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Work Background
Mark M KingContractor
Dec. 2023ChicagoWorking with companies on short-term engagements, focused on helping to conduct research and define future opportunities. Clients include gravitytank, Levy (Curiology), Northern Trust, Insight Product Development, Francis W. Parker School, iris worldwide, and Inventables.
Lift CollectivePartner
Nov. 2017 - Dec. 2023ChicagoWe use a collaborative design thinking approach to help organizations figure out what people need (research & strategy) and make what people want (design & communication). Working this way enables us to solve a wide variety of problems across industries and at any scale, from capturing opportunities and building brands to skilling up teams and facilitating communication throughout organizations.
Camp SparklesCo-Founder
Sep. 2015Chicago, Illinois, United StatesCamp Sparkles helps kids shine. It is an after school and summer camp that balances fun and learning in a loving and nurturing environment. (Camp Sparkles was previously Camp Papa but recently rebranded by 4-year-old Maeve King and not affiliated with any official Camp Sparkles.)
- Limited to two campers under age 10, except on special occasions.
- Campers enjoy access to a wide variety of play activities, including board games, make believe restaurants, puzzles, “school”, coloring, and dollies.
- Everyone practices math, language, social studies, science, and communication skills through real-world applications.
- Everyone contributes to the overall success of the camp, including meal planning and grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up after oneself, politeness, loading and emptying the dishwasher, doing laundry, caring for plants, taking out the garbage, woodworking, and vacuuming.
- Building social emotional learning through play dates, conversations about feelings, collaborative play, and celebrating diversity.
- All campers are encouraged to express themselves through coloring, music, dramatic performances, and short story writing.
- Special field trips include visiting local parks, the bowling alley, public swimming pools, the zoo, beaches, actual camping sites, and museums. Two to three out of town trips are scheduled annually.
- Campers stay physically active through bike riding, sports, dancing, running around in circles, making up new games, and general silliness. If it’s close enough to walk or bike, we don’t drive.
- Regular check-ins to see how everyone is doing and if they need anything.
- Outdoor activity is always encouraged, even when no one wants to.
Toad+TadpolePartner
Mar. 2015ChicagoSome things are designed for kids. Just about everything else is designed for adults. Very little is designed for both parents and kids, even though people do a lot of things together. Therefore, wherever you go and whatever you do, someone is often less than happy. You go to a restaurant to have a meal together, but since the experience is largely designed for adults, your kids are bored and can’t sit still. As a result, you spend the entire time trying to keep them quiet rather than enjoying your time together. How could the restaurant create a better experience for everyone? For that matter, what about hotels, airlines, coffee shops, supermarkets, gyms, cookbooks, and everything else that is designed for adults but used by families? Through consulting services and our own products, Toad & Tadpole helps all types of businesses that want to welcome families by creating shared experiences for adults and kids. We won’t recommend putting a playground in your fancy restaurant. I promise. But we will show you how your company can be profitable by leveraging environments, activities, products, and services to bring families together.
IA CollaborativeResearch & Strategy Director
Dec. 2013 - Mar. 2015ChicagoResearch & strategy director for a design firm focused on using design to solve business problems.
+ Worked with large, multinational corporations to help them create user-driven experiences
+ Clients included Godrej & Boyce, Nike, FedEx, Bosch, Vera Bradley, HP, Abbvie, Johnson & Johnson, and Wrigley, among many others
+ Managed a team of Researchers and Strategists
+ Developed expertise in ethnographic interviewing, analysis & synthesis of massive amounts of data, framework development, presentation design, and secondary research
+ Frequently worked with and presented to management and c-suite stakeholders
+ Managed staffing for department
+ Worked with other departments (design & management) as well as partners to ensure that the best ideas were created and promoted
+ Participated in pitches to new and existing clients
+ Managed and mentored interns and less senior members of the team
+ Worked closely with HR to interview, hire, and retain employees
+ Taught methods at The University of Notre Dame (graduate and undergraduate levels), Northwestern University (graduate and undergraduate levels), The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), and 1871
Greater Good StudioResearch Director
Jan. 2013 - Nov. 2013ChicagoResearch director for a design firm focused on using design to solve social problems for non-profit organizations.
+ First employee hired at GGS
+ Participated in all facets of the company, from pitching projects to designing deliverables, and even some non-project tasks that come along with new companies, including painting, washing dishes, and fixing doorbells.
+ Clients included Infiniteach, The Metropolitan Tenants Organization, and Chicago Public Schools
IA CollaborativeAssociate Research & Strategy Director
May. 2007 - Jan. 2013ChicagoAssociate Research & Strategy director for a strategic design firm that brings a human-centered, design-based approach to corporations. See description above for details.
Mayo ClinicResearch intern
May. 2006 - Aug. 2006Rochester, Minnesota AreaIntern at the SPARC Center for Innovation. Project work focused on how to create a more patient-centric model of care.
Touritalia, Inc.Travel Consultant
Jun. 2001 - Jul. 2004
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