Kara Johnson
A material scientist, almost. Kara has worked at IDEO since 2000, across a broad range of design-related disciplines–materials, manufacturing, brand, and business–to inspire designers and clients to think differently about products. Kara has evolved from material scientist to lover of materiality, claiming an obsession for materials that you remember and media 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 where each character is made of something: 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. Before earning her PhD, Kara worked at Arthur D. Little in the technology and product development group.
Topics Kara speaks on:
- Branded Experiences
- Consumer Experience Design
- Manufacturing
- Materials
Speaking engagements:
October 2003, Material Vision 2003, keynote
Published works:
2009, I Miss My Pencil, Chronicle Books
2002, Materials and Design: The Art and Science of Material Selection in Product Design, Butterworth-Heinemann