the world has enough blah
let's make beautiful, unruly, feelings-filled experiences that no one will be able to stop thinking about
we're here to teach you how to use experience design to break all the rules and design the moments that change everything
if we keep making the same old stuff...
We settle for “good enough,” and we miss the chance to make something exceptional.
Teams burn out. The impact of what you’re building falls far short of its potential. And we put more mediocre trash into people’s already exhausted nervous systems.
the world needs more of the beautiful, the weird, the surprising, and the strange
Without it — nothing changes.
We’re here to help you design things differently.
what you get at this party
learn to design the moments that shift the collective chemistry
🪄
new tools and frameworks to stretch your thinking to unexpected edges
🔮
a more rigorous and delicious practice of inspiration
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a good frickin’ time on the internet — a shockingly rare thing these days
🌀
rituals for a more chaotically wonder-filled creative life
how to play with us
attend a live immersive workshop
make a beautiful, exploratory mess with new frameworks and new friends
join the good chaos club
fuel your experience design practice with exclusive monthly workshops, resources, and conversations
enroll in our 8-week virtual retreat
learn how to design unforgettable experiences in a deep dive course that builds your craft through real practice
jump into our substack
get weekly creative prompts and provocations to inspire the way you see the world
book a coaching call
let me help you get unstuck, tap into your own singular brilliance, and design more wildy gorgeous moments
i'm here to help you build good things
I know what it feels like to be burnt out, uninspired, and stuck in a cycle of building things that are just fine and mostly meh.
To be buried under a million decks and emails and project meetings, playing victim to urgency, sold the story that what people want is stuff that's "more businessy."
And...I know what it’s like to want the holy-shit moments. To wish for more belly laughs. More smelling the trees. More going whole hog on the Dolly Parton puns. More ‘Yes, this’.
More play, ritual, and sweet absurdity in all the sticky corners of our lives.
I’m Olivia Vagelos and that’s why I built The Design for Feelings Studio — where we get to marry the left-brain rigor with the right-brain magic.
After years at IDEO, Stanford’s d.school, and inside big philanthropy, I helped build the very frameworks that shape how we design experiences today—then left to push them further and bring them to more humans in need of creative inspiration.
Through The Studio I’ve helped thousands of people, and dozens of companies, re-find the energy and the bravery to make the types of unforgettable experiences that they’re really frickin’ proud of.
If you’re ready to make sh*t that matters, you’re in good company.
experience design — it's what's for dinner
At The Design for Feelings Studio, we know you want to design the holy wow — the kind of experiences people talk about for weeks and years afterward. And to do that, you need juicy inspiration, clear frameworks, and tangible tools for making the transcendent.
That’s where experience design comes in — it’s the secret sauce to crafting the exceptional. It’s how we transform ordinary moments into the oh hot damn ones.
And it’s not just for marketing campaigns, massive events, or app development. Experience design is for everything we’re making out in the world: workshops, gatherings, celebrations, transitions, stories, culture, family dinners.
You don’t need to rely on crossing your fingers, hoping “good vibes” can carry the day, or be stuck cobbling together something that feels… alright, not bad, okay, kinda nice, fine.
You, and your people, deserve way better than fine.
We believe the world needs more of the luscious, the edgy, the unexpected, and the kind. And we know what it’s like to be uninspired and craving more delight, meaningful ritual, and tender awe.
That's why we’re building, and sharing, the tools of experience design in real time.
We’re here to be your ally and your guide in crafting more good chaos.
let's get cooking
the good chaos club
fuel your experience design practice with exclusive monthly workshops, resources, and conversations
$47/month (limited-time pricing)
the retreat
learn how to design unforgettable experiences in a deep dive course that builds your craft through real practice
$2500 (optional payment plans)
coaching
let me help you get unstuck, tap into your magic, and make really good things
$350/hour (special packages available)
Mitch Carter Jafery
Co-Founder @ Friday Gallery, former Chief Creative Officer and current Design Fellow @ IDEO
“Olivia is a world-weaver, spinning together meaning, myth, ritual, language, and the full spectrum of the sensorial into spaces and experiences that unlock new possibilities.
But rather than floating off into the clouds, her work has the thoughtful grounding and warm depth of a philosopher mixed with the playful spirit of a curious explorer.
When we speak of “magic,” we mean delight in the unexpected, the joy of wonder, emotional care, and a full-bodied sensorial immersion we are happy to surrender to.
Quite simply, Olivia is a magician.”
Jenny Gottstein
Head of Experiential @ Happily, CEO of the Climate Action Game Show
"Olivia is a phenomenal experience designer at the top of her craft, who is taking the rigor of the design thinking processes that she rocked at IDEO and combining it with the intangible art of experience design. She has created a process around the chaos of creating both the emotional and the transformational.
As a trained learning designer and talented facilitator, she has the ability to draw out the collective genius in a room and craft something greater than the sum total of its parts. And you can feel it. I have had the distinct honor and privilege of working on a multitude of experiences and experience design tools with Olivia, and I cannot sing her praises enough.
Run, don’t walk, to whatever she makes, or whatever she invites you to experience."
Alysha English
Moderator, Leadership Programs @ Netflix, Founder + Facilitator @ With Space Between
“Olivia is a magician. She brings together a rare harmony of rigor and magic when it comes to experience design.
She is endlessly curious about herself, about the world, and about others. Through her curiosity, she finds inspiration for new frameworks and new experiences.
As a collaborator, she has expanded my own thinking. As a designer, she has inspired my own practice.
If you’re looking for someone to stretch your own imagination around what an experience can feel like, Olivia is your person.
Blending heart and mind, she is truly gifted at designing memorable and meaningful experiences that leave people finding awe and wonder in the world.”
Keely Adler
Cultural Futurist @ RADAR & Dentsu Creative
“Olivia is such an inspiring and refreshing voice in the world of experience design.
She challenges your existing perspectives with tenderness; brings depth, texture, and emotion to every topic she writes and talks about; and takes participants in her sessions on a gentle and provocative journey into what's next in truly beautiful ways.
Work with her! You might cry? You'll definitely feel warm and fuzzy. And maybe a little upset by the world as it is.
But that's ok, because you'll already be on your way to building what could be, instead.”
Isis Arias
Executive Experiential Producer & Brand Marketer, former Marketing Lead of Global Live Experiences @ Netflix
“As an executive producer of experiential marketing, I find Olivia’s approach to designing with emotions super aligned with how we should all approach creating experiences.
Her ability to create safe space with intention is unique, allowing others to collaborate with the right balance of guidance and input. I find her strategies and tactics incredibly valuable and useful.
Besides trying to manifest a way to work together, I am always passing her workshops on to others in the industry that I think could benefit!
If you get a chance to spend some time in her welcoming space, definitely take it!”
Emily Owens
Director of Events @ Rewiring America
“Run, don't walk to start designing experiences alongside Olivia Vagelos, who I once described as an ‘emotional cartographer.’
As an events pro, I try to remember that gathering humans is ultimately an act of emotional orchestration — and that every single one of the 100820342708 event planning decisions makes an impact on the emotional resonance of an event.
Learn how to make the right decisions from the best.”
Savannah Kunovsky
Managing Director of Emerging Technology @ IDEO
“Olivia is my go-to thought partner for creating unique experiences.
During our time together at IDEO, she created company-wide experiences to help our colleagues and clients shift into new ways of being and seeing the world.
Olivia is an incredible facilitator and designer, who knows how to tap into the soul of an audience and craft experiences that transcend, inspire, and ground.
With her background in learning design, she's broken down the art of experience design and been a longtime teacher teacher for me in the art of crafting moments people love.
Could not recommend learning with and from Olivia more!”
Melanie Kahl
Innovation Director, Community Weaver, & Educator @ Meld Strategy
“Olivia lives, breathes, and dreams experience.
Beyond crafting containers that liberate and delight, she models a facilitation style that is equal parts bold and soft — inviting others into the magic of an experience.
I actively seek out experiences she orchestrates as both a participant and practitioner, as I know I’ll leave inspired and refreshed.
As a collaborator, I admire how Olivia toggles between artful experience, rigorous strategy, and masterful tactics. She jumps in joyfully. And people follow.
Anybody that works with Olivia grows. The sector is lucky to have her wisdom.”
Rob Strain
Founder and Principal @ Lemon Battery
“Few people push, inspire, and shape my thinking on experience design like Olivia.
I first encountered her work in a virtual space she hosted, where her blend of intentionality and strategic facilitation moves created some lasting magic.
Since then, I've had the privilege of understanding the art and science behind her deeply human approach. Olivia is a master of her craft, yet she distills her expertise into memorable concepts I return to time and again.
If you're looking to elevate an experience, personal or professional, you'd be lucky to learn from her wisdom.”
Ravon Ruffin Feliz
Director of Strategic Partnerships @ Kinfolk Tech, Artist, Cyber Anthropologist, and Facilitator @ Citation Studio
“No matter the format, Olivia creates a space of authentic grounding and connection to oneself and to others.
Olivia is truly able to help folks across disciplines tap into what is human and reimagine inside possibility.
Her work feels like magic.”
a handful of our clients and partners...
IDEO
IDEO U
IDEO.org
TFA’s Reinvention Lab
iF Design
Airbnb
New_ Public
Rewiring America
aiEDU
National Arts Strategies
The Rithm Project
Dubai Future Foundation
Working Assumptions
BUILD
Dramatic Results
it's this.
Those moments that still ride with you, months, years, decades later.
The letter tucked under your chair. The light on, waiting for you. Holding hands on the cliffside. The crescendo. The most exquisite nap.
The good quiet. And the good chaos.
The thing that person whispered to you, that you’ve tucked into your back brain pocket, to feed you in the dark times.
so what are you making?
A people program? A party? A potluck? A digital product? A snazzy new pair of pants?
It’s all experience. And we all get to be experience designers.
We get to center the feelings. To be more curious about the humans at the heart of it. To wield space and time, art and artifact, ambiance, environment, and action to build something that feels singular. Honest. Transcendent. Desired.
Let’s make a mesmerizing, thoughtful mess together. Shall we?
join the collective treasure hunt
for magic, joy, and what it means to be a heart-led experience designer, subscribe to our Substack