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    Clara Gaggero Westaway
    AICreative TechnologyCreativityCritical DesignCritical ThinkingDigital DesignInteraction DesignResearchTechnologyWeb & UI Design

    Special Projects

    Clara Gaggero Westaway

    WebsiteInstagramLinkedIn22 OCT · 15:30 · Théâtre de Namur — Grande Salle

    Biography

    Clara is a designer, inventor and educator leveraging human needs to create meaningful innovation that addresses pressing societal issues. Her mission is to improve lives through hopeful and sustainable design solutions that encourage well-being and a healthy relationship with technology.

    She is the co-founder and creative director of award-winning innovation studio, Special Projects and a thought-leader shaping the narrative on human-centred design.
    Whether this means empowering the elderly to use their mobile phones, reimagining the playground, or helping us focus on the present through calm technology, Clara’s concepts bring optimism and clarity to where society needs it most.

    Clara has designed products for the likes of BBC, Braun, the NHS, Google, Samsung, Sonos, Lego, Logitech, and she has given talks and led workshops globally. Her critically acclaimed designs have been exhibited at MoMA in NY, Design Museum London and WAGNER:WERK Museum, Vienna.

    Clara is a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, a faculty member of Oxford University, Said Business School, OSLP. She advises young entrepreneurs on how to transform compelling ideas into successful businesses as Business Coach at InnovationRCA, the Royal College of Art’s centre for entrepreneurship and commercialisation, and has been appointed to advise on the Prince of Wales' environmental initiative, Terra Carta Design Lab, mentoring young and emerging designers as they create credible and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis.

    Gallery

    Photos Directed & Produced by Special Projects. All Rights Reserved.

    About the talk

    From Frustration to Wonder: Redesigning our Relationship with Tech

    In this talk, designer, inventor, and educator Clara Gaggero Westaway explores how we can redesign our relationship with the digital world by prioritising empathy, wellbeing, and delight.

    As co-founder of Special Projects, a London-based B Corp innovation studio, Clara has shaped award-winning experiences for international clients including Google, LEGO, Samsung, and the BBC. Her work reframes frustrations as opportunities in disguise and underscores the importance of wonder and delight.

    Clara will reveal how introducing "positive friction" and relying on familiar physical models can transform tech frustrations into everyday moments of joy. Her critically acclaimed designs, exhibited from MoMA NY to the Design Museum London, bring optimism and clarity to where society needs it most.

    A leading voice in human-centred innovation, Clara's mission extends beyond the studio. She teaches at Oxford Saïd Business School and the Royal College of Art.

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