Professional Experience
Elisava University, Barcelona/Madrid Spain (2023 - present)
Professor of Research and Futures Thinking
Lead the research and futures thinking modules within the Masters in Research, Design and Innovation (MiDI) program as well as tutor and facilitate for other masters/postgraduate programs.
HABITAT LLC (2022 – present)
Principal / Executive Design Director
Principal owner and director of my own futures consulting firm, HABITAT. I provide training and advisory services to corporations and government entities on how to use Futures Thinking and implement it across their organization. My clients span the globe and across public and private sectors.
McKinsey & Company (McKinsey Design) (2017 – 2021)
Experience Design Director
Led design teams to create digital products across a variety of sectors (airlines, oil & gas, aviation, banking, utilities, retail). Helped clients develop strategies to transform organizationally, digitally and culturally by advising on design operations, design thinking, research operations, and product delivery models. Established a Futures practice and internal group dedicated to advocating and employing Futures Thinking (Strategic Foresight and Speculative Design) to help clients develop strategies for preparing for future challenges and opportunities.
The Design Futures Initiative (2015 – Present)
Founder/President/Design Director
Founder of a multi-city meetup community hosting events and workshops on speculative design. Public speaker and workshop facilitator evangelizing methods and frameworks for designing for the future, helping designers and like-minded people create strategies for foresight thinking.
GE Aviation Digital Solutions (2015 – 2017)
Global Design Director
Developed processes and built the teams for global aviation design centers in US, Dubai, Shanghai, Germany. Full stack strategist, researcher, and designer developing new and legacy products on Predix, a big data/analytics platform for airline operations. Worked closely with airlines to understand key operational problems and shape software solutions to visualize data and improve operational, flight and fuel efficiency.
GE Digital (2013 – 2015)
Senior Designer
Conducted Design Research and facilitated workshops to obtain requirements for Industrial Internet applications. Produced concept designs, wireframes, and production-ready assets for development. Worked with various GE business such as Aviation, Energy, and Analytics Platforms.
Mindjet (2012)
Senior Interaction Designer
Responsible for all UX on Mindjet Tasks mobile app and Tasks features on all platforms (cloud, Windows desktop, iPhone, iPad). Worked closely with web team to optimize and redesign commerce sections of website. Conducted heuristic evaluations and participated in user research studies for product development.
Bridge Design (2011)
Senior User Experience Designer
Responsible for interaction and visual design of user interfaces for medical and bio-tech devices. Conducted design research and usability studies for development of products such as diabetic blood glucose meters.
Zoomsystems (2007 – 2011)
Art Director/UX Designer
Managed design and development of GUIs for branded ZoomShops (clients included Apple, Sony, Motorola, Best Buy, Rosetta Stone, Sephora). Created and developed visual designs of user interfaces, front-end support (HTML, CSS), Flash modules, video content, animations, and eCenter network support application. Responsible for maintaining ZoomSystems visual identity across brands, visual and interaction design standards, usability studies, field research, and designing and developing new features to enhance the customer experience.
NextAid (2007- 2008)
Creative Director
Pro bono management of website and support of creative team in designing collateral for events and other fundraising opportunities. Designed and developed event campaigns including micro-sites and HTML emails.
Mindshare Interactive, Washington DC (2006)
Designer
Designed and developed websites and online campaigns. Creative support in various projects across platforms using CSS, Flash, video, and animation. Maintained sites and designed and developed ads for multiple clients.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Washington DC (2005 – 2006)
Web Designer/Developer
Designed, developed, and implemented multiple client sites including the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) and the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Maintained client relations, website updates, HTML emails, and application of visual identity.
National Science Foundation (2004)
Designer/Consultant
On-site consultant for Cosgrove Communications. Designed and developed Flash cover pages for the NSF Special Reports and other graphic design projects.
Nesha Communications Group (2001- 2015)
Principal Designer Director/Founder
Self-owned web design and development consultancy across multiple platforms including web, print, video, and touchscreen applications. Led design and development across various websites and applications for music industry, nonprofits, and retail businesses.
Sectors and Industries served
Aviation
Airlines
Energy
Oil and Gas
Utilities
Hospitality
Retail
Banking
Automotive
Nonprofits
Government
Education
MFA Design – Concentration in Futures Thinking & Interaction Design
California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
BA Visual Arts – Concentration in Graphic Design & Visual Communication
University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD
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Public Speaking
IBM Future Fest 2024
Service Design Days Leadership Summit 2023
ITX Product + Design Conference 2023
IXDA Interaction 2023
Wednesday Web Jam Nov 2022 - Reimagining Policy in the Metaverse
AIGA Design Conference 2022
Service Design Network (SDN) Global Conference 2022
Design Ops Global Conference 2022
ECHOS Design Leadership Program 2021/2022
UX New Zealand 2022
PUSH Conference Meetup Jan 2022
International Conference on Design Futures 2021 (China)
Shaping Chaos Podcast
2021 ISEG Futures, Strategic Design & Innovation
Design Drives podcast
Ishanya 2021 Annual Design Fest
IXDA Interaction 2021
United Nations Dept of Political & Peacebuilding Affairs
The Future of Now podcast
UX Philippines 2020
IFTF Ten Year Forecast Summit 2020
Hello Futures!
Heads of Design 2020
Design Caucus 2020
SF Design Week 2020
24Hours of UX
Global Foresight Summit 2020
DES 2020
PUSH Conference 2019
Mobile UX London 2019
Design is [Speculative] @Google Design
Net Impact 2018
1:1 Encuentro Internacional de Industrias Creativas
Midwest UX 2017
UX Australia 2017
Accenture: Nordic High Performance Business Forum—From Fragile to Agile. Fast
SXSW 2017
Midwest UX 16
UX New Zealand
SXSW Eco
UXCON16
Better by Design 2016
UX Chicago Camps
SXSW 2016
Midwest UX 2015
SFIoT Unconference 2014
Articles/Publications
Making Futures Work: Integrating Futures Thinking for Design, Innovation and Strategy (O’Reilly Media)
Experimental Realism Book (chapter contribution)
Keeping an Eye on the Future
Core-77 PRIMER 18
Service Design Network – Design Thinking In-House
Core77 – PRIMER Conference
Optimal Workshop Blog – What is Speculative Design?
LImina UX Blog
A Case for Speculative Design in an Era of Post-Traumatic Designers
Designing for Altitude