David Chidi
Emmanuel
I interpret signals, understand human motivation, and build new realities with disruptive toolkits.
Who he is
The story, convictions and experiences behind the work. Who David is before he's anything else.
Building realities
that serve people
Interpret signals
Listen closely to people, markets and culture to see what is shifting.
Understand motivation
Find the human needs and drives underneath those signals.
Imagine new realities
Picture solutions that meet different and diverse motivations.
Build with disruptive tools
Use emerging technology and design to make them real.
Abacus
Learning, made accountable.
A learning management platform built to close the conversation gaps in classrooms and across education.
- Built
- Public demo
- Testing
- School pilots
Concept renderExpress friction.
Read the room.
Five beads on a lit track, from friction to flow. Every student can show where they stand without raising a hand.
From desk to dashboard
Concept renderThe student signals
A quiet, tactile signal. Slide the beads toward friction or flow, in the moment.
The teacher reads the room
A live classroom heatmap, with confidence trends and nudges toward who needs help.
Concept renderBuilt for the classroom
Designed to sit on every desk and blend into the lesson, not interrupt it.
Speaker · Writer · Maker
Keynotes, pitches and conversations: ideas said out loud, for the people in the room.
On the record
Valedictory Service
Alumni address at Day Waterman College on the theme “Taking Responsibility.” Watch the speech.
GradEx
Presenting Abacus, his Industrial Design thesis, to the students, educators and facilitators it was built for. Five days, 50,000+ attendees.
The Useful Podcast
In conversation with host Gokul. Watch the clip.
Made by hand and mind
Five Smooth Stones
A footstool about rest.
Five rounded “stones” held on two dowels, finished in a soft bone white. It nods to the shepherd boy who faced Goliath resting in a strength beyond his own, and invites you to rest too.
- Type
- Footstool
- Make
- Baltic birch plywood, two dowels
- Finish
- “Bone” acrylic
DIADI
One mark that spells every letter of its name. Identity for DIADI, the innovation company David founded.
- Confident#10B981
- Neutral#E5E7EB
- Friction#EF4444
- Accent#3B82F6
Abacus
A mark built from beads, and colour as communication: green for confident, red for friction, read at a glance.
The Abacus process book
A 72-page thesis book. Layout, type and etched illustrations, art-directed by David with generative tools.
DIADI Innovations
The mission ahead. A creative and innovation hub that studies what truly moves people, reads the signals of emerging technology, connects the dots, and builds new realities that serve human needs and elevate the human experience.
Research & development
Understanding human motivations and emerging technologies.
Consulting
Helping organisations turn insight into innovation.
Products to market
Taking ideas from concept to the people they serve.
Manufacturing
Making what we design, at the scale it needs.
Let's build what's next.
Invest
Back Abacus as it moves into school pilots.
Request the deck →Collaborate
Partner on products, design, or ventures that serve people.
Start a conversation →Hire
Bring a designer, builder, and innovator onto your team.
View CV →Speak
Invite David to speak at your event, panel or podcast.
Send an invitation →