Hi! I’m Alix. I work with people to design experiences that contribute to a social transformation towards equity, justice and wellbeing.

Recently, I’ve been in New York City, working with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and also building an independent research practice called Design Radical Futures. At MSK, I work with the Design Innovation Group on questions like ‘How can we mark moments in patients’ journeys through cancer while acknowledging the impact on patients who may not make it to the same milestones?’ and ’How can we offer remote care to all patients regardless of their ability to use digital tools?’  We address these questions by: working with patients, clinicians, hospital staff and the general public to learn about and reflect on healthcare experiences, co-creating and prototyping new ideas, and synthesizing learning.

With Design Radical Futures, I am exploring how a design practice can be most useful within groups that are building alternative social structures, like mutual aid and transformative justice networks.

This work builds on 10 years of experience as a design researcher. I learned a human-centered approach at design consulting companies like Ziba Design (Portland, OR) and IA Collaborative (Chicago, IL), building on an education at Cornell University about how designed things impact people’s behaviors and interactions. To transition towards designing for social issues, I studied Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons (2016), an MFA program that explores how we can use design as a mindset to address complex social issues that cross disciplinary boundaries. Along the way, I worked with partners at the NYC Mayor’s Office and the Innovation Lab at OPM, among others. After graduating, I taught at Washington University in St. Louis for 2.5 years, developing courses around design research methods and speculative design practices, and participating with a community group focused on police reform in Ferguson, Missouri.