The Jacobs Institute’s Jacobs Design Conversations series, launched in fall 2015, will continue in the spring 2016 semester with lunchtime talks by four design leaders. In keeping with the series’ aim of connecting diverse design perspectives, these four speakers will collectively share insights on a broad spectrum of areas, from robotics to experience design, with the Berkeley community. All Jacobs Design Conversations events take place on Fridays in 310 Jacobs Hall and are free and open to the public.
Carla Diana is a designer, author and educator who explores the impact of future technologies through hands-on experiments in product design and tangible interaction. In her studio she works on exploratory design projects in areas such as domestic robots, wearable devices and interactive toys. Her article, “Talking, Walking Objects,” appeared on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Review in January 2013. Her recent project, LEO the Maker Prince, is the world’s first combination book and open source design collection aimed at introducing the world of 3D printing to kids.
In addition to her professional design work, Carla is a faculty member in the University of Pennsylvania’s Integrated Product Design Program, where she developed the first courses focused on smart objects. From 2002 to 2007 she was Professor of Interactive Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she co-wrote the College’s first Interactive Design program and developed Physical Computing courses. Carla holds an MFA in Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from The Cooper Union.
Diana will discuss “Robotics in our Everyday Lives: A Product Designer’s Perspective” on January 29, 12-1pm.
Steve Johnson’s career in user-centered design started as a Skills Trainer with autistic children. By redesigning and tweaking everyday objects for children with mild to severe autism, he developed a design philosophy focused on observing behaviors, mapping patterns, identifying goals and testing key assumptions. After Pacific Autism, Steve worked in interactive gaming with Electronic Arts, and later moved to Adobe Systems, where he led the User Experience Design Group, a team responsible for Mobile, Consumer, and Professional product lines.
Now with LinkedIn, Steve leads a multi-disciplinary team of User Experience Design (UED) professionals, made up of Marketing & Brand Communication Designers, Voice and Tone Specialists, User Researchers, and Product Designers. Responsible for creating experiences across mobile, desktop and web, the UED team plays an integral part in improving usability, growing member engagement, and increasing revenue across LinkedIn.
Johnson will share his insights on “Beyond Pixels: The Hidden Traits of Great Designers” on March 4, 12-1pm.
Yoon Lee is the Vice President of Insight Concept and Portfolio at Samsung Electronics. He currently leads Samsung home appliances’ midterm products as well as portfolio development. Yoon has 20+ years of product design and development experience in areas of new product development from product strategy, design research, ideation, user experience and concept development to hands-on engineering and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). He has worked on design and innovation topics for a broad range of industries.
Before leading his current team at Samsung Electronics, Yoon led the Samsung Electronics America’s Product Innovation Team (PIT), overseeing 4 other PIT offices around the world. Prior to PIT, he was a product development and innovation consultant at major management consulting companies, PRTM (PwC) and at Accenture. Yoon began his career designing robots for automotive applications at FANUC Robotics, a leading industrial robot manufacturer. He has over 15 publications in professional journals and has spoken at several global innovation conferences as an invited guest speaker. Yoon earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley.
Lee will speak on “Designing with Context” on March 11, 12-1pm.
Greg Petroff is the Chief Experience Officer at GE Software and General Manager of the User Experience Center of
Excellence (UX CoE) for GE. The UX CoE is charged with elevating
the quality of digital experiences created by GE for its customers. At GE,
Greg is leading efforts to define the human interface to the
Industrial Internet, connecting people to machines and systems in
meaningful ways.
Greg is known for his ability to use design skills to solve business problems. His background combines formal training in architecture with extensive experience in designing interactive products.
Petroff will discuss “Design and the Internet of Important Things” on April 1, 12-1pm. Registration will open roughly one month prior to the talk; to receive a reminder when registration opens, sign up here.
For questions about Jacobs Design Conversations, contact jacobsinstitute@berkeley.edu.