helium
Product Lab / 2026Seattle · Public experiments

32 working
experiments at 40.

A visible production system for moving ideas through research, design, evaluation, implementation, and public participation by October 29, 2026.

Launch target10·29·26
32Scheduled
5Public now
7Built, not public
00Signals recorded

Public is a milestone.
Evidence is the point.

By October 29, every experiment earns the same four-part release: a prototype, a consequential interaction, a public route, and an honest first signal from the intended audience.

A Helium experiment route counts as the first public URL. A standalone domain is earned later when evidence supports it.
  1. 01Figma prototype

    The core journey is clickable and annotated.

  2. 02Working interaction

    One consequential action produces an observable result.

  3. 03Public URL

    Anyone invited can open it without a handoff or demo.

  4. 04First evidence note

    A real response, session, or behavior is recorded—positive or negative.

Wave 1Sep 15

Foundation

5 releases

Wave 2Sep 22

Public safety

5 releases

Wave 3Sep 29

Core automation

5 releases

Wave 4Oct 6

Commerce

5 releases

Wave 5Oct 13

Practice + proof

5 releases

Wave 6Oct 20

Civic systems

5 releases

Wave 7Oct 27

Final releases

2 releases

October 28: cross-site QA, accessibility, evidence copy, and portfolio sequencing. October 29: birthday release.

First, make the idea
ready to learn from.

RIPEN governs the Figma prototype. Every project begins with evidence and alternatives, then earns its minimum scope through evaluation and needfinding.

01R

Research

Evidence, context, people and constraints

02I

Ideate

Three materially different directions

03P

Prototype

The selected journey made clickable in Figma

04E

Evaluate

Critique, feedback and observed use

05N

Needfinding

What remains unresolved becomes MVP scope

Prototype gate

One audience. One consequential action. One observable result.

↓
T→E

Then, make it
work in public.

T

Triage

Choose what is essential now.

A

Analyze

Resolve requirements, risks, data and dependencies.

S

Sequence

Arrange the smallest safe build.

t

To define

Your original term will be restored here.

E

To define

Your original term will be restored here.

The whole portfolio.
No hidden backlog.

Filter the current program, inspect each minimum viable interaction, and follow an experiment from proposition to public release.

Family
Current state
32 of 32 experiments shown
01 / Public safetyPrototype

Seattle Incident View

Help the public understand a fast-changing emergency without presenting inference as fact.

Minimum viable interaction

Move through a five-state incident timeline and separate confirmed facts, public guidance, and AI-generated context.

ReleaseWave 2 · Sep 22EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
02 / Public safetyBuilt

Command Margin

Make strategic tradeoffs visible while preserving human command authority.

Minimum viable interaction

Change hydrant pressure, victim location, and tenability; compare three strategies; record a command rationale.

ReleaseWave 2 · Sep 22EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
03 / PortfolioLive

Helium

A research and design studio for problems that refuse to stay bounded.

Minimum viable interaction

Explore the studio’s methods, working experiments, evidence, and collaboration pathways.

ReleaseWave 1 · Sep 15EvidenceRecruiting
Open experiment
04 / CommerceLive

PNW Scout / Scout

Make an ordinary regional trip feel unusually prepared and special on a normal working household’s budget.

Minimum viable interaction

Choose a traveler profile, preview a destination plan, and obtain the right guide format.

ReleaseWave 1 · Sep 15EvidenceRecruiting
Open experiment
05 / PortfolioLive

Mathias Burton Portfolio

Show a decade of product and UX work through clear evidence and outcomes.

Minimum viable interaction

Navigate selected work, understand the practitioner behind it, and start a relevant conversation.

ReleaseWave 1 · Sep 15EvidenceRecruiting
Open experiment
06 / Public safetyDefined

Magnolia Incident Command Playbook

Translate incident-command habits into a practical household and neighborhood preparedness system.

Minimum viable interaction

Select a local disruption, assign roles, and generate an offline action and radio plan.

ReleaseWave 2 · Sep 22EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
07 / Public safetyDefined

Firefighter Practice System

Turn firefighter entry preparation into short, adaptive daily practice.

Minimum viable interaction

Complete a ten-minute drill, review answers, and update a visible weak-area profile.

ReleaseWave 2 · Sep 22EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
08 / Public safetyDefined

Firefighter Relationships Atlas

Make the human network of a fire-service career visible before it exists.

Minimum viable interaction

Explore relationships from candidate to lieutenant and map likely encounters across ten years of calls.

ReleaseWave 2 · Sep 22EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
09 / AutomationLive

SaaSy

A portfolio of small, opinionated software products with something to say.

Minimum viable interaction

Browse the suite, open a product, and try it with a portable demonstration dataset.

ReleaseWave 1 · Sep 15EvidenceRecruiting
Open experiment
10 / AutomationDefined

Personata

Turn scattered notes and obligations into a humane daily plan.

Minimum viable interaction

Paste unstructured notes, triage them, and receive an editable sequence of actions.

ReleaseWave 3 · Sep 29EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
11 / Civic systemsDefined

Ballot Buddy

Make local ballots understandable without making choices for the voter.

Minimum viable interaction

Enter ZIP 98199, compare a sample ballot, and create a personal voting guide.

ReleaseWave 3 · Sep 29EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
12 / AutomationDefined

Souz Chef

Give cooks adaptive, voice-friendly help without taking over the kitchen.

Minimum viable interaction

Choose a recipe, report what changed, and receive one safe next instruction.

ReleaseWave 3 · Sep 29EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
13 / CommerceDefined

City Quest

Turn an unfamiliar city into a playful, locally grounded scavenger hunt.

Minimum viable interaction

Choose a city and group type, complete one clue, and reveal the next destination.

ReleaseWave 3 · Sep 29EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
14 / AutomationDefined

Portable Data-App Template

Let small tools operate on data people can copy, inspect, save, and move themselves.

Minimum viable interaction

Import a Notes-friendly dataset, change one record, and export it intact.

ReleaseWave 3 · Sep 29EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
15 / CommercePrototype

Good Goods

Make it easy to discover and buy useful goods from small makers.

Minimum viable interaction

Move from an editorial product card into a lightweight purchase decision and checkout handoff.

ReleaseWave 4 · Oct 6EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
16 / AutomationDefined

PitchBag / Butr

Shape an imaginative business idea into a testable investment proposition with a ten-year horizon.

Minimum viable interaction

Describe an idea, challenge its assumptions, and generate an editable feasibility brief.

ReleaseWave 4 · Oct 6EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
17 / CommercePrototype

The Pint Club

Create a neighborhood ice-cream club that feels ceremonial, local, and worth belonging to.

Minimum viable interaction

Explore the monthly pint, choose a membership path, and register interest in a tasting.

ReleaseWave 4 · Oct 6EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
18 / CommerceDefined

Buttonbox

Explore whether fashion rental can connect personal expression to measurable social impact.

Minimum viable interaction

Assemble a rental box and see its price, return cycle, and stated impact allocation.

ReleaseWave 4 · Oct 6EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
19 / CommerceDefined

Magnolia Pantry

Connect neighborhood meal preparation to nearby growers, gardens, and gathering places.

Minimum viable interaction

Choose a weekly meal bundle and see pickup, ingredient, and capacity information.

ReleaseWave 4 · Oct 6EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
20 / CommerceDefined

Doggy Daycare Magnolia

Make neighborhood dog care feel transparent, safe, and operationally credible.

Minimum viable interaction

Create a dog profile, check fit and availability, and request a first-day assessment.

ReleaseWave 5 · Oct 13EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
21 / PublishingLive

Punctual Press

Publish highly specific books exactly when enough readers need them.

Minimum viable interaction

Browse proposed books and add a request that advances one toward its publication threshold.

ReleaseWave 1 · Sep 15EvidenceRecruiting
Open experiment
22 / PublishingBuilt

Butr Publication

Share the systems, methods, and operating procedures behind thoughtful product work with AI.

Minimum viable interaction

Browse an editorial shelf, read a method, and take away a reusable practice.

ReleaseWave 5 · Oct 13EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
23 / PortfolioBuilt

Forge Design System

Show how a shared design language became an organizational production system.

Minimum viable interaction

Move through decomposition, synthesis, governance, and adoption as one visual case study.

ReleaseWave 5 · Oct 13EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
24 / PortfolioBuilt

Connected Government Cloud

Make a fragmented family of civic-data products feel like a coherent government operating system.

Minimum viable interaction

Explore the platform problem, proposed model, launch decisions, and resulting evidence.

ReleaseWave 5 · Oct 13EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
25 / PortfolioBuilt

Leveraged Commentary + Data Integration

Help financial professionals interpret structured market data alongside analyst judgment.

Minimum viable interaction

Compare the old fragmented workflow with the integrated decision experience.

ReleaseWave 5 · Oct 13EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
26 / PortfolioBuilt

RefWorks Product Relaunch

Reimagine a trusted research workflow through sustained work with students, librarians, and scholars.

Minimum viable interaction

Follow one research task from field evidence through product transformation.

ReleaseWave 6 · Oct 20EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
27 / PortfolioDefined

Research Companion

Make the research process legible, teachable, and easier to practice deliberately.

Minimum viable interaction

Choose a research stage, complete a guided exercise, and leave with a usable artifact.

ReleaseWave 6 · Oct 20EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
28 / PortfolioBuilt

Building a UX Program

Show how research and design became a repeatable organizational capability.

Minimum viable interaction

Explore the interventions, rituals, standards, and evidence of increasing maturity.

ReleaseWave 6 · Oct 20EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
29 / PublishingDefined

Aesthetic Publication

Explore one hundred years of art and design through a sustained monthly publishing practice.

Minimum viable interaction

Select a year, encounter one designed artifact, and connect it to the surrounding cultural moment.

ReleaseWave 6 · Oct 20EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
30 / Civic systemsPrototype

Cascadia HomeLine

Test whether rail-adjacent land could support dignified transitional homes at meaningful scale.

Minimum viable interaction

Explore a Seattle-to-Everett corridor map and change unit-count, household, and cost assumptions.

ReleaseWave 6 · Oct 20EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
31 / Civic systemsDefined

Statewide Universal Housing Dashboard

Let counties adapt a universal housing program without losing statewide guarantees.

Minimum viable interaction

Select a county, adjust local implementation variables, and see access, capacity, and cost implications.

ReleaseWave 7 · Oct 27EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment
32 / AutomationDefined

TAStE Triage

Apply emergency triage logic to the practical flood of tasks, papers, projects, interests, and goals.

Minimum viable interaction

Enter a mixed pile, assign urgency and consequence, and receive a sequenced first pass.

ReleaseWave 7 · Oct 27EvidenceTest ready
Open experiment

Four ways into
every experiment.

  • 01User

    Try the experience and show us where reality disagrees.

  • 02Customer

    Bring a practical use case and help define value.

  • 03Investor

    Help a promising experiment earn time and scale.

  • 04Partner

    Add expertise, access, craft, or community context.