Design x Technology Lecture: Carla Diana

Designing Everyday Products with Social Robotics in Mind

This talk will take a fresh look at the design of products in our everyday lives through a lens of social robotics. Robot designer, technology author and design educator Carla Diana will share case studies from over a decade of projects that span from thermostats to hospital robots, looking at how a holistic approach to design can give teams a clear vision for creating products that are built on meaningful, intuitive, and delightful interactions.

Carla will share insights from her book, My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can Make New Products More Human (HBR Press 2021) as well as a glimpse into the labs at Cranbrook Academy of Art’s unique masters program in 4D Design. For more info see http://www.carladiana.com

What you can expect: A creative look at robotics and how it applies to everyday life, including the hospital setting.

This lecture will appeal to:

• Creative designers and artists looking for ways to integrate technology into their work
• Technologists looking for real world applications of robotics
• Hospital and nursing professionals looking to learn how robotics can improve workflow

Join us for this innovative lecture on campus or virtually. Choose the appropriate ticket.

Carla Diana is the founder and head of the 4D Design program at Cranbrook Academy of Art. A designer, author, and educator, she explores the impact of future technologies through hands-on experiments in product design and tangible interaction. In addition to her studio practice, she is Design Advisor and former Head of Design for Diligent Robotics, an Austin, Texas, based company where advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning manifest in robot assistants to help healthcare workers.

Carla has been part of innovation design firms Smart Design and frog Design where she worked on a range of products from robots to connected home appliances. Her work has appeared on the covers of Popular Science, Technology Review, and The New York Times Sunday Review.

Carla writes and lectures frequently on the social impact of robotics and emerging technology. Her latest book, My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can Make New Products More Human (HBR Press 2021) discusses design strategies for everyday products. She is the creator of the world’s first children’s book on 3D printing, LEO the Maker Prince (Maker Media 2014), and was previously co-host of the Robopsych Podcast, a show that explored the design and psychological impact of human-robot interaction. Her latest research is focused on autonomous vehicle systems as public transportation solutions.

She holds an M.F.A. in 3D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the Cooper Union.