Bobby Hughes

Bobby Hughes

Designer/ Educator/ Founder, Aardvark Design Labs

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Bobby Hughes will change how you think about design.

Bobby Hughes is an award-winning designer, innovation consultant, and director of Aardvark Design Labs. He is known for his playful facilitation and deep design expertise. He leverages these superpowers to help people and organizations increase their ability to collaborate effectively and create ground-breaking products and services that people love. Bobby has over 15 years of experience leading design and innovation, a BS in Physics from the University of Washington, and an MS in Engineering/Product Design from Stanford University.

Previously at
IDEO
Kaiser Permanente
Stanford University

Lightning Lessons

Free, interactive sessions to explore new topics

Alumni reviews

Caitlin

Live cohort
Prior to taking this course, I was comfortable using AI tools in general, but I hadn't found a way to leverage them to communicate research findings effectively or create visuals that didn’t feel like slop. This course changed that for me. Bobby and Eli teach you to build visual assets using the latest tools and custom end-to-end workflows, so you walk away with ready-to-use knowledge. I appreciated the well-organized activities they set up, which enabled us to make the most of the time spent trying new techniques. I also learned useful frameworks for storytelling and designing deliverables. The course was thoughtfully designed to be useful regardless of your experience with AI or job title. And, as a bonus, the experience was fun too!

Marissa

Live cohort
Phenomenal course and practice in using new tools to quickly extract and communicate meaningful research insights for audience engagement. The cohort was small, perfect for truly collaborative learning. Bobby and Eli are great facilitators who bring such a wealth of experience and insights. I have SO many new tools, resources, and books to peruse!

Julia

Live cohort
Principal, Leading Innovation · Issaquah School District

From Insight to Influence w/ AI for Design Researchers

Bobby and Eli have created an engaging, hands-on learning experience that makes AI approachable, practical, and fun. I loved connecting with design researchers and innovators from around the world while experimenting with new tools and ideas. The course strikes a great balance between guidance and exploration, giving you space to apply the learning directly to your own work, research, and projects. I left inspired, energized, and excited about what's possible. If you're curious about the future of AI and design research, this course is worth your time.

Aditi

Live cohort
UX Design and Research leader · Zillow

From Insight to Influence w/ AI for Design Researchers

This course has been very interesting and valuable in gaining new insights and learning practical tricks on using AI powered tools to expand my skills as a design strategist and leader.

Marlon

Live cohort
I recently took AI x Influence for Design Researchers, a two-session course, and found it useful. My biggest takeaway was how to better influence stakeholders, shifting from delivering large, dense reports to sharing smaller, digestible “snacks” of insight. It’s a simple idea, but it completely reframed how I think about communicating research. The course also introduced new AI tools and, more importantly, new ways to use them. The hands-on exercises made it easy to explore and apply what we were learning in real time. I’d recommend this course especially for researchers newer to AI, but even experienced practitioners will likely pick up a few valuable techniques.