Adaptive by Design: Design Palo Alto Visits Moon

In October, Moon Creative Lab hosted Design Palo Alto — a series of events for industry professionals focused on Innovation, Architecture, Tech, Startups, Ventures, Art, and more. The multiday series took place across various locations in Palo Alto and Stanford, California, featuring panel discussions, presentations, and tours of studios and homes. 

The event, held at Moon’s Palo Alto studio, kicked off with a thought-provoking discussion on "Design Meets Venture Capital," featuring Bill Burnett, Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford and co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Designing Your Life, alongside Tara Tan from Strange Ventures. They explored the evolving interplay between design, innovation, and investment, sharing insights from their extensive experiences with founders, tech giants, and investors over the years. “Their reflections brought in a diverse audience we were grateful for,” shared Peter Antonelli, Moon’s Global Head of Design. “The audience was very engaged, and we made a lot of great new connections!” 

Following “Design Meets Venture Capital,” Peter presented Adaptive by Design, where he discussed Moon's human-centered design philosophy and how it shapes the products, services, and experiences we develop. “At Moon, design and entrepreneurship are highly symbiotic. Particularly with our early founders, design helps unlock emergent ideas by translating them into tangible, user-facing provocations, which in turn helps shape the path forward. Conversely, entrepreneurs often bring a holistic perspective that provides the essential constraints for design to thrive,” he says. 

Moon’s Chief Creative Officer, Mike Peng, then took the stage to elaborate on how we apply design in diverse ways to unlock value within Moon and in collaboration with founders. “Design to me is all about intention. It's about taking the time to think through what experience you want people to have and then executing it to the best of your ability," Mike says. "Whether it's our space, our programs, or how we communicate to the world, we want to make sure it feels very Moon — and that's why design is so important to all of us." 

This insightful event allowed us to engage deeply with the design community and offer them a sneak peek of Moon’s innovative projects. “Hosting events like Design Palo Alto lets us share Moon’s culture and initiate new conversations, opening doors to valuable future collaborations,” Peter explains.

New collaborations and connections are a current focus of Moon Creative Lab, particularly for our new incubation program, Moon In-Residence. “One of our main goals is to bring even more creative energy to our Palo Alto studio through our Moon In–Residence program, which is designed to help entrepreneurs push their ventures to the next level,” Peter adds. With industry events like this one, Moon aims to bring the entrepreneur and startup communities together to create meaningful interactions that inspire creativity, diverse perspectives, and innovation. 

To learn more about Moon’s In-Residence program and how you can get hands-on help and support for your venture, check out our website.

If you’d like to collaborate and host an event or workshop with Moon, reach out to us with this form.