Essential + Youth Design, a Summer Tradition

July 9, 2015

Essential Co-Founder and Partner, Scott Stropkay and I (a design researcher at Essential), spoke with unique group of students at MIT’s D-Lab… Scott and I were asked to speak about the role of design research in the product development process and how it could be leveraged within the context of D-Lab’s mission.

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How Does Transit Shape a Citizen?

April 27, 2015

My mother has been transcribing a series of my great-grandfather’s letters he wrote while living in China in the early 1920s. Each is an incredible time capsule reminding us of how much has changed in the last century.

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Reflecting on the Connected Things Forum

March 3, 2015

Thought leaders from healthcare, retail, security, cleantech, automotive and industrial sectors gathered for Connected Things 2015, a half-day forum hosted by the MIT Enterprise Forum at the MIT Media Lab.

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Designing for Emerging Technologies

December 19, 2014

Essential’s Scott Stropkay and Bill Hartman co-wrote a chapter in the book, Designing for Emerging Technologies: UX for Genomics, Robotics, and the Internet of Things, on the growing influence and capabilities of robots in our work and personal lives.

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Everyday Design: My Bike Project

December 15, 2014

Although I never owned a bike before and knew very little about fixing bikes, I had a very clear vision for the bike’s design and I was up for the challenge of bringing that vision to life. I found inspiration from bikes around the city, giving me a more clear design vision of the details, shape and fabrics used.

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Richard Watson Speaks at Harvard xDesign

November 10, 2014

Richard Watson and iRobot’s Derek Verhoon presented the Roomba case study, sharing the complexities of designing a product that meets optimally at the intersection of three touchpoints; end-user needs, market factors and technological possibilities.

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Design-Led Labs Creating Impactful Solutions

October 8, 2014

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 2014 DMI Design Leadership Conference, co-chaired by Essential’s Scott Stropkay, which was centered around lab cultures that drive innovation and the importance of design as a catalyst for insightful solutions.

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The Role of Design in Digital-Physical Innovations

September 11, 2014

Darrell K. Rigby’s article in the Harvard Business Review, “Digital-Physical Mashups,” encourages businesses and organizations to meet the needs of customers who “weave their digital and physical worlds so tightly together that they can’t fathom why companies haven’t done the same.”

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A Day in the Life of a UX Designer at Essential

August 22, 2014

Hosted by General Assembly, “A Day in the Life of a UX Designer at Essential,” provided an overview of the key activities, collaborations, processes, and concepts that make up what we do as UX designers.

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Government Program Evaluation and Design

August 13, 2014

As evaluation practices increase, what role can design play? Recently, trends in government program administration offer an opportunity for designers to participate after launch as well, in program evaluation.

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