Introducing Nonlinear

Check out my forthcoming title, Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction (The MIT Press) set to release on February 4, 2025. You may preorder NOW at your favorite bookseller of choice. Thank you for your support!

My name is Kevin Bethune. I’m a design & innovation executive, entrepreneur, best-selling author and keynote speaker based in Redondo Beach, California.

Interested in booking me for a keynote opportunity? I’m represented by BrightSight Speakers … please contact Tom Neilssen regarding your inquiry.

Photo: Harrison Boyce

I presently serve as the Founder & Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life, a think tank that delivers design & innovation services using a human-centered approach. My background spans engineering, business and design in equal proportion over 25+ years of in-depth product experiences, positioning me to help brands deliver meaningful innovations to enrich people’s lives.

My first book, Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation (The MIT Press) released with notable acclaim under the Simplicity: Design, Business, Technology, Life Series in March 2022. My second book, Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction (The MIT Press), will be coming out February 4, 2025. I also serve as a Board Trustee for ArtCenter College of Design and a Board Director for the Design Management Institute (DMI).

After a journey of unique multidisciplinary leaps across mechanical engineering, business and industrial design, I focus on helping preeminent brands and startups unlock strategic innovation opportunities by opening their creative aperture.

Client Partnership

dreams • design + life is a think tank that engages projects primarily through referral and trusted relationships. We unlock innovation opportunities using Strategic Design and Industrial Design in tandem to conceive of new ecologies and experiences.

Shared Perspectives

Whether via books I write or talks I give, I tell stories about how design changed my life, and how I’ve watched design change organizations too. I offer perspectives rooted in lived experience as a Black man navigating corporate America.

Design Outreach

I’m committed to helping the next generation of creatives fulfill their purpose, paying it forward from the numerous mentors and advocates that helped me throughout my journey. I believe mentorship is a two-way street, and I walk away equally inspired from every exchange.

Today, I serve as a fractional design executive for a few startups and an innovation advisor to creative teams inside of large corporations. These experiences offer a diversity of learnings, which I often share through writing and speaking.

I have had the privilege of engaging audiences at TED, Nike, Spotify R&D, PepsiCo Design, Google Design, LinkedIn’s Black by Design, Amplitude, Boston Consulting Group, Morningstar, DMI, IDSA, AIGA, The Index Project, MIT, Harvard University, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Notre Dame, ArtCenter College of Design, CCA, UIC, Lucerne, Where Are the Black Designers? (WATBD) and The State of Black Design.

I’ve also been credited for written contributions within FastCompany, DMI Review, PRINT Magazine, DesignObserver, FiveBooks, Core77 and Interaction Design Foundation, and featured in podcasts including Revision Path, Design Better, The Deep Dive, The Institute of Black Imagination, DesignObserver’s The Design of Business | The Business of Design, Design Drives, Technically Speaking, Tech Wrap Queen, The Art of the Impossible with Danielle Newnham and The Mark Devine Show.

Photo: Richard Hadley / TED.

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  • John Maeda, head of AI and design at Microsoft

    “Kevin is the rare design executive that fluently speaks business, technology and quintessential craft.”

  • Magdalena Paluch, chief executive officer, LabTwin

    "Bridging technology, business, and design for decades, Kevin is a genuinely exceptional multidisciplinary executive and an exemplary servant leader, who brings innovations to fruition with humility and positive impact, all while remaining deeply connected to the craft of design and the people involved."

  • Dori Tunstall, PhD, author, Decolonizing Design

    “With vulnerability, clarity, and actionable insights, Kevin Bethune answers important questions for increasing diversity and inclusion in design: What does it mean to be a Black man succeeding in design? What can you learn from him to help others succeed?”

  • Ronald Clark, vice president of strategic design, BCG X

    "Kevin's extensive and rich professional experience make him a deep expert in all aspects of the "product holy trinity:" Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability. He skillfully guides clients through these dimensions to get to breakthrough innovations with demonstrable impact."

  • Rich Lesser, executive chairman, Boston Consulting Group

    “Kevin is a true people and design leader who has left a material imprint on BCG Digital Ventures, combining deep expertise, genuine curiosity, a human-centric approach, and humility in the best sense of the word.”

Upcoming Events

January 13 - 25, 2025

Unlocking Strategic Innovation through Effective Design Leadership - Maven - Virtual Cohort #3, 2-Week Course

February 4, 2025

Release / Publication Date for Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction (The MIT Press) - hardcopy & e-copy editions

Feburary 5, 2025

LA Book Launch Event - “Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity & Conviction” - Vitsœ Los Angeles Showroom (details forthcoming)