Open Labs / An operating model

Questions
become projects.

Open Labs is how itonami turns everyday social questions into small public prototypes with people who care and people who know how to make.

Begin with the first question
Clusters of hand-painted orange, green, and grey marks
How it is sustained

Studio work keeps
Open Labs moving.

We set aside part of our studio revenue, time, and creative capacity to begin small investigations around social questions we encounter in everyday life.

Each first cycle stays intentionally small: one question, the right people, one to three months, and a seed budget.

  1. 01Studio work
  2. 02Seed fund
  3. 03Public prototype
  4. 04Useful evidence
  5. 05Aligned partnership
  6. 06Next Lab
How Open Labs moves

We listen
before we choose.

A Lab begins with attention. The shape of the response changes with the question.

Fine hand-drawn green paths wandering and crossing
  1. 01Ask

    Open a human question.

  2. 02Listen

    Hear what people notice and carry.

  3. 03Map

    Find patterns, tensions, and people already moving.

  4. 04Choose

    Select one place where a small response can matter.

  5. 05Make

    Build a prototype with the right people.

  6. 06Release

    Put it into the world where others can meet it.

  7. 07Learn

    Share what changed and decide what comes next.

Open Labs 00 / The Founding Question

Responses are open · Public activation 17 October 2026

What is one problem in your everyday life you can no longer ignore?

Before choosing Lab 01, we want to listen. We will gather the responses with care, map the themes, and explain what we choose to explore first.

Meet the Founding Question
An aerial view of a busy local market in Phnom Penh
Ways to take part

Bring what
you already have.

Open Labs grows through different kinds of participation. You can enter at the point that feels natural to you.

01

Make

Offer a craft, skill, perspective, or time when a selected Lab needs it.

02

Enable

Offer funding, space, equipment, materials, transport, or another practical resource.

03

Connect

Bring a community, organisation, expert, audience, or a related initiative already in motion.

04

Stay informed

Follow the question, see what emerges, and decide later whether to participate.

When something proves useful

A prototype can become
a larger shared effort.

We invite aligned companies and organisations to fund, adapt, distribute, or grow the work with us. The next step depends on what the prototype teaches us and who it can genuinely serve.

Our public promise

We will listen with care, show what we heard, explain what we choose, and make the next step visible.

Bring us a question or a related initiative