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About
Kara is a material scientist — almost. Since joining IDEO in 2000, she has worked across a broad range of design-related disciplines (materials, manufacturing, brand, and business) to inspire designers and clients to think differently about products.
During her tenure, Kara has evolved from a scientist into a lover of materiality with an obsession for materials that you remember and media that you can’t forget. This obsession has led to the opportunity to inspire the design of cameras, kitchen appliances, chairs, software packaging, printers, blue jeans, credit cards, beer bottles, and cars — anything that’s made of something.
Kara’s next project will be to write children’s books in which each character is made of a different material: Sandy is made of glass. Stretch is a rubber band. Until then, Kara hopes to build the same character of materials into the mass-produced, branded products and spaces of our current world and industry.
Kara has a PhD in materials engineering from the University of Cambridge. Prior to that, Kara worked at Arthur D. Little in the technology and product development group.
