Projects and Solutions Delivered

People Engaged in Research

Patents Granted

Awards and Accolades Won

We define and position brands with unique, authentic expressions that span digital, product, service and retail experiences.

Differentiate. 

Brand Experience

We create products, services and interactions that customers  love. We help you keep your customer at the center of everything you do.

Build Loyalty. 

Customer Experience

We envision a future that’s shaped by your customers’ evolving needs and behaviors, and use it to identify new product and service experiences.

Create New Value. 

Future Experience

What We Do

When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) came to Ziba in 2020 to develop a campaign about reducing food waste in resorts, hotels, and cruise ships, they knew that public awareness campaigns have a mixed track record in terms of effectiveness. So they came to us looking for a new approach.

Awareness campaigns often make the mistake of assuming that people are uninformed, and that if they only knew the scope of the problem, they’d automatically change how they act. For a problem like food waste, this is a reasonable assumption: while most people know it’s better for food to get eaten than thrown out, its environmental impact is less well-known. Wasting food also wastes energy, water, land, and resources, and that has a long term effect on the planet.

, and just emphasizing that a bad thing is worse than you thought isn’t likely to change behavior. A campaign might have clever writing, great visual design, and a memorable message, but it’s up against a powerful opponent: inertia. People and institutions have set habits around the way they do things—including how they serve and consume food—and changing habits is hard.

So when Ziba partnered with WWF to develop the 

Toolkit for Communicating Food Waste to Guests

, we started by focusing on changing behaviors rather than making an argument or conveying a piece of information. Behavior change, after all, is part of most design problems, whether you’re trying to convince customers to embrace a new type of product, or design a health or fitness service that encourages healthier habits. If you view food waste through a similar lens, a whole new set of approaches snaps into view.

For one thing, we realized we needed to start the same way we do in most of our design projects: with research. For food waste, this meant meeting diners and guests where they were—at the hotel breakfast buffet, for instance— observing and interviewing them on how they responded to different messaging approaches. It also meant talking with guest services managers and waitstaff about their experiences, as well as running surveys and focus groups. 

What we learned was a little surprising. Everyone, from managers and servers to guests and diners, already wants to do their part to help reduce food waste. But they also have clear ideas of what they’re “supposed” to do in situations like a hotel buffet or cruise ship dining room. Doing what’s right for the planet is important for lots of people, but so is wanting to follow social norms, avoid extra effort, and enjoy the meal, cruise, or vacation they’ve spent so much money and effort planning.

Our research also showed that people like being part of the solution, even if it takes personal sacrifice—but the actions they’re asked to take need to line up with their own self-identity, and provide a positive emotional payoff. So they’re far less responsive to lectures and shaming, which can often result in defiance and dismissal.

The toolkit we designed celebrates the positive impact of decisions that guests make, and connects their actions to a larger, global movement. If you’ve ever seen those notecards in hotel rooms explaining more eco-friendly policies toward towel and linen laundering, you might’ve noticed how they talk about making good decisions for the planet, rather than dwelling on guilt and waste. They also present the more sustainable action as the default: you’re welcome to get fresh towels every day, but you have to ask for them.

Put the right message in the right place.

One of the best ways to ensure environmental considerations don’t get pushed aside is to put a relevant message right there, at the point of decision. When we have a moment to weigh our options, abstract considerations like sustainability become part of the decision. But in a busy buffet line, or when ordering from a rushed waiter, they’re easy to forget.

Be inspirational and directive, not prescriptive.

Finally, it’s crucial to acknowledge that every setting is unique, and the hospitality and brand managers who run them know them better than anyone. There’s a lot of inertia in the guest services industry, which is one reason change has been so slow. But these people are professionals, and just like their guests, they want to make choices that are better for the planet.

 aware of the food waste problem than most guests, because they see its cumulative effects first hand. But they also have a responsibility to not alienate their guests. That’s why the WWF toolkit includes an in-depth discussion of guest mindset and research findings, and it offers plenty of flexibility for managers to customize their own campaigns, or create one from scratch. 

The result has been overwhelmingly positive. By treating it as a behavior change campaign, and taking an audience-centered approach, we were able to deliver WWF something unusually accessible, customizable, non-preachy, and ultimately effective. The tools and mechanisms of behavior change are no longer a mystery — the real mystery is why it’s taking so long for the rest of us to start using them!

Inspired to learn more? Download the toolkit 

. If you have any questions or comments, contact us by sending an email to 

When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) came to Ziba in 2020 to develop a campaign about reducing food waste...

Ziba x WWF

Ziba x WWF: Creating Better Messaging Campaigns Through Behavioral Design

Ziba is a human-centered design and innovation agency working closely with clients across every industry and region of the world.

The trends impacting businesses today: Ziba's Quantum Clarity microsite

Quantum Clarity microsite

Through the design of the Ziba World Headquarters, we set out to create a place that fosters the cross pollination of ideas in a company defined by its multidisciplinary experimentation and excellence. A testament to inspiring, problem-solving design, the new headquarters create an elegant and efficient environment that supports Ziba's creative endeavors.

Ziba Design has been an anchor and a champion to Portland’s design industry for over 35 years. And the city has returned the favor, providing a welcoming home base that makes it easy to attract talent from around the globe. By the early 2000s, our offices in Portland’s Pearl District were bursting with over 100 designers, researchers, anthropologists, engineers and developers. We’d outgrown our space, both physically and organizationally.

On a brisk December afternoon in 2008, the whole team gathered to break ground on a long, narrow industrial lot a few blocks from our old office, wedged between galleries and cafes on one side, and a railyard on the other. Together with Portland-based Holst Architecture, we set out to create an office building that would serve our work and our clients, as well as the local community where we’d laid down our roots.

From the outset, we knew we had a great partner in Holst, and they helped us refine our vision of a dramatic but serene workspace, that actively encourages the chance interactions that drive creative inspiration. The project rooms, workshops, and communal spaces that make up the three-story space are full of deliberate intent and passion. But especially, it’s the details that show this is a place by and for designers: from faucets and door handles to sightlines inside and out, everything’s considered, no matter how complex or mundane.

Ziba prides itself on the concept of “co-creation” with their clients, flipping the traditional designer-client relationship inside out. In that way, the new structure is as much a new home for their clients, representatives from major brands who are working on everything from design strategy to industrial design. The project rooms are made open and accessible to clients, who are made to feel at home as well.

Ziba’s founder, Sohrab Vossoughi, is a big believer in local community, and the need to staying connected to it. So the building reflects local values of sustainability and efficiency, with reclaimed wood and a LEED Gold rating. And the building’s auditorium invites hundreds of participants every year to exchange ideas and solutions.

Collaboration, Craft and Community

For too long the company has occupied a Pearl District storefront with reflective windows and not even a sign in front. If Portland is going to become the international design capital that its leadership is seeking, we need top local design companies like Ziba sitting out on their front porch, so to speak, instead of staying inside with all the shades drawn. Both literally and metaphorically, that has now changed, and Ziba is basking in light.

Though Covid-19 may have altered the way we worked together in 2020, after a long quarantine we’ve reopened the studio again under new health guidelines. Our building tells a story, and we’d love for you to hear it. So please 

 anytime and come over, whether to share ideas on Post-its or craft beer on tap.

The more co-mingling, the better. Welcome to Ziba World HQ.

If you’re like most consumers in the U.S. or Europe, you’ve been doing a lot more of your shopping online in recent months. With more people spending more time at home, e-commerce has accelerated dramatically, squeezing an estimated six years of growth into just a few months. This was driven mostly by necessity, but it’s also introduced a far wider range of consumers to the convenience and flexibility of e-commerce.

This change, though, has stripped away much of the joy of the shopping experience. Real-life shopping can be a wonderfully social activity, and its loss is something we’ve all felt. Pointing and clicking is fine if you’re stocking up on cleaning supplies, but what about the connection and excitement of browsing a curated retail space with friends? Seeing what catches your eye, asking an expert for recommendations, chatting over a purchase with your partner?

The technology to make digital shopping more social, immersive, and emotionally engaging already exists, but it’s never been brought together in a seamless, accessible way. What if it was? What if you could actually enter a virtual shop of your choosing, and invite your friends to join you in real-time? Introducing: ShopSocial™, our patented e-commerce platform.

The ShopSocial™ concept explores the wide range of possibilities that this kind of experience could offer. Using your existing tablet, smartphone, or laptop, ShopSocial™ invites you into a virtual retail space that’s already familiar, and intuitive to browse.

Create a social experience that drives digital foot traffic.

You’re free to explore on your own, of course, but imagine inviting friends—anyone in your contact list—to come along.

Learn about and connect with customers through real-time interaction.

For merchants, an immersive digital environment offers many of the advantages of in-person retail, like the ability to interact with customers in real time, learn about their habits and what draws their attention, and customize the space and inventory to maximize engagement. Sales associates can be located anywhere in the world, but answer questions and offer advice just as they would on the retail floor. They can also be called up at a moment’s notice—and dismissed just as easily.

Give customers the power to bring friends into the experience.

What may be the biggest advantage of social digital shopping is the ability to bring in anyone, at any time. Want to ask your trainer if you’re getting the right pair of shoes? Give them a call and show them. Not sure what your spouse thinks of putting an exercise bike in the living room? Not only can you call them up, you can show them exactly what it would look like, using a simple, accessible AR placement tool.

Give customers the ability to browse independently, increasing engagement and sales.

You can stroll the space independently, chatting about what you see, and show each other whatever seems interesting.

Bring products into the real world with AR experiences.

For smaller merchants, this kind of social interaction is a chance to push back against the overwhelming advantages that online behemoths like Amazon and Walmart have. By making digital shopping more social, the emphasis shifts from speed and selection back to the shopping experience, helping to level the playing field, and bring in more traffic. And the more information, social contact, and context you bring into that experience, the more confident shoppers are that they’re making the right decision—and the more likely they are to go ahead with the purchase.

The future of online retail doesn’t have to be confusing or overwhelming. In fact, it should be the opposite. We already know what it feels like to enjoy shopping in the real world—ShopSocial™ is how we bring that same joy and connection to the digital one.

Want to know more about ShopSocial™, and Ziba’s innovative approach to e-commerce? 

We’ve made online shopping social. Our patented e-commerce platform brings real-world human interaction to digital retail. 

ShopSocial

Putting the Humanity Back in e-Commerce

Business success requires creativity. This was true in the past, and it’s even more true in times of accelerated change and disruption.

But to be creative, leaders must deal with discomfort and ambiguity, while competing at the speed of digital. Creative thinking helps organizations solve emerging business problems by enabling them to generate fresh ideas. The most successful organizations are able to jumpstart this conversation, by playing with unlikely connections that expose fresh solutions, allow them to think differently, and provide unexpected perspectives.

The danger in doing this is that not all new ideas are right, and it can be difficult to tell them apart from the others. When unclear ideas proliferate, chaos ensues. So clarity is critical, but getting there requires editing, simplifying, and distilling what you’ve generated into a refined and useful subset. It can be a slower, more painstaking process, but ultimately it’s more fluid—if the organization has optimized for it.

Having struggled with the process of solution refinement for decades, we’ve gradually built up a short list of approaches that work. There are eight methods in total, which we’ll describe in two parts. Part one covers three methods for optimizing individual creativity; part two covers five more methods, that can also be applied across teams.

When team members feel they are not adding value, adopting a singular mindset can reignite a sense of purpose, and reestablish each individual's scope of control.

Human beings don’t multitask well. While it can seem effective in theory, and even feel productive when you’re doing it, studies repeatedly show that multitasking makes us less productive, by distracting us and increasing our tendency to make errors and repeat tasks.

When we slow down and single-task, focusing on one thing at a time, it can often feel like we’re working more slowly. But in fact it lets us work with more clarity, depth, and ultimately, speed. We not only achieve results faster, we also enjoy the process more. Our sense of joy and inspiration also create more dynamic solutions. Fun fuels creativity.

The speed of business can cause chaos, and the pressure to achieve prevents us from stopping. Leaders who establish boundaries for their teams enable them to thrive, and reestablish equilibrium.

Pausing unlocks ideas and solutions, yet it is difficult to master. Today’s pace of change causes us to believe that we must act 

business leads will be lost, and momentum will falter. In these circumstances, pausing can feel counterintuitive, yet it enables us to be both thoughtful and timely. We learn that the right move at the right time puts us leaps and bounds ahead of the pack.

From a creative processing standpoint, pausing aids in natural (or subconscious) synthesis—a critical component of creative thinking. Natural synthesis is the autonomic iterating mechanism of your brain.

For example, when we conclude a client call, we always take a short pause to allow for synthesis before debriefing. We also make a point of pausing before reconvening, giving the team space to breathe, focus on problem-solving, and ultimately be more productive. Next steps become clearer and thought processes more refined.

When business leaders pause, it creates a culture of clarity and calm throughout the organization, which can translate into energetic camaraderie.

When the definition of success is unclear, assessing what is important can refocus the organization on its wellbeing and long-term growth.

Take a hard look at what’s in front of you, and strategically handle the most important items or tasks. This often means you aren’t solving for the most urgent. When everything seems as though it must be done immediately, that’s a red flag.

Instead, pause and reassess. What is important? What is merely urgent? As this skill increases, the number of urgent items will decrease over time as you simplify strategically.

Check back tomorrow for five more methods to be applied across teams.

Optimizing Creativity for Business Impact: Part One

Having a sense of community unites us and being a part of community can make us feel like we are part of something greater than ourselves. 

Beyond connectivity and belonging, community also has a more practical function as a validation tool. Across communities large and small, groups of humans come together and recognize patterns—those patterns establish an authentic, shared source of truth. New, self-organizing models of micro-communities are establishing the foundation for what will be good, true, and trusted in the decade ahead.

Consumers are eager for a remedy to digital isolation. Looking for any excuse to step into those casual everyday engagements that were once a staple of the human connection.

Today’s communities are self-organizing into networks of micro-cultures. These smaller groups become more valuable faster because of their influence, interconnectedness, and trust. Smart brands embrace these new decentralized networks to monetize, mobilize and co-create with fan communities and expand their reach. The challenge many brands face is how to move at the speed of these micro-communities and engage in the serendipity necessary to be a part of their everyday world.

Forward-thinking brands are asking what role they might play as they activate new initiatives for community-building. Rather than starting from scratch, savvy brands can support existing communities and their micro-influencers to become valued participants and instigators of engagement.

Quantum Clarity: Future of Community

There’s no question that tomorrow’s new normal will be abnormal. 

COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of life. We’re unsettled and uncertain. But there’s an upside to the crisis, too: a future full of possibilities. At Ziba, we’re asking ourselves and our clients… How might we harness today’s hardships as catalysts for new and better experiences tomorrow? What experiences will hold meaning? What will it mean to thrive?

How will travel change? Will the gate agent test us for COVID-19 before we board? Will our server bring our date night dinner out to the curb while we dine in the car? Will Zoom offer subscribers free anti-glare glasses? Will there be a Zoom at all?

Turn the Great Pause into your brand’s Great Pivot: Three Steps to Conquer COVID-19

Dominant brands will convert today’s Great Pause into the Great Pivot, recalibrating today to design breakthroughs and meaningful customer experiences for tomorrow. Under immense pressure to reopen, respond appropriately, and reboot quickly, brands are thinking beyond the immediate next steps. What might the path forward be for the post-pandemic experiences that brands deliver? What stays, what goes, what evolves, and what is reinvented?

 process frames actions you can take in the new post-pandemic normal:

As anxious consumers emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, their need to reestablish a sense of safety, security, and control will affect what they value. Robert Iger, Disney’s executive chairman, recently stated, “To return to some semblance of normal, people will have to feel comfortable that they’re safe.”

 to mitigate risk and temper anxiety will be highly valued by consumers and employees.

 To alleviate consumer fears, remain relevant, and get business back on line, brands need to:

Focus on the rapid roll-out of reassuring offerings that mitigate fear and augment a sense of safety

Embrace the possibility of prolonged social-distancing by supporting social distancing preferences including contactless delivery/pick-up and virtual/digital services

And mobilize for re-engagement with reassuring communication/packaging, adjusted staffing roles/models, new hygiene behavior protocols, and by reassessing/redesigning campaigns and calendars

Though a fear-based self-preservation mentality will persist, consumers will increasingly respond to brands that also surprise and delight them. Successful organizations will 

 to evolve their brands, products, and service experiences in anticipation of these behavior shifts — this return to the value of convenience, the insistence on competitive prices, the need to indulge, and a desire to belong.

 To leverage insights around emerging behaviors, desires, and expectations, brands need to:

Shift from ‘reacting’ to ‘understanding’

Reassess the competitive landscape to understand how things have shifted by taking a fresh read on how a brand is perceived in a post COVID-19 world

Take advantage of the post-pandemic landscape by rebuilding for the new normal and charting a path within it: identify white space, explore and test new features/offerings/experiences, adapt strategies for the mid to long term

As the new normal takes root, responsive brands will 

 in the post-pandemic consumer landscape, leaning into white space and scaling accordingly. Pre-COVID-19 behaviors and trends will re-emerge and hyper-accelerate. Be ready, start experimenting. As social-distancing disappears and our bubbles expand to their pre-COVID-19 forms, we will long for a sense of connection and belonging, and begin to aspire to higher-order desires around freedom, self-transcendence and self-actualization.

 To leverage the new normal, brands need to:

Seize white space and create demand by experimenting with emerging consumer needs, desires and behaviors

Stand up then scale new offerings and interactions identified in 

 that pivot your experiences beyond the functional

And revisit pre-pandemic visions and strategies, and embracing, incorporating, and modifying them to meet consumers’ higher order desires and expectations

 to leverage Post-COVID-19 opportunities will 

Delivering Post-Pandemic Brand Experiences: Three Steps to Conquer COVID-19’s New Normal

News and Events

Ziba has provided clarity of thought, a vision for what can be, a high commitment to creativity, and the help and guidance for us to figure out how to make our dreams happen and get into the hands of consumers.

Best Buy is still the biggest brick-and-mortar electronics retailer in the US, but online shopping is practically made for electronics. The practice of browsing products at Best Buy then buying them on Amazon was so common it had a name: showrooming. Part of the reason was cost, but just as important was the feeling of getting exactly what you want. And that gave Best Buy, and the Ziba team who worked with them, an idea. 

Challenge

After diving deep into consumer expectations and opportunities for in-store delight, the Ziba team focused on mobile accessories: cables, cases, speakers, headphones. And specifically, on the sense of freedom you get when presented with a range of choices that lets you have just what you want, like a kid in a candy shop. So we designed a candy shop. The Modal line of mobile accessories features simple shapes, straightforward functionality, a range of bright, fun colors—and it’s only available in-store.

Solution

The Modal line was a hit, handing Best Buy 11% growth in domestic revenue, and driving enough in-store shopping that online competition ceased to be an issue. By value engineering both the products and the packaging, the Ziba team was able to reduce waste, too, by 20% compared with Best Buy’s previous line.

Impact

Don’t assume—ask. Consumers may like shopping online, but they also want the custom experience that only in-person can offer.

An ecosystem of house branded accessories beats e-commerce with flexibility and customization.

What gets digital consumers excited about in-store shopping?

Outdoor retail outfitter REI was expert at engaging traditional, serious outdoor enthusiasts. A younger demographic was showing that they, too, wanted to get outside—but had a set of values and engagement needs all their own.

Ziba sent a team to Seattle, to work collaboratively with REI’s team in their own headquarters. Together, we discovered that this new generation was characterized by a more social, casual approach to the outdoors—something we called The Great Outside. Ziba created evrgrn™, a “gear for good times” brand, with gear designed to facilitate memorable moments wherever friends gather outside: picnics, concerts, backyard camping, or weekend journeys.

The evrgrn™ line launched with a playful range of products that went far beyond typical camping gear: think rocking chairs, soft-sided cooler, and wearable sleeping bags. They were a huge hit, especially among 20-35 year-olds, with some items selling out online before ever appearing in stores. Many of the designs have gone on to influence REI’s current mainstream product line.

Some people love the Great Outdoors. But what about a hyper-social generation that loves the Great Outside?

A new brand of outdoor gear designed for good times. 

What does the outdoors look like to the social media generation?

Most evrgrn products sold out online before even hitting the stores—and have influenced REI’s 

I’m a guy who fights to keep work in-house, because I feel the people who know the brand best are the people who work there. But the additional horsepower Ziba brought was extremely helpful. I feel like we’ve made years worth of progress on this work in just a few months. I love people running around furiously, getting fired up about the brand being brought to life.

Reebok had moved away from their roots in personal fitness and into the overcrowded category of competitive sports, and came to Ziba looking for a new retail strategy. Together, we quickly realized that the way to recapture their audience was to refocus on Reebok’s core values, and let the fitness-seekers of the world know that this was the brand for them.

Reebok’s original mission was fitness, rooted in community and lifestyle, not elite competition. That called for an accessible retail experience that exemplified their roots and modernized the brand. Accessible doesn’t mean boring though—quite the opposite, in fact. To attract attention and build excitement, the Ziba team used the idea of “retail as theater” to position Reebok’s HQ flagship store as a service- and lifestyle-oriented destination of choice. The result was an interactive, engaging, activating experience designed to leave employees and customers inspired and in awe.

Just five months after inception, Reebok’s reinvigorated flagship store launched, to plenty of press buzz and consumer interest. The exciting yet welcoming space invited customers to try apparel on and try equipment out, right there in a gym-like setting, with plenty of community-oriented fitness events on the schedule as well. Within a few months, the store had doubled its revenue, and re-established Reebok as a unique, fitness-oriented brand.

What happens when you combine a renowned holistic fitness brand with a bit of immersive retail theater? Answer: a global headquarters that’s part gallery, part workshop, part gym—and a magnet for fitness enthusiasts.

A redesigned retail space becomes a destination for fitness and wellness-seekers.

How does a retail space put your brand values in the spotlight?

The Drydock concept includes several unique branded elements:

padded, open workout space for in-store tryout of apparel and gear

prominent community calendar for local fitness events

integrated two-story gym for CrossFit, boxing, and studio classes

Organic, artisanal, small-batch, exotic, local—the market for America’s favorite condiment was getting more fragmented and more competitive. And one of the world’s most iconic brands was in danger of losing its place at the top. To rebuild brand equity, Heinz needed to understand what made their brand so beloved, and redesign accordingly. They also saw an opportunity to reduce the amount of material used, to save on packaging costs while reducing their environmental footprint.

Ziba’s field research revealed a simple concept that held the answer to Heinz’s competitive threats: love. Other brands were exciting, affordable, unique…but only Heinz held a place in consumers’ hearts. So Ziba doubled down that love, by simplifying the product line and emphasizing what made the brand so special: its thickness and richness, and its unmistakable visual elements. An updated cap and bottle design captured those elements, making them instantly recognizable, and instantly lovable. Reducing the number of SKUs helped focus the product line, while making it more energy- and material-efficient for the manufacturing and filler lines.

Ziba’s redesign celebrated Heinz’s heritage among loyalists, putting classic elements like the faceted-scalloped bottle shape, the keystone-shaped label, and the raised “57” front and center. The streamlined range of new bottle and cap designs also saved over $10M per year in packaging costs.

Heinz is one of the few brands out there that evokes genuine love. Ziba leaned into the neglected qualities that made it unique, to restoke the fires among the faithful.

Bringing a beloved brand into the modern era demands a thoughtful, more sustainable redesign—and a deep understanding of why loyalists love it.

How do you update an icon in a field full of pretenders?

Keystone-shaped label—referencing Heinz’s roots in Pennsylvania, the Keystone State

Even Adidas, one of the world’s most iconic brands, faced challenges standing out in overcrowded retail environments. With customers increasingly used to the detailed, interactive experience of online shopping, digital displays offered a potential solution. But in practice, they often feel detached from the physical object they’re describing. They’re also notoriously hard to update and scale up.

Ziba created the Adidas Gear Case, a durable, low-cost interactive kiosk that overlays a transparent touchscreen over a physical shoe display. Interaction is intuitive for nearly any customer, and adds an immersive brand experience—and a touch of magic—to familiar retail environments. It’s also nearly effortless to update: just swap out the product, plug in a new USB, and it’s ready to go.

The Gear Case rolled out to hundreds of retail spaces in the first year, including store-in-store environments, where competition for attention is fierce. Despite this, the displays earned over 600,000 customer views in the first three years, with an astonishing two minute average engagement time from shoppers.

Whoever said “show don’t tell” wasn’t thinking big enough. The Gear Case overlays a digital interface onto physical products, so you can do both.

A flexible interactive display platform that turns a physical product into a thrilling digital/analog experience.