Dr. Kristian Simsarian is the chair of the undergraduate Interaction Design program at California College of the Arts (CCA). He believes in the power of design to simplify, enrich, and transform our lives and the world. His work focuses on bringing innovative human-centered design and strategy to meaningful fruition in education and organizations, from pixels to processes.

He brings a deep, diverse, and international background to his teaching, project work and to the creative teams he leads that span from healthcare to high-tech. In addition to his own publications and patents, Kristian’s work has been featured in Business Week, The New York Times, and Metropolis magazine, as well as being highlighted in business books on innovation and interaction design.

Before his return to academia, Kristian cofounded the Software Experiences practice at IDEO as an Associate Partner and Practice Director with a focus on mobile. Kristian led design innovation initiatives for many of the world’s largest brands and organizations, including Microsoft, Nokia, Lily, Pfizer, Samsung, Yahoo!, XBOX, SAP, ATT, P&G, FBI, NIH. After a decade at IDEO he shifted his focus to founding the Interaction Design program at the California College of the Arts while continuing his relationship as an IDEO Fellow. In his limited free time he loves to make and build with hand tools, while living in a former fixer-upper Victorian in San Francisco and Fairfax, CA, with his psychologist wife and his joyful red-haired daughter.

Website: cca.edu/interaction