Innovation Realized
I am Ian Coats MacColl, founder of icm.studio and professor of Industrial Design at California College of the Arts. My career bridges design practice and teaching — helping global brands, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and retailers turn great ideas into scalable, sustainable businesses.
Through the Merchant-Centric Design™ approach, I look beyond user experience to design for the full commercial ecosystem — aligning design intent with how products perform on the shelf, in production, and in profit.
Transforming Business
I work with companies at every stage of growth — from entrepreneurs building their first product to established manufacturers shaping their next chapter. Each engagement is a transformation: from idea to impact, from uncertainty to revenue.
Player-Coach
I move easily between strategy and execution — translating big-picture business goals into real, manufacturable physical and digital products. Whether I’m researching users, sketching, modeling, narrating, or building CAD, direct engagement with making is what gives icm.studio its edge: I am focused on turning strong ideas into products that sell, ship, and scale.
Merchant-Centric Design
Merchant-Centric Design™ is a systems-based approach that connects user desire with merchant reality and manufacturing truth. It considers not only how a product delights customers, but how it performs across the full commercial ecosystem — from supply chain to shelf to margin. Products that succeed in the real world, not just the studio.
Conversations
Stories, insights, and lessons from the intersection of design, business, retail, supply chain, and sustainability.
“Ian led our transformation from a company making a handful of products to an internationally recognized brand making almost a hundred items. His commitment to our growth contributed critically to our acquisition by a private equity firm.”
Alden Mills, Founder, Perfect Fitness, Navy Seal