BOADE

Designing like the world depends on it—because it kind of does.

We are a studio for regenerative innovation where bold thinking meets real-world insight.

Some challenges can’t be solved by playing it safe. They call for fresh thinking, sharp strategy, and the kind of design that’s willing to get uncomfortable.

That’s where we come in.

Because design has the power to change how we live, we don’t just build things that work today. We create solutions that matter tomorrow.

Led by a physician-designer, we operate where health, strategy, and creativity connect, balancing care with innovation. We collaborate with organizations and leaders who want to rethink what’s possible. No matter the project or scale, we begin with the belief that thoughtful design goes beyond solving problems; it prevents them, transforms them, and builds a stronger future.

This work is human-centered, ethically-minded—and necessary.

What We Do

  • From insight to impact.

    We help teams design products and experiences that solve real problems and spark meaningful change. Grounded in systems thinking and real-world evidence, we bring strategic clarity to messy challenges—and guide bold ideas from concept to launch.

    Offerings include:

    • Innovation strategy & visioning

    • Concept development & design sprints

    • Product-market fit research

    • Advisory for startups and venture teams

    • Clinical & user-centered validation

  • Design that starts with people—and ends with transformation.

    We use rigorous design research to uncover unmet needs, then translate those insights into actionable system and service design. Whether you’re designing healthcare experiences, digital tools, or community-based initiatives—we make sure your solutions work in the real world.

    Offerings include:

    • Qualitative & ethnographic research

    • Journey mapping & service design

    • Systems thinking for care models or customer experience

    • Research-informed strategy for tech, public health, and wellness

  • Building the teams and cultures that can carry innovation forward.

    We support leaders and organizations to grow in alignment with their values. Through coaching, workshops, and strategic advising, we help build regenerative, resilient, and design-informed cultures.

    Offerings include:

    • Executive & founder coaching

    • Empathy-led leadership development

    • Culture design for creative, healthcare, and mission-driven orgs

    • Strategic storytelling for internal alignment & external influence

  • Ideas that move people and industries.

    We create and deliver powerful talks, workshops, and content that challenge assumptions, shift perspectives, and catalyze change. Perfect for conferences, team off-sites, and innovation labs ready to think differently.

    Topics include:

    • The future of care: regenerative, ethical, and human

    • Designing for health and wellness

    • Innovation at the intersection of health, tech, and humanity

    • Leading with empathy in systems that need reinvention

Featured Insights

 

Cities Are Designed for People. Healthcare?

Not So Much.

Cities and healthcare systems are, in theory, built for the same purpose: to support human life. But, in practice, both often seem better at managing problems than nurturing people. Cities fight congestion, housing shortages, and crumbling infrastructure. Healthcare systems wrestle with rising costs, fragmented care, and burned-out staff. The design response is often reactive: patch, fix, optimize, repeat. What if we stopped pretending like we don’t have a clear crisis on our hands and started designing from a different question: what does…

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Designing for What’s Next: How AI, Nature, and Human Insight Must Coexist in Innovation

We’re living in a moment of convergence. Artificial intelligence is accelerating. Natural systems are unraveling. Human institutions like healthcare, education, and governance are straining under complexity and fatigue. In the midst of it all, a familiar question keeps resurfacing: What’s next? But, maybe the better question is…

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The Future of Medical Education is More Creative Than You Think

We don’t often associate creativity with medical training. If anything, “med school” conjures up images of late-night study marathons, clinical rotations, and memorization that borders on ritual. Stacks of anatomy flashcards. Stark white coats. High stakes and even higher burnout. But that narrative is changing—and fast. Across the globe, a quiet revolution is reshaping how future doctors…

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black and white butterfly resting on a tree branch

The Butterfly Effect: Subtle Choices, Radical Change

It begins with a flutter. A quiet, almost imperceptible moment—a shift in wind, a gentle ripple in the air. In chaos theory, this is the butterfly effect. The idea that small, localized changes in a complex system can have wide-reaching, even global consequences. It’s a poetic theory, one that suggests that the smallest gesture—a wingbeat—could in the right conditions, lead to something…

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Do We Have An Ethical Obligation to Design for Wellbeing?

In a world where technology, products, and services are deeply embedded in nearly every aspect of our lives, design holds an immense power to shape how we experience the world—and ultimately, how we live. From the apps we use on our smartphones to the physical environments we work in, design influences not just functionality, but also our emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. But in this age of rapid innovation and convenience, one fundamental question arises…

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Who We Work With

We collaborate with leaders ready to build what’s next.

  • Early stage startups

  • Healthcare systems + public health organizations

  • Academic institutions

  • Wellness and care platforms

  • Innovation teams

  • Design-forward executives

  • Educators, architects, and systems thinkers

  • Health tech accelerators

  • Creatives and designers

Dr. Caresse Spencer, Founder & Principal

“I founded BOADE to design what the future demands: solutions that are bold, human, and built to last. With a background in medicine, design, and strategy, I don’t just want to fix broken systems—I want to reimagine what’s possible. Because people deserve more than less harm. They deserve a world that’s intentionally and thoughtfully designed to optimize their health and wellbeing.”

You’re here to do meaningful work. So are we.

Let’s design what actually matters.