Future Design Inquiries. February 2026

Hello from ENSO, a future design company. We’re sharing the things that make us think, bring us joy or shift our perspective. 

What we’re reflecting on

Design amplification

When Rob Buete first heard of walk-in bathtubs (called “safety bathtubs,” these are bathtubs with a door), he didn’t get it. The tub was built for accessibility but what kind of mass market would want that? It turns out, a big one. Older people who had trouble climbing into the tub, overweight people, athletes with injuries who wanted it for hydrotherapy and people with back pain and joint issues, just to name a few. A recent HBR article introduced me to this story and the term for it – design amplification. Typically, products are designed with the mainstream consumer in mind, on the theory that’s where the biggest market lies. But sometimes the best innovations can come from designing with constraints. Sometimes we need to – as these authors suggest – flip the question. By designing for constrained users, could we actually create products that work for more people overall? Sidewalk curb cuts (the little ramps that lead into and out of the street) were originally designed for wheelchairs. But now, anyone pulling a suitcase, pushing a stroller or even just walking a toddler across the street uses them. Electric toothbrushes were originally designed for people with limited dexterity. And yet now they’re the gold standard in teeth brushing. What else could we imagine if we started designing within our biggest constraints? (HS)

Machines of loving grace

At the end of a fascinating interview between Ross Douthat, a conservative NYT columnist, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, they got to a Richard Brautigan poem that ends, “I like to think / of a cybernetic ecology / where we are free of our labors / and joined back to nature, / returned to our mammal brothers and sisters, / and all watched over / by machines of loving grace.” Their discussion turns to how to interpret that: Douthat contends it’s dystopian, Amodei suggests it could be dystopian, utopian, or ironic. Amodei then said, “I wonder if the distance between the good ending and some of the subtle bad endings is relatively small, if it’s a very subtle thing.” To which Douthat replied (never missing an opportunity to hit some theology): “like if you eat a particular fruit from a tree in a garden or not … big divergence.” They both laughed. But the unsettling reality is that the gap between positive and negative futures may not be a grand moral choice — visible from a distance — but a million subtle ones that take clear intention and attention. In our quest for speed and results, will we make space for that diligence? (SB)

The new entry level job?

What will happen to all of the entry-level jobs? That’s the AI question du jour and it seems like a safe enough bet that there really won’t be a need for human workers at that level in the semi-near term. What’s a generation of young people to do? Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America, has an idea. She points out that research shows working close to the root of social issues changes your beliefs about the world, and your life trajectory. And there are programs for young people – Teach for America, AmeriCorps – to help you do that. But their scale and resources can’t compete with consulting, finance and tech. That is, unless those industries no longer need entry-level workers. Kopp suggests that companies push back recruiting and look for slightly older people (who, ostensibly, they’ll still need), who have the leadership, critical thinking and management skills gained at those service jobs. But I’d take it even further. What if young people were incentivized to work in service jobs of all kinds? What if campuses worked to bring in service organizations for serious recruitment, and what if government helped those organizations scale to meet some of our biggest challenges? And what if taking one of these jobs helped relieve your student debt? We already know those programs tend to produce future successful leaders across fields. What if the decline of entry-level jobs precipitated a new era of service for America’s young people? (HS)

Canary in the coal mine

Fashion is easy to dismiss as frivolous, but the best designers are anthropologists, and expert at identifying what’s latent, what people secretly want permission to want, and what they want to signal to others. After years of ‘quiet luxury’, significantly inspired by the joyless and morally hollow characters of Succession, Matthieu Blazy is reorienting Chanel with a simple directive: joy. Real, warm, undefended joy. (By the way, Blazy’s mother: an anthropologist) He’s deliberately pushing back against the idea that seriousness and joy are opposites, that you have to choose between depth and delight. We’ve written before that ‘winning from joy’ is not just more human, but more effective; Blazy is making that same case from a very different stage. Yes, there are big things to do, but earnestness is not necessarily the right way to move through it — Mamdani showed recently that joy can unlock a huge reservoir of energy that fear-based campaigning struggles to sustain. The closing look from Blazy’s debut show was Awar Odhiang wearing a wild ‘piña colada’ skirt; she broke with the tradition of sternness by smiling, clapping, and enjoying herself. She became ‘a supermodel overnight’. What if joy isn’t the reward for getting through this, but the way through it? (SB)

These nuggets are curated by ENSO partners Hanna Siegel (HS) and Sebastian Buck (SB).

7 things that made us think, gasp, share and laugh:

• A big Swedish pharmacy train is piloting time off for employees to spend time with friends in an effort to combat loneliness 
• The best-ever American cross-country skier (male or female) puts her body through a “pain cave”
• Anthropic is at war with itself // but also maybe in a rare ‘Golden Age’
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are going on a ‘Land of Hopes and Dreams’ American tour’ starting in Minneapolis and ending in DC. “Brothers and sisters, fans, friends and good folks from coast to coast, we are living through dark, disturbing and dangerous times. But do not despair, the calvary is coming,” said Springsteen. “We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America, American democracy, American freedom, our American constitution and our sacred American dream. All of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C. Everyone, regardless of where you stand or what you believe in, is welcome. So come out and join the United Free Republic of E Street nation for an American spring of rock and rebellion. See you there.” 
• Obvious Ventures is doubling down on climate investing; “Venture firms outlast presidential cycles by definition … I love climate investing because it’s the macro of all macros.”
• David Brooks is leaving the NYT with a wonderful parting on the forces of humanism. 
• Archeologists and AI have partnered to work out the rules of an ancient Roman board game

What we’re working on

ENSO is a small, senior team so that we can work on just a few initiatives at a time. This allows us to go deep on some of the biggest challenges/ opportunities. Recently, we’ve been working on a few main missions with our partners:

1. Reimagining the future of the seas, and exploring what a new frontier in maritime might mean for the world
2. Changing the world of work: the labor market is the engine of prosperity, but ~80% of people are not engaged or thriving. We’re working to change the system.
3. Designing the largest day of service ever, with a coalition of 80 for-profit, non-profit and civic organizations 
4. Helping artists sustain an artistic life over the long term, and designing the space and tools to help artists everywhere thrive. 

Thank you for being part of the network that fuels our optimism and expands what’s possible. We’re grateful for you, and we’re committed to creating positive futures together.

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Reach us at news@enso.co

See you next time.

ENSO • 115 W California Blvd #9101 Pasadena, CA 91105