I partner with mission-driven teams to shape what’s next — translating vision into strategy, and strategy into action.
AE Studio is the creative practice of Anna Engström—former innovation lead at IDEO, Nike, Evidation and Tia Health.
Say hello anna.engstrom.studio@gmail.com
My superpowers in action
Snapshots of my superpowers in action—shaping bold ideas into meaningful outcomes.
Recognizing Patterns in Complexity
Project: Strategic Research for Digital Athlete Engagement @ Nike
At Nike, I was brought in to make sense of complexity—connecting patterns across user needs, internal dynamics, and fragmented systems to unlock clarity. In one initiative with elite athletes, I led a discovery process that surfaced both organizational barriers and user insights, helping reframe the challenge and accelerate delivery of a new digital experience in under eight months. Colleagues described my impact as the ability to “break through barriers” and move complex work forward with momentum.
Navigating Ambiguity with Calm Confidence
Project: Society of Grownups @ IDEO
MassMutual came to IDEO with a challenge: how do we get young adults to buy life insurance? Through deep user research, our team reframed the opportunity entirely—leading a 2.5-year venture to build Society of Grownups, a first-of-its-kind financial wellness platform combining a digital experience with a brick-and-mortar clubhouse. I guided a multi-agency team through continuous ambiguity, leveraging the iterative cycle of design–prototype–learn to bring clarity, momentum, and ultimately, a bold new model for financial education.
Surfacing Deep Human Insights
Project: Core Product Strategy @ Tia Women’s Health
Tia was scaling fast, but needed to define its “secret sauce” to grow without losing what made it special. I partnered with the founding team to uncover what truly mattered to patients—from emotional safety to integrative care touchpoints. Those insights shaped a standardized care model, experience principles, and new service flows that now guide both digital and clinic operations.
Words from my partners & colleagues
“Anna is a master at bridging strategy and creativity. I had the pleasure of working with her for 4 years at IDEO, where she led a new-to-world financial services venture from research through launch. Her calm confidence, empathy, and ability to guide multidisciplinary teams through complex, evolving environments make her an exceptional leader and collaborator. I can’t recommend her enough for roles requiring hybrid thinking and deep innovation expertise.”
Ashley Shaffer, CMO at Redscout, [Previously Brand Strategy @ IDEO]
I’ve had the privilege of working with Anna across multiple healthcare ventures—from defining and codifying the Tia patient experience amidst rapid growth to pre-product thesis exploration—and I can confidently say she is one of the most thoughtful, strategic, and creative design minds I’ve worked with.
Anna brings the rare ability to turn the intangible into the tangible—whether that’s translating a fuzzy vision into a clear, actionable thesis, mapping complex user journeys, or building scalable systems that operators can actually implement.
She’s a brilliant design thinker and a true strategic partner to founders and product teams—someone who goes beyond decks and ideas to help you build the tools, processes, and experiences that bring a product to life.
With deep expertise in digital and hybrid experiences, Anna is a trusted partner in women’s health innovation—bringing strategic clarity and human insight to women-centered products and services.
Carolyn Witte, Tia Founding CEO, Exploring what’s next.
"Anna was the perfect match for our team as we set out to validate a new market opportunity to expand our business and build a new service platform. Anna's unique skillset as a user researcher AND designer allowed her to guide our team through the entire design thinking process from user research to design and implementation. "
Edith Chao, Product at Netflix [Previously Product Lead @ Remind Hub & Online Tutoring]
Roles & Partnerships
Key roles and partnerships that shaped my thinking, honed my craft, and expanded what I believe is possible through design.