2026
Reimagining how early learning signals emerge around each child
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Case Study

Lena Foundation

What We Did
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Resarch & Strategy Design      
Industrial Design
Experience Design
Product Development Engineering
REDESIGNED LENA DEVICE AND DOCK
Early Childhood Development
LENA, a national non-profit, bringing advanced interactive language tech into classrooms to end language isolation. We were tasked with defining the next generation of their strategy, systems, and product experience.
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Boosting Interaction, Child-by-Child
Early childhood outcomes are shaped by everyday moments of back-and-forth interaction. Tracking conversational turns, LENA  measures child interactions and optimizes early language environments. Conversational turns as a metric is among the strongest predictors of language and vocabulary development, early literacy, socio-emotional development, and more.
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A redesigned classroom wearable
The new Talk Pedometer is housed in a redesigned, breathable vest that fits children ages 0–6. After class, devices dock to recharge and upload data, which an automated and secure backend converts into actionable teacher insights to improve classroom practice and learning outcomes. Together, these elements form an integrated system that disappears into the rhythm of the classroom.
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USER RESEARCH AND SYNTHESIS
Insights Synthesized into Actions
Following extensive research and co-creation with teachers and students, on-the-ground findings were synthesized into a strategic blueprint for the LENA Foundation for the next 10 years of innovation. A coherent innovation strategy allowed us to design a new product architecture that was ready to take on the chaos of the classroom environment.
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Manufacturing at Scale with Realism
LENA was designed to scale from the outset, and the core design intent was meticulously maintained through the product development process.
During product development and preparation for manufacturing, we designed the acoustic hardware to meet the demands of the classroom environment, shaping enclosure decisions from material choice to wall thickness. In parallel, the classroom dock was conceived as both charger and automated upload station, using readily available components to support reliability, affordability, and repairability at scale.
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