David Kelley is a longtime member of the Stanford Faculty and a founder and Faculty Director of the d.school.
As Stanford’s Donald W. Whittier Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Kelley’s most enduring contributions are in human-centered design methodology and design thinking. He is most passionate about using design to help unlock creative confidence in everyone. A frequent speaker on these topics, Kelley and his brother co-authored the New York Times best-selling book Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, Kelley worked as an engineer at both Boeing and NCR. Drawn to design, he entered Stanford University in 1975, where he earned his master’s degree in Engineering/Product Design. In 1978, he founded the design firm that would become IDEO and, in that same year, began his teaching career at Stanford, receiving tenure in 1990, and beginning the collaborative teaching work that led to the founding the d.school in the early 2000’s.
Kelley was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2000. And among other honors and decorations, preparing the design thinkers of tomorrow has earned him the Sir Misha Black Medal for his “distinguished contribution to design education.”