BDW is an experimental design lab within the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado at Boulder dedicated to exploring the impact and possibilities of the digital environment on the future of learning, work, and play. We combine creativity and technology to generate innovative learning and business models for the creative industries, engaging some of the brightest digital minds in the world as our faculty. BDW students come from all over the map: full-time graduate students, executives from major global companies, entrepreneurial middle school students--all of whom share a commitment to building and sustaining a culture of change that will thrive in the 21st century. The future is not what it used to be. The pace of change in the 21st century continues to increase. The world is becoming more interconnected and complex. The knowledge economy is craving more intellectual property. We see these conditions as positive and indicative of enormous possibilities for innovation. Through research and teaching that leverages open and sometimes radical collaboration, BDW exploits the tension between divergent thinking and systems thinking to develop creative leadership teams that drive innovation in the creative economy.