innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and decision-making. Students should not be trained merely to produce faster answers. They should learn to frame better questions, challenge assumptions and understand the people affected by their decisions. AI can amplify intelligence. But empathy, curiosity, critical thinking and judgment must still be developed. We are making the Psycho-Aesthetics® canvases free because access to AI alone is not enough. The next generation also needs access to a proven framework for becoming more human-centered thinkers. The future should not belong only to students who know how to use AI. It should belong to those who know how to use it in service of people. Learn more at eydora.ai #Innovation #Design #AI #DesignThinking #Education #HumanCenteredDesign #HumanIntelligence
-
Ravi Sawhney shared this“Who would think The Beatles needed research?” Steve Kaneko, a friend and brilliant designer who was the first one hired at Microsoft, and I were talking about music, guitars and musicians at the International Design Conference just a few weeks ago. I shared a brief encounter I had with George Harrison at Tower Records. His legendary album, All Things Must Pass, was stacked beside the register. George was standing next to me holding an eclectic collection of records, ranging from country to pop. I started chatting with him when I asked what he was doing with such a diverse selection. He answered simply: “Gathering research.” Steve responded, “Who would think The Beatles needed research?” That was precisely the lesson. Even one of the most gifted and influential musicians of all time continued looking beyond what he already knew. He was not researching to copy others. He was opening himself to unfamiliar sounds and ideas that could ignite new creative possibilities. Research does not constrain creativity. It fuels it. Designers need the same stimulation. When we remain inside our own experience, we often reproduce what we already know. When we engage with people, culture, markets and unexpected sources of inspiration, new connections become possible. That is one reason we created Eydora™. Eydora™ leverages research and AI to generate months of human centered analysis, visual intelligence and design strategy in days. It helps reveal unmet needs and fresh opportunities that can inspire relevant, aspirational ideas grounded in people’s lives. What users bring into Eydora™ remains private. It cannot be seen by the Eydora team and is never used to train public AI models. AI should not replace creativity. It should expand the world from which creativity draws. If George Harrison still needed research, perhaps all of us do. Want to learn more about what Eydora™ can do for you? Visit eydora.ai #Innovation #Design #AI #DesignThinking #Research #Creativity #HumanIntelligence
-
Ravi Sawhney liked thisRavi Sawhney liked thisAnthropic made Opus 5.5 WAY cheaper. Here's what's really going on behind the price: Companies pay AI by the word: every word it reads and writes goes on the bill. On Opus 5.5, each word now costs 20% less. Yet Anthropic says a finished job costs 40% less. The difference is that the new model talks less. Then there's memory. AI assistants that work on their own reread the same instructions again and again, and every reread gets billed. Anthropic says that's most of the bill, and it just cut that price by 60%. The model also needs fewer computers to run, and it answers 30% faster. And the timing isn't random. Anthropic has lined up a huge new supply of Amazon chips. A cheaper model wins the price war. A shorter one wins it twice. Is Opus 5.5 the best model release of the year?
-
Ravi Sawhney liked thisRavi Sawhney liked thisMarcus made the fast, confident, "strong leader" call. Two weeks later he found out his team saw it coming - they just didn't feel safe telling him. Then his best manager quit. His reason: "I don't feel like my expertise matters anymore. Decisions come from the top, and we just execute." Six months later, same kind of moment walks back into the room. This time Marcus shares his view - and stops talking. What happens next isn't a better version of his answer. It's something nobody in the room had proposed on their own. This is the final edition in our five-part series, When Leadership Systems Stay Stuck. ==== Here's what the whole series has been circling: four invisible costs, one shared root. → Momentum hidden behind busy activity metrics (Edition 19) → Influence hidden behind formal access (Edition 20) → Growth hidden behind quick expert fixes (Edition 21) → Collaboration hidden behind individual scorecards (Edition 22) Different symptom every time. Same cause: leadership capacity built to live in one person, instead of the system around them. None of these fix themselves through good intentions. They fix through redesigning what actually gets measured, recognised, and rewarded - so the capacity to navigate them stops depending on one person being sharp enough, fast enough, or present enough to catch everything alone. ==== Of the four patterns this series named - which one is quietly running in your team right now? Full breakdown (and Marcus's full story) in this week's edition ⬇️ Want a simple tool to reflect on where you stand? The free MQNA Journal is a printable download, no sign-up: https://lnkd.in/d3nPFCHC And if one of these tensions is genuinely live for you - or there's one this series hasn't touched yet - DM me. I'd like the next series to be shaped by what you're actually navigating.
-
Ravi Sawhney liked thisRavi Sawhney liked this𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱. That is the uncomfortable organisational lesson hiding beyond 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙁𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙡𝙤𝙬. 𝘒𝘢𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯 taught us in his New York Times Bestseller that intelligent people remain vulnerable to cognitive bias. Organisations introduce another problem. Before information reaches the executive table, people have already decided what to escalate, what to soften, what to omit and how much uncertainty is safe to reveal. Consider Nokia. Research into its smartphone struggles found that fear affected how information travelled internally. Negative information could be softened and technical capabilities could appear stronger than they really were. The executives analysing the information may have been thinking carefully. Nobody can analyse evidence that is not received. That changes the leadership question. Instead of asking only: ❓"Which bias influenced this decision?" Ask what happens to inconvenient information on its journey towards you. ❓Who challenges it? ❓Who edits it? ❓Who softens it? ❓Who decides it isn't ready? Because by the time a bad decision reaches the boardroom, the most consequential decisions may already have happened. 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.
-
Ravi Sawhney liked thisRavi Sawhney liked thisYOUR BIGGEST AI PROBLEM MIGHT NOT NEED AI. Series 06: AI Product Thinking Episode 01 I think one of the easiest mistakes to make with AI is starting with the technology. Someone sees a slow process, a manual task, or an unhappy customer and immediately asks: “Where can we add AI?” I’d ask a different question first: “What problem are we actually trying to solve?” Sometimes the answer is AI. Sometimes it’s better data. Sometimes it’s a simpler workflow. Sometimes it’s automation that doesn't need a model at all. And sometimes the real problem is that nobody clearly defined the process in the first place. Imagine a team spending hours every week copying information between two systems. You could build an AI agent to handle it. But if a simple integration can move the data reliably, why add an LLM? Or take a customer-support workflow where people keep searching for the same information. AI might help. But first I'd want to understand: What information are they looking for? Where does it live? How often does it change? What happens when the answer is wrong? Who owns the outcome? Those questions change the solution. This is why I think good AI product thinking starts before the model selection. Start with the workflow. Understand the users. Define the outcome. Look at the constraints. Then decide whether AI actually belongs in the solution. Because the goal isn't to build something impressive with AI. The goal is to solve the problem with the simplest solution that works. AI is one of the tools. Not the requirement. That's also where engineering and product thinking need to meet. The best solution isn't always the most technically interesting one. It's the one that creates the right outcome for the people actually using it. So before your next AI project, ask: “If we removed AI from the conversation, what solution would we build?” That question can be surprisingly useful. Curious how you approach this when evaluating an AI opportunity. #AI #AIProduct #ProductThinking #AppliedAI #AIEngineering #DigitalTransformation
Experience & Education
Volunteer Experience
Publications
-
Orchestrating Design Collaborations: Think Like a Family
Design Management Institute Review / DMI Publications
The lessons we learn as parents, friends, spouses, and children can be put to good use in managing design collaborations and consumer co-creation.
Other authorsSee publication
Patents
-
Over 200 Patents
US
Courses
-
Plastics
-
Projects
Honors & Awards
-
Distinguished Alumni
California State Northridge
-
IDEA Gold Award
Businessweek Magazine
-
Finalist
Cooper Hewitt
-
Fellow
Industrial Design Society of America
Organizations
-
Industrial Designers Society of America
Fellow
- Present
Recommendations received
6 people have recommended Ravi
Join now to viewOther similar profiles
-
Ryan Eder
Ryan Eder
I'm a product designer turned healthcare entrepreneur, focused about making care accessible by through the fusion of design, technology, and clinical care.<br><br>My journey began as a design consultant for global brands including Nike, TaylorMade, Ethicon, Stryker, Coca-Cola, and GE. During this time, I was honored with over 40 international health and design awards, including winning Best in Show twice at the International Design Excellence Awards in 2007 and 2016.<br><br>My entrepreneurial path started with my senior thesis in design school after observing a man in a wheelchair struggle to exercise at a gym. This inspired a concept for inclusive fitness equipment, which received international recognition and launched a 12-year journey of R&D. In 2018, we launched IncludeHealth and commericalized a digitized, inclusive strength trainer called The Access Strength, integrating it into physical therapy clinics nationwide.<br><br>In an effort to expand our platform beyond machines, we expanded into computer vision in partnership with Cincinnati Children's Hospital in 2019. The onset of COVID-19 prompted us to fully pivot from physical equipment to computer vision technology, aiming to deliver therapy directly into patients' homes. We launched this technology, initially device-specific, in late 2020 through collaboration with the US Air Force.<br><br>In 2021, we partnered with Google to advance our computer vision models, enabling accurate, browser-based, scalable physical therapy solutions on any device. Featured at Google’s 2021 I/O conference, our technology was applied towards hybrid care models through remote therapeutic monitoring, working with leading health systems and physical therapy networks.<br><br>In 2024, seeing even greater potential, we transitioned into a full virtual physical therapy practice, directly treating patients with our own clinical team. Today, as Founder & CEO of LainaHealth, our advanced WebAI assistant, Laina, supercharges our physical therapists, significantly enhancing accessibility, affordability, and personalization in musculoskeletal care. Our care model has validated measurable outcomes, demonstrating a 65% average pain reduction, doubling patient engagement, and delivering care at less than half the cost of traditional physical therapy.<br><br>Through LainaHealth, we're committed to leading the future of integrated care delivery—making it accessible anytime, anywhere, and truly patient-centered.
Explore more posts
-
Fi Murray
There is no proven developmental benefit, only potential risk to brains under 36 months accessing AI passive technologies - no toddler needs an AI-powered 'toy'. They need; kid-powered, play-powered, parent-powered, family-powered, brain-powered, fun-powered, world-powered, senses-powered, wow-powered...aka human-powered 🧠 (including awesome tech, electronics and batteries if it aids that play power) A toddler toy does not need to go near anywhere the internet, let alone AI servers.
16 Comments -
Susie Hall
I wrote an article about *Building a Risk Tolerant Culture* based on a fascinating InsideOut roundtable. We discovered not just THAT progress is slow because teams are afraid to take risk but WHY that's happening–and what to do about it. All that ⚡ in just 60 minutes. ⏰ See what we learned here: https://lnkd.in/gFCK9HQc Bring together brilliant leaders, give them a safe space to be candid and explore, and AHAs will emerge! #Ilovemyjob
-
Lindsay Lee Myketey
Is your in-house agency ready for 2026? The landscape of creative production is shifting. From AI integration to the "Design Lab" model, the way we build in-house teams is being completely redefined. Our very own Pam Orlando Zanni just dropped a must-read deep dive into the "New In-House Architecture." She explores why the labs of tomorrow need to be smarter, leaner, and more integrated than ever before. Key takeaway: It’s no longer just about capacity; it’s about capability. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/emuAnKKf
-
Doug Powell
New episode of This Is A Prototype: The Design Leadership Podcast !!! Throughout season 3 of this series, I’ve been speaking with leaders in the practice of civic design; designers who have dedicated their careers to improving the everyday experience we, as citizens, have when we interact with our government. My guests for this episode are two of the most respected leaders in the global civic design community: Arianne Miller and Sean B.. For more than a decade, Arianne and Sean worked side by side as leaders of The Lab at OPM, a pioneering human-centered design team embedded within the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The Lab at OPM was dissolved in early 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to U.S. federal government staffing. Since then, Arianne and Sean founded Civic Design Collaborative, with a mission to help government and civic-minded organizations create services that are easier to use, more equitable, and more effective. In our conversation, I was struck by how their approach to driving sustainable change in government is actually transferable to other complex, scaled organizations, especially in the private sector. We touched on themes that come up again and again on this podcast: the importance of building trust and nurturing relationships with key stakeholders, and approaching complex problems with deep curiosity and humility. Check out this episode, and help me amplify the series by following, liking, and reviewing TIAP on your favorite podcast channel! #design #designleadership #designatscale #civicdesign #designmanagement
5 Comments
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content