We started with a
simple observation.
People are never just one thing.
People are never just one thing. They are parents and professionals.
Students and caregivers. Leaders and learners. Experts in one moment and beginners in the next.
Yet many of the products, services, experiences, and policies we build ask people to show up as only one version of themselves.
That is where understanding begins to break down.
The room is bigger than it looks.
Every decision enters a room. Not just a physical room.
A room made up of relationships, routines, environments, emotions, expectations, responsibilities, histories, constraints, and possibilities.
When we understand only one piece of that room, we build for only one piece of reality.
When we understand the whole room, different possibilities begin to emerge.
That is why we exist.
The humans who human.
Whole Room Research exists to help people make better decisions by understanding more of the world those decisions will enter.
Sometimes that means conducting research from the ground up. Sometimes it means looking at existing research through a different lens. Sometimes it means asking questions no one thought to ask. Our work is less about collecting information and more about creating understanding.
Whether you are building something new, improving something existing, or trying to understand what is next, our goal is the same:
Help you understand your whole room before making your next decision.
Our team's experience spans some of the most trusted names in training and development, ed tech, cognitive assessments and play, including Sesame Workshop, MIT Media Lab, Disney, and Khan Academy Kids. We bring that same rigor and care to every study we run and every insight we deliver.
Our group is certified and credentialed across the disciplines that make research human: design thinking, UX research, psychology and cognitive science (including PhD-level researchers), play, art and design, and care fields.
PLAYSTRUCK designs for all kinds of minds from the start. That commitment shapes how we recruit participants, how we write our questions, and how we listen: everyone belongs in the room, and every perspective helps reveal the whole picture.
What we believe.
People are never just one thing.
Every person carries multiple identities, responsibilities, relationships, and experiences that shape how they move through the world.
Context changes everything.
Every person carries multiple identities, responsibilities, relationships, and experiences that shape how they move through the world.
Better questions create better decisions.
Every person carries multiple identities, responsibilities, relationships, and experiences that shape how they move through the world.
Research should create value for everyone.
The people who participate should gain something meaningful, not simply provide information or time for monetary value. There needs to be some kind of true cognitive benefit.
Complexity is not the problem. Ignoring it is.
Understanding nuance does not slow innovation. It leads to decisions that last.
WOMEN-FOUNDED
Co-founded and led by two award winning women builders
Childrens media, government, non-profit, startup, fortune 500, wellness, ed tech & higher ed.
CERTIFIED NY MWBE
New York State certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise
TWO COASTS
Offices in Rochester, NY and Los Angeles, CA
Understanding globalization and localization.
40+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
with over 40 years combined experience in product design, experience design, education and community building across multiple industries.