On the corner of 12th Street and New York Avenue NW stands another office building among the hundreds in DC. City dwellers walk by, unaware of the ideation occurring inside in a small office on the sixth floor. Immediately inside, there is an art fixture of numerous colorful gears lining one wall on the right. On the left is a room with glass walls, a chalkboard, and a nostalgic assortment of Legos. Beyond this conference room is a mural of Sherlock Holmes peering into a looking glass directed at a television screen mounted on the wall. “Welcome to Accenture Federal Digital Studio,” the television reads.
Students might view federal work as a whole lot of red tape and not enough excitement. Accenture wants to change that view.
Accenture Federal Services (AFS) recently opened the digital studio this past July. Right in the heart of DC, AFS Digital Studio aims to foster innovation and design thinking by creating a collaborative, open work environment. Imagine the QUEST Lab with several extra thousand dollars in its budget, and Accenture Federal Digital Studio is the end result.
We create experiences that matter. – Accenture Federal Services
Earlier this month, QUEST students got an exclusive first look at the brand new space, led by a tour guide in addition to QUEST alumnus Russell Lyons of Q16.
We quickly noticed that every conference room in the studio is named after a famous inventor or scientist in history along with a memorable quote. In the Mendel room, green succulents line the windows. Next to Mendel lies Edison.
“I’m sure you all have heard of him?” our tour guide asks with a chuckle.
Around the corner, there is one name that our generation easily recognizes.
“This is the Elon Musk room, the only room named after a figure who is still alive,” our tour guide says, “A mistake, actually. We wanted the room to be named after Nikola Tesla, but I guess the designers made a mistake. He has a way to go, so hopefully he keeps his name clean.”
Most of the walls in the studio are meant to be written on – even the glass windows in the kitchen area. Many are bare – but with time, Accenture employees and clients will sprawl more ideas on these walls. We just need some time for the ideas to come to fruition.
AFS Digital Studio features a Fjord Design & Innovation team. Fjord leads in service design based on user experience – think back to your QUEST 190H bits-based projects – to help federal clients create digital solutions that promote a user-friendly experience. Ultimately, AFS Digital Studio will tackle the challenge of increasing government engagement from citizens and employees. By creating a space for employees that counters the typical setup of large professional services firms, AFS hopes that employees will think differently, too. And with the government’s longstanding traditions, a change in perspective might be just what we needed.
QUESTees on the AFS Visit