Introducing Two New MA Design Courses at Iceland University of the Arts
Reykjavík - 16 August 2025:
Designer, author, and educator, R. Michael Hendrix, is introducing two new courses in the MA Design program at the Iceland University of the Arts (Listaháskóli Íslands) this fall: Team-based Design and Contextual Research. Drawing on 15 years of hands-on design leadership at IDEO (2008–2023), Hendrix’s curriculum advances skills essential for today’s graduate design education.
"Design education needs to prepare students for the realities of collaborative, multidisciplinary work and equip them with deep research skills to uncover human-centered insights," said Hendrix. "These courses are designed to deliver exactly that—practical methods students can apply immediately in their practice."
Team-based Design
A nine-week course focused on design collaboration in both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts. Students will learn to define and adapt team roles, build trust, manage group dynamics, and establish effective team rituals. The course also covers co-design with external stakeholders, creating productive shared workspaces, and managing collective authorship—key competencies for collaborative design projects in professional environments.
Contextual Research
A five-week intensive introducing students to contextual research methods in design. Through ethnographic fieldwork, observation, interviews, and analogous research, students will uncover cultural, social, and environmental factors influencing behavior. The course emphasizes identifying “latent needs” and synthesizing findings into actionable design opportunities—critical skills for developing products, services, and systems that respond to real-world contexts.
Hendrix, co-author of Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation and founder of Reykjavík-based design practice Huldunótur, has worked with clients including the White House, Nasdaq, and the GRAMMYs. His teaching experience spans Berklee College of Music, University of Tennessee, and Bifröst University.
The courses are open to MA Design students starting Fall 2025 and are part of the program’s ongoing commitment to advancing contemporary design education.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Hendrix featured in Morgunblaðið, Iceland’s largest newspaper
Reykjavík - 14 April 2025:
In a recent Morgunblaðið article by journalist and photographer Ásdís Ásgeirsdóttir (published April 13), American design and innovation expert Michael Hendrix shares his journey of relocating to Iceland and launching a new creative consultancy, Huldunótur.
R. Michael Hendrix by Ásdís Ásgeirsdóttir, 2025
The article notes that Hendrix, the former Global Design Director at innovation firm IDEO, now works with Icelandic businesses like Brauð & Co. and The Blue Lagoon, helping them unlock growth through design thinking, strategic innovation, and creative problem-solving.
In addition to his consulting work, Hendrix is an accomplished musician. He recently released his sixth solo album, Yuks, produced with Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurðsson, and hosts the podcast Two Beats Ahead Live, featuring interviews with leading Icelandic artists and creative entrepreneurs.
In the article Hendrix cites Iceland’s independent mindset and collaborative spirit as key reasons for making Reykjavík his home. He says, “I love being here. The cultural life is fantastic. The landscape inspires me. And there’s a certain mindset here that I really appreciate. That’s important to me. There’s something about the way Icelanders see the world that I connect with.”
Read an English adaptation of the interview on Iceland Monitor or read the original Icelandic article here.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Recent case studies from Huldunótur
Reykjavík - 27 March 2025:
Enjoy this round-up of recent work from Huldunótur.
Baking Culture into Growth Strategy
After a post-COVID growth spurt, the Brauð & Co. executive team streamlined operations, improving product consistency, strengthening finances, and enhancing the customer experience. With the business thriving, they set their sights on sustainable growth.
Huldunótur guided the leadership team through planning and discovery to codify cultural values, set growth objectives, and connect these actions to a communications plan. Over four months, we collaborated through group discussions, an executive offsite, and employee interviews. The result: clear 2025 objectives focused on bakery and logistical efficiencies, an employee handbook to uphold cultural values, and a communications plan to reinforce commitments.
The most public outcome is the handbook, a culture manifesto nicknamed No Rules, inspired by punk zines. Handmade collages illustrate Brauð’s values, reflecting its artisanal craft and nonconformist roots. Mobile-friendly and easy to understand, it fosters employee engagement while honoring Brauð’s fair-minded, collaborative work culture.
Brauð & Co’s culture handbook, by Huldunótur
Glow-ing Forward: Design Strategy for Skincare
Recognizing international growth opportunities, an Iceland-based skincare brand enlisted Huldunótur to lead a multi-day strategic workshop focused on market data, field insights, and customer feedback to identify and prioritize expansion strategies, including regional marketing and branding. Aware of the risks and rewards of scaling, the brand spent a month preparing for the sessions, reviewing past market research, customer insights, and manufacturing capabilities. Decisions and commitments from the sessions shaped the milestones and budgets of a three-year strategic plan.
Powering Up Customer Insights in Gaming
Knowing your customer is essential to improving your products. An Iceland-based game company hired Huldunótur to teach its teams design thinking research methods for gaining customer insights and defining new opportunites. Because business training is often dry and ineffective, the month-long workshop series focused on immediate application. Employees collaborated in teams and applied what they learned to business opportunities. This program has given the teams confidence to engage with their customers in fresh ways to shape their design and development pipeline.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Hendrix to speak at Conversation on Creative Industries
Reykjavík - 25 March 2025:
Rannsóknarsetur skapandi greina (Iceland’s Research Center for Creative Industries) has announced the speakers for its next event in the "Conversation on Creative Industries" series. Part of the DesignMarch program, this event features R. Michael Hendrix, designer and professor, who will discuss design thinking and its potential in Iceland.
“Design thinking is a transformative methodology that uses creative mindsets to identify new opportunities that address human needs while also building value for organizations,” Hendrix says. “It is particularly effective at designing intangibles—things that are not physical—such as strategy, culture, and service. While design practice in Iceland is exceptional, the broad application of design thinking is nascent. There are significant opportunities to use this methodology to address social, civic, and commercial needs.”
Highlighting a recent design thinking success, the design team ÞYKJÓ will present its project Börnin að borðinu (Children at the Table), which focuses on children's culture design and service design in urban planning. The project won the Icelandic Design Award 2024. ÞYKJÓ creates a whimsical world of installations, costumes, and toys for children.
Following the presentations, Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir will moderate an open discussion.
The event will take place at CCP’s headquarters in Gróska, Bjargargata 1, third floor. CCP will provide a light breakfast. The event will be held in English, with live-streamed presentations.
Seating is limited. Register for on-site attendance here: https://forms.gle/zazHnv1EibCibXLB7
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Launching Entrepreneurship Micro-credentials at Bifröst University
Reykjavík - 24 March 2025:
Starting in autumn 2025, R. Michael Hendrix will teach in a new Entrepreneurship Micro-credential program at Bifröst University. Developed with the Breiðholt Service Center and supported by a university collaboration under the Iceland Ministry of Higher Education, the program builds on his design thinking curriculum. It expands to include entrepreneurial theory and practical applications in Iceland, taught alongside Arnar Sigurðsson and Fida Abu Libdeh.
Video still from “Entrepreneurship Micro-credential at Háskólinn á Bifröst”
This 18-ECTS university-level program is open to anyone interested in Iceland’s startup and innovation community. Taught in English, it improves access to higher education, especially for those who do not speak Icelandic as their first language. Although 90% of course materials at Icelandic universities are in English, people of foreign origin enroll at lower rates. This program helps close that gap and promotes diversity in higher education.
Students will learn through theory, hands-on exercises, and case studies. They will develop entrepreneurial skills, understand the business environment, and explore how to start and sustain a company. To apply, visit Bifröst University’s website.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Reykjavík Grapevine Features Two Beats Ahead LIVE! Podcast
Reykjavík - 20 March 2025:
The March issue of Reykjavík Grapevine, Iceland’s leading culture newspaper, features Two Beats Ahead LIVE!, a podcast by R. Michael Hendrix. In this series, Hendrix interviews Reykjavík-based musicians, , including Klemens Hannigan of HATARI in episode seven, to explore their creative ventures beyond music. Hosted at his Huldunótur workspace, these live, public sessions foster artistic collaboration and celebrate Reykjavík’s diverse creative community.
Writer Ish Sveinsson Houle delves into the podcast’s origins and Hendrix’s mission to expand on ideas from Two Beats Ahead, his book co-authored with Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy.
Klemens Hannigan with R. Michael Hendrix at Huldunótur on February 20, 2025
Previous episodes of the podcast include Valgeir Sigurðsson on Complementary Differences, Melkorka Magnúsdóttir on Innovation as Optimism and Íris Thorarins on Balancing Creativity and Strategy. Check out all the episodes online and read the full story about the podcast on the Grapevine’s website, here.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Author Talk & Book Signing with R. Michael Hendrix and guest, Sigga Soffia
Reykjavík - 24 February 2025:
Join us for an inspiring author talk and book signing during DesignMarch with R. Michael Hendrix, co-author of Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation. Hendrix, a leading design expert and professor, will explore how musical creativity fuels innovation across industries.
Special guest Sigga Soffía, renowned Icelandic choreographer and founder of Eldblóm, will join Hendrix to discuss the fusion of art, entrepreneurship, and creative thinking. A dynamic Q&A session will follow, giving attendees the chance to engage directly with the speakers.
About Two Beats Ahead
Two Beats Ahead reveals how top musicians harness creativity and what innovators can learn from them. Featuring insights from industry legends like Pharrell Williams, T Bone Burnett, and Gloria Estefan, the book dives deep into the mindsets that drive groundbreaking ideas in music, design, and business.
About R. Michael Hendrix
R. Michael Hendrix is the founder of Huldunótur, a Reykjavík-based design consultancy, and a professor at Bifröst University. Formerly a senior partner and Global Design Director at IDEO, Hendrix has a rich background in design, music, and innovation, helping clients worldwide unlock their creative potential.
About Sigga Soffía
Sigga Soffía is a celebrated Icelandic choreographer and artist known for blending dance, design, and sensory experiences. She is the visionary behind Eldblóm, a creative project that has evolved from a dance performance into a multi-sensory brand, including fireworks displays, fragrances, and elixirs.
Book Signing Details
After the talk, meet R. Michael Hendrix and get your copy of Two Beats Ahead personally signed. Copies will be available for purchase at the event.
Location
Pennin-Eymundsson, Austurstræti, 101 Reykjavík
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to explore creativity, music, and innovation with R. Michael Hendrix and Sigga Soffía!
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Hendrix to speak at Iceland Innovation Week 2025
Reykjavík - 15 January 2025:
Today Iceland Innovation Week, Iceland’s premier festival for innovation and entrepreneurship, announced its first speakers for the 2025 festival running May 13-15, 2025.
Huldunótur founder, R. Michael Hendrix, is returning to the stage for a second year in a row, following last year’s surprise, “banel,” during the OK, Bye Climate Theater—a panel discussion that evolved into a full band performance with José Ramos (MIT), Peter Godart (Found Energy), and Freyr Eyolfsson (SORPA). The panel discussed innovations in sustainable innovation through circular and recyclable waste strategies then punctuated the session with a racous performance of INXS’s “Elegantly Wasted,” accompanied by multi-instrumentalist, Sveinbjörn Thorarensen aka, Hermigervill.
Check out the complete list 2025 speakers here.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Announcing Episode 5 of podcast Two Beats Ahead: Live!
Reykjavík - 6 January 2025:
Episode 5 of podcast Two Beats Ahead: Live! is available today. In the episode, Huldunótur founder, R. Michael Hendrix, interviews accomplished Icelandic fine artist and photographer, Lilja Birgisdöttir, co-founder of Fischersund Perfumery and Art Collective. Lilja takes listeners on an intimate scent journey through the collective's shop and explains how this multi-sensory experience emerged from a desire to collaborate with her siblings, the most well-known being Jónsi, the singer of atmospheric post-rock band, Sigur Rós.
They discuss how pursuing personal passions results in universally relatable art and how this pursuit can also be a platform for growing a business. She shares how the experience design of Fischersund is a a gentle counterpoint to modern, aggressive retail experiences and why she values creativity and connection. They also touch on the science of embodied cognition—understanding the world through the five senses—and how the collective's latest exhibition, Faux Flora, has been a means of personal artistic growth through collaboration.
Two Beats Ahead Live! Is a podcast inspired by the book of the same name, “Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About innovation.” In the book Hendrix looks into the musical minds of entrepreneurial artists and creators like Pharrell, T Bone Burnett, Imogen Heap and Hank Shocklee. The books was coauthored with Panos A. Panay, president of the Recording Academy, presenter of the GRAMMYs.
Listen to the podcast here or on Apple and Spotify.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com
Announcing “Design Thinking Microdose” with Miðstöð hönnunar og arkitektúrs
Reykjavík - 10 December 2024:
Today Miðstöð hönnunar og arkitektúrs (Iceland’s Center for Design and Architecture) announces “Design Thinking Microdose,” a workshop series led by designer, R. Michael Hendrix. The modules are created to deepen design thinking skills for professional designers and architects. Focused on the research phase of a design thinking methodology, the three sessions emphasize methods of observation, interviewing and analogous inspiration.
Hendrix is the former Global Design Director at IDEO, one of the world's most influential design firms. At IDEO, he led diverse projects that combined creativity and strategic thinking. With over 30 years of experience in the field of design he has been a leader in developing innovative solutions for companies and organizations in different sectors, from technology and health to arts and culture. He is known for his ability to integrate the creative process and practical business thinking, and for emphasizing the human element in design.
Hendrix is the co-author of the book Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation, where he connects musical intuition with business innovation. Hendrix has a strong passion for creative collaboration and the impact of design on society and has had a profound impact on the development of design thinking on an international level.
Full details here.
- hendrix@invisiblenotes.com